A quick look at the things that made news this week in Newport Beach:
• Bill Gross, who runs the world’s largest bond fund at Pimco in Newport Beach, said last week that he does not see the Federal Reserve pulling back from its quantitative easing policies until the U.S. unemployment rate drops to 6 percent or lower, Reuters reports.
peaking at the IndexUniverse’s Inside Fixed Income conference here, Gross said: “I’m basically saying they are not going to exit.” He added that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke “has basically said if QE3 doesn’t work, there’s more behind this.”
Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve announced that it would start buying $40 billion in government-backed mortgage debt each month until the job market improves significantly.
• Councilwoman Leslie Daigle announce the creation of a bicycle safety improvement fund at Tuesday’s City Council meeting and said the city will organize a memorial ride for Oct. 28 for the two bicyclists killed in separate traffic accidents last week. The memorial ride will also be a fundraiser for the safety fund, which will help pay for bicycle safety improvements in the city. The city will match private donations on a 3-for-1 basis, with a cap of $450,000 on city expenditure, Diagle said.
• In other action Tuesday night, the Council declined to endorse a tidelands mooring lease template proposed by the city staff as part of the city’s plan to raise mooring fees. The council also approved an improvement plan for Balboa Village, after removing from it a proposal for off-season RV parking in the Balboa Pier parking lot.
• Dean O’Malley of JetLev Southwest said he is on track for his attempt to cross to Avalon using his company’s water-based jet pack. If O’Malley succeeds in the attempt Saturday morning, he will set a jetpack distance record.
• Vanessa Bryant has listed one of three homes that her husband, Kobe Bryant, transferred into her name after the pair split up. The 6,000-square-foot Newport Coast home is being offered for $3.75 million. The couple bought the house in 2003 for $2.65 million, according to the celebrity website Bossip.
• One person was injured when a 5-ton delivery truck and a passenger car collided at Newport Coast Drive and Vista Ridge Road, NB fire official reported. The driver of the car was taken to Mission Viejo Hospital’s trauma center and reported in stable condition.
