By Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager
I’m very pleased to note that Joe Cartwright, a 21-year veteran of the Newport Beach Police Department, has been appointed as the City’s next Chief of Police.
Cartwright has held a variety of field and command-level positions in just over two decades with the department, serving most recently as acting chief since late December, following the retirement of his predecessor, Jon Lewis.
Chief Cartwright brings a tremendous breadth and depth of public safety leadership experience to this position. He is a proven leader with a passion for providing the best possible police services to the Newport Beach community.
Cartwright will officially step into the new role next month when he will become the 11th Chief of Police in NBPD history. He leads a staff of 233 employees, who serve in five divisions and a variety of specialized units.
Cartwright began his law enforcement career with the Los Angeles Police Department in 1999 and joined the NBPD in 2002. He holds degrees in criminal justice and organizational management and is a graduate of several advanced law enforcement training courses.
A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, Cartwright serves as the chairman of the board of directors for the Newport Beach 1st Battalion, 1st Marines Foundation, which provides support and relief for service members and their families.
Please join me in welcoming Chief Cartwright to his new position!
Join Us April 1 for the Annual Mayor’s Egg Race
Please join us for the 8th Annual Mayor’s Egg Race from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 1 at the Newport Beach Civic Center, 100 Civic Center Dr. The free event will feature games, train rides, bubbles, pictures with bunnies, and egg roll races.
The Egg Race will be held on the Civic Center Lawn, rain or shine, with refreshments and crafts in the Community Room.
Learn more at www.newportbeachca.gov/recreation.
Marina Park Lighthouse Gets Fresh Paint
The City is repainting the lighthouse public restroom at the Marina Park playground, the first of several City facilities that will be refurbished this spring.
The lighthouse restroom repainting will be completed by mid-April. During construction the public restrooms and the slide on the lighthouse may be temporarily closed. Signs will be placed to direct the public to nearby restrooms.
Free Document Shredding, E-Waste Disposal and Compost Distribution April 22
Join us on April 22 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Newport Beach Corporation Yard, 592 Superior Ave., for an Earth Day event brought to you by the City of Newport Beach and CR&R.
The event will feature free document shredding, e-waste disposal, and a compost giveaway. Residents can bring up to 10 standard file boxes of documents for shredding and can receive up to five, 30-lb. bags of compost while supplies last. Please note that residency will be verified, so don’t forget to bring identification.
Our shredder can accommodate most materials including bank and financial statements, credit card statements or pre-approved credit card offers, old IRS tax forms, checks or bills, old credit cards and plastic/paper membership cards, junk mail, and documents bound with staples or paper clips. Please note that x-rays or larger plastic items such as binders cannot be accepted.
Acceptable items for e-waste disposal include computers, computer monitors, keyboards, televisions, flat panels, other monitors, printers, DVD players, cell phones, and other small electronic devices. Medical waste, batteries and other household hazardous waste will not be accepted.
For more information, please contact our Public Works Department at (949) -718-3055.
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 works closely with the City’s police and fire departments.
This week, the Be Well team:
- Transported two people to a crisis stabilization unit for treatment.
- Transported a person to the Be Well sobering station for treatment and enrollment into a residential detox program.
- Assisted a family with locating and coordinating an intake into a substance use disorder treatment facility for their loved one.
- Assisted a stranded couple with obtaining gas gift cards for their return trip home to Ohio.
- Provided mental health and wellness resources to several families.
- Transported seven people to services, shelter intakes, and appointments.
Homelessness Update
This week, the City’s homeless outreach and response teams:
- Housed an older adult in an assisted living facility. The person experienced homelessness for four years in Newport Beach.
- Assisted a family with minor children who moved into their new apartment in Newport Beach.
- Transported a client and her dogs to a veterinarian for vaccinations required by her housing opportunity.
- Transported a client to the Social Security office to order a replacement card. The client is matched to an Emergency Housing Voucher.
- Completed a paperwork packet with a client to secure an Emergency Housing Voucher.
- Provided an ID voucher to a client.
- Continued to shelter people. Twenty people who had been experiencing homelessness in Newport Beach are now sheltered in the Costa Mesa Bridge Shelter.
Click here to view the latest homeless dashboard, which includes key monthly and yearly data on the City’s homeless response: https://www.newportbeachca.gov/trending/community-issues/homelessness/monthly-homeless-count.
