By Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager
Over the past few months, staff from the Newport Beach Police Department have been working hard to bring our residents a new, updated Police Department website with an enhanced look, designed and formatted to adapt to all digital devices. I think you’ll agree, the results are very impressive!
You can access the new site at the same web address, www.nbpd.org.
All the key features from the previous website are available on the new website, and many have been improved. Because the site has been reorganized, these features may be in different locations. Also, website visitors may have bookmarks or favorites saved for certain pages on the previous site that are no longer active.
One of the most popular pages on the site, the Calls for Service dashboard, can be accessed directly at this link: https://nbgis.newportbeachca.gov/gispub/Dashboards/PoliceCallsDash.htm.
For a video tutorial on how to use the Calls for Service dashboard, click here: https://www.nbpd.org/what-we-do/information/calls-for-service/dashboard-walkthrough.
You can visit the crime statistics page for current and historical trends, or the services page to make a report, schedule a vacation check or home security inspection, request a record, and more. On the new program pages you’ll find information on our crime-prevention programs such as Neighborhood Watch, Citizen’s Police Academy, and volunteer opportunities.
The new website reflects our Police Department and City mission to provide our residents with important information and access to critical services in easily accessible formats. I encourage you to take a moment to visit the updated site at www.nbpd.org.
COVID-19 Cases in Newport Beach
As of November 18, the total cumulative number of COVID-19 cases in Newport Beach was 5,242, an increase of 52 cases from November 12. The total number of cases in Orange County as of November 18 was 309,969, an increase of 1,981 cases from November 12. The number of recovered COVID-19 patients countywide as of November 18 was 297,972. These figures are provided to Orange County by the California Department of Public Health.
Participate in Council Redistricting with Your Own Map
As part of the Council redistricting process, the public is invited to help balance the population within the seven Council Districts using the latest data from the 2020 U.S. Census. Mapping tools are available at https://www.newportbeachca.gov/redistricting that will enable the public to create their own maps and submit them as public comment for the City Council Ad Hoc Redistricting Committee to consider at their next meeting on December 13, 2021. All maps are due by December 6 at 5:30 p.m.
Homelessness Update
- 20 people who had been experiencing homelessness in Newport Beach are now sheltered in the Costa Mesa Bridge Shelter.
- City Net, the City’s contract homeless services agency, assisted several clients obtaining Emergency Housing Vouchers. Emergency Housing Vouchers are funded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and allow people to pay affordable rent based on their fixed incomes. Nine people experiencing homelessness in Newport Beach have been awarded vouchers. The voucher program is administered by the Orange County Housing Authority. City Net is assisting Newport Beach clients with completing the necessary paperwork, obtaining bank statements, touring potential rental apartments, and more.
- A woman participating in the Trellis Community Impact Team, a City-contracted program to build work skills, is now housed after being reunited with her mother and son in Montebello. The women entered the Costa Mesa Bridge Shelter in May after living in her car by the Newport Pier for more than a year. Trellis International is a Costa Mesa-based non-profit organization provides volunteer opportunities for individuals experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity to learn and/or rebuild job skills and a path toward stable employment and housing. Through volunteer projects managed by Trellis’ Community Impact Team (CIT), participants develop and refine job skills needed to reenter the job market and remain employed. The projects may include cleanup of beaches, hiking trails, parking lots, piers and other public areas, graffiti removal, vegetation trimming and removal, and more.
- A 77-year-old woman who had been living in her car for several years was placed into permanent housing in Indio. During the transition, City Net staff helped her stay at Grandma’s House of Hope, a Santa Ana-based provider of housing for women in crisis. The Newport Beach Animal Shelter temporarily cared for the woman’s dog and two cats while she relocated.
- City Net enrolled a family of three living in their car into services and helped them move into an apartment in Yorba Linda. Both parents continue to work in Newport Beach and their child attends a Newport-Mesa Unified School District school.
- City Net helped placed three clients who were staying by the Newport Pier into the Yale Navigation Center in Santa Ana. The Yale center provides shelter for as many as 425 people experiencing homelessness and provides case managers who locate appropriate housing, assist with job searches, and provide other on-site services.
- City Net enrolled a family staying in their car into services. The family was awarded an Emergency Housing Voucher and they are looking for a rental unit.
- City Net enrolled a client staying in his car into their services.
- City Net completed two housing assessments with people staying by the Newport Pier.
To donate to those experiencing homelessness in Newport Beach, please visit our Good Giving Program web page at https://newportbeachca.gov/trending/community-issues/homelessness/how-you-can-help.
New Inflatable Boats Added to Marina Park Fleet
Marina Park Sailing and Boating Center added two Zodiac Pro Classic inflatable boats to the fleet. Purchase of the vessels was made possible by the Aquatics Center Grant through the California State Division of Boating and Waterways. The safety boats come at a great time, with programming ramping back up at Marina Park. The boats will be utilized for safety and on water instruction for sailing camps and classes.
Thanksgiving
As a reminder, City Hall and most City facilities will be closed November 25 and 26 for the Thanksgiving Holiday. This newsletter will be on hiatus for a week, returning on December 3. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!
