By Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager
We understand and share the desire to help homeless individuals in our community who have fallen on hard times. The City devotes considerable resources to homeless outreach, aimed at connecting people to specific resources they need to secure and maintain permanent housing, along with support services such as drug and alcohol treatment, mental health care, and more.
From time to time, we hear of residents and visitors giving direct donations to people experiencing homelessness in the form of cash, food, tents or camping equipment. Such direct donations are generous and well-intentioned but can inadvertently undermine the City’s efforts to help connect those experiencing homelessness with temporary shelter and services, and to help them find longer-term housing.
The City created the Good Giving campaign several years ago to discourage direct donations and boost support for a local, City-administered fund that provides direct support to achieve specific goals. This fund provides homeless, formerly homeless, and housing insecure people in Newport Beach with resources and support that will help them on a path to finding and maintaining permanent housing.
Good Giving funds have purchased, for example, a bicycle for a formerly homeless man that he uses to commute to a new job, and bus tickets for a homeless couple that enabled them to reunite with family in another state.
If you would like to help those experiencing homelessness, we encourage you to donate to the Good Giving campaign at www.newportbeachca.gov/give.
City, Anderson Elementary Students Celebrate Arbor Day 2023
The City of Newport Beach celebrated Arbor Day on April 28 at Buffalo Hills Park with the 3rd grade students of Anderson Elementary School.
This year marks Newport Beach’s 33rd year as a “Tree City USA” and its 20th year receiving the “Growth Award” from the Arbor Day Foundation. City staff and elected officials joined a discussion with the students on urban forestry and the significance of Arbor Day, as the students shared artwork and poetry.
Five trees were donated and planted at the park, creating an opportunity for the students of Anderson Elementary to watch the trees grow over the years to come.
You’re Invited to ‘Touch-A-Truck’ May 20 at Balboa Pier
In celebration of National Public Works Week, please join the City of Newport Beach and our partners for the 2nd annual “Touch-A-Truck” event on Saturday, May 20, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Balboa Pier parking lot.
This event provides a hands-on opportunity to get up close to heavy trucks and equipment and learn how they are used to keep Newport Beach maintained.
Soil Sampling to Kick Off Design Work on New Balboa Branch Library, Fire Station
The design phase of the new Balboa Branch Library and Fire Station No. 1 will begin next week with a preliminary site investigation to determine soil properties at the site, located at 100 E. Balboa Blvd.
During the week of May 8, the community can expect one day of boring to obtain soil samples and one day of percolation testing. Work is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m.
Findings from this investigation will inform the conceptual design and layout of the future buildings. The test locations in the parking lots have been selected so as not to disturb any of the nesting birds.
Aquatic Center Reopens Following Maintenance Closure
The Marian Bergeson Aquatic Center at Corona Del Mar High School is open for lap swimming following a six-week closure for maintenance and repairs
Lap swim is open to the public Monday through Friday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Swim passes are required and are available for purchase at the pool deck during lap swim hours.
Please visit www.newportbeachca.gov/aquatics for the most up to date information and lap swim calendar.
Registration Ongoing for Summer Team Soccer League; Basketball Opens Next Week
Team Registration for 7v7 soccer is ongoing for the summer season, which will kick off the week of June 12. Grab your team and come play soccer under the lights this summer. You can register for soccer here: https://www.teamsideline.com/sites/newportbeach/content/13427/7v7-Adult-Soccer.
Summer basketball team registration will open on May 8. Teams will play nine guaranteed games with a chance at the playoffs. Additional league and registration information can be found by clicking here: https://www.teamsideline.com/sites/newportbeach/content/6138/Basketball-League.
Visit www.newportbeachca.gov/sports for more complete information on our upcoming sports leagues.
Serve Your Community: Apply Now for Vacant Seats on Boards, Commissions
The City of Newport Beach is currently accepting applications to fill the following unscheduled vacancy and upcoming scheduled vacancies (all terms are for four years, expiring June 30, 2027, except for one unscheduled City Arts Commission seat expiring June 30, 2025):
- Board of Library Trustees (two seats)
- Building and Fire Board of Appeals (one seat)
- City Arts Commission (two seats – one term is for four years, expiring June 30, 2027; and one unscheduled term expiring June 30, 2025)
- Civil Service Board (one seat)
- Harbor Commission (one seat)
- Parks, Beaches & Recreation Commission (two seats)
- Planning Commission (two seats)
All scheduled vacancies will become vacant when the existing terms expire on June 30, 2023, or until the seat is filled.
All applicants must be qualified electors of the City of Newport Beach, none of whom shall hold any paid office or employment in City government (Section 702 of the City Charter).
The deadline for filing applications is noon on Wednesday, May 10, or until the vacancies are filled. The application and additional information about the Boards and Commissions can be found at http://www.newportbeachca.gov/vacancy or by calling (949) 644-3005.
The application and information about the Boards and Commissions can also be accessed through the City’s website at http://www.newportbeachca.gov/bcc.
Newport Beach Art Exhibition Submissions Due May 26
Artists who would like to participate in the 2023 Newport Beach Art Exhibition are invited to submit entries by Friday, May 26.
Presented by the City Arts Commission, the Newport Beach Art Exhibition is a one-day juried art show on Saturday, June 24, from noon to 6 p.m. This event is a great opportunity to showcase, sell and celebrate art.
Entry guidelines are on the City’s website at www.newportbeachca.gov/culturalarts.
To apply, create a free account on www.CallforEntry.org and submit your entries by Friday, May 26.
Free Compost Giveaway and Paper Shredding May 27
After an overwhelmingly successful Earth Day event last month, the City will be hosting a follow-up event on Saturday, May 27 for residents who were not able to participate.
Newport Beach residents are invited to bring documents for shredding and can also pick up free bags of compost from 8 a.m. to noon (while services and supplies last).
The event will be held at 3300 Pacific View Dr. in the Harbor Day School overflow parking lot. Residents can bring up to 10 standard file boxes for shredding and/or receive up to five, 30-lbs. bags of free compost. Residency will be verified; please bring identification.
Be Well Mobile Crisis Response Update
The Be Well mobile crisis response team operates in Newport Beach 12 hours a day, 7 days a week to respond to mental and behavioral health crises. The mobile unit is staffed with mental health specialists and EMTs, and works closely with the City’s police and fire departments.
This week the Be Well team:
- Transported two people to crisis stabilization units for treatment.
- Transported a person to a substance use treatment facility for care.
- Transported a person to Someone Cares Soup Kitchen for services and food.
- Transported a person to a hospital for medical care.
- Provided mental health and wellness resources to businesses and residents during community outreach.
TO REACH BE WELL: The mobile crisis team is dispatched through the Newport Beach Police Department. To request service, dial 911 or call the Police Department’s non-emergency line at (949) 644-3717.
Homelessness Update
This week the City’s homeless outreach and response teams:
- Met with the Orange County Housing Authority to process voucher paperwork for two clients.
- Enrolled a new client into services and completed a housing assessment with another client.
- Completed a referral to the Yale Navigation Center for a client.
- Continued to shelter people. Twenty people who had been experiencing homelessness in Newport Beach are sheltered in the Costa Mesa Bridge Shelter.
