Category Archives: Orange County

Good Cruise Ship, Bad Cruise Ship

Posted on by in Beach and Ocean Recreation, Boating, California Coastal Notes of Interest, Catalina / Channel Islands, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Misc., Orange County, San Diego  |  Comments are closed
Capt. John, Afishinados Charters - Afishinados.com AVALON, CATALINA ISLAND - Avalon is a port of call for more than a few cruise ships.  Every Tuesday the Carnival Cruise Lines pulls into port and off loads a whole town full of visitors.  This month has been an unusually busy one for such visitors.  We have had our regulars and we have had a number of 'repositionings' resulting in new boats.  This increase in activity has intensified the buzz around town, and I have heard on more than a few occasions, "that's a good cruise ship", and in some cases, "that’s a bad cruise ship".  They look the same to me, so I started asking around to find out more. The more I asked the more clear it became; whether there really are good and bad cruise is a matter of impact.  And believe me, these ships do have an impact on our little town, from the mayor on down.  I...
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Star of India sets sail for 150th anniversary fundraising gala

Posted on by in Boating, California Coastal Notes of Interest, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Misc., Orange County, San Diego  |  Comments are closed
ABC10 News SAN DIEGO - The oldest sailing ship in the world set sail on the San Diego harbor Saturday. They rolled out the red carpet, with the star attraction being the Star of India. "It's an icon of San Diego, it really is," said Ken Andersen, vice chair of the board of trustees for the San Diego Maritime Museum. Andersen gave 10News a tour of the historic ship. Continue Reading... ...
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Shipwrecked

Posted on by in California Coastal Notes of Interest, Catalina / Channel Islands, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Misc., Orange County, San Diego  |  Comments are closed
Written by Jack Humphreville - City Watch LA LA WATCHDOG-The Port of Los Angeles is in desperate need of new management, starting with the five Harbor Commissioners, the Executive Director, and other members of the politicized senior management team. For the first eight months of 2013, imports of fully loaded containers are off by 6% while exports are down 11%.  This downward trend will mostly likely continue as ports in Canada and Mexico expand and improve their operations and efficiency. This trend will only be exacerbated when Panama completes the widening of the Canal in 2014, allowing Asian manufacturers direct access to the large population centers serviced by ports on the Gulf Coast and Atlantic Ocean. Continue Reading... ...
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Trips Worth Taking: 50 million visitors later: She’s still the Queen of the Seas

Posted on by in All other recreation, Beach and Ocean Recreation, California Coastal Notes of Interest, Coastal Dweller Reference, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Misc., Orange County, Visitor Guide  |  Comments are closed
By WARREN RESEN – Member of NATJA - Tampabaycurrent.com Long Beach, CA — With much fanfare, the Queen Mary arrived in Long Beach Harbor in December 1967 to begin its well-deserved retirement after 30 years as the premiere luxury liner sailing the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. The conversion to change Queen Mary from an ocean-going luxury liner to a floating hotel, tourist attraction and venue for special events began almost immediately upon its arrival. The retired “Queen of the Seas” opened to the public at her now permanent home in 1971 and more than 50 million visitors have since walked its decks. Continue Reading... ...
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On the Waterfront: Riding San Pedro’s Port of Los Angeles Waterfront Red Car Line

Posted on by in California Coastal Notes of Interest, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Misc., Orange County, San Diego  |  Comments are closed
by Eric Brightwell - KCET.org Any decent map of rail lines in Los Angeles has to include the rails used by Amtrak, Metro, and Metrolink. Extra credit if they also include the tracks used by BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad. Including novelty rails like Angels Flight, Travel Town Railroad, or the trolley lines at The Americana at Brand and The Grove is probably going too far. Then there's the Waterfront Red Car Line in San Pedro, which in my mind, lies somewhere in between novelty rail and public transit. Though now in operation for more than a decade, I was only just made aware of it when I saw it included on a map alongside Metro and Metrolink and decided to check it out. Anyone who's at all interested in mass transit has probably heard of the Pacific Electric rail system -- popularly known as the Red Cars or Big Red Cars. Covering over 1,000 miles, it was once the...
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Legal action taken in pier dispute

Posted on by in California Coastal Notes of Interest, Coastal Dweller Reference, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Misc., Orange County  |  Comments are closed
By Emily Foxhall - Daily Pilot A Newport Beach resident has filed a civil action against the city over the alleged mishandling of the permit for the dock that stretches in front of his family's Balboa Island home. The petition, filed Monday on behalf of former professional basketball player John Vallely, came just one day ahead of the third time the dock issue went before the City Council. Council members voted Tuesday to dismiss proposed changes to the city's harbor code that would have affected the way permits are transferred for piers that encroach on another's dock area, as Vallely's does. Continue Reading... ...
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ON FILM: SURFRIDER FOUNDATION’S BATTLE OVER MARTIN’S BEACH

Posted on by in Beach and Ocean Recreation, California Coastal Notes of Interest, Catalina / Channel Islands, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Misc., Orange County, San Diego, Surfing  |  Comments are closed
By: MARY CATHERINE O'CONNOR - Outside Online On October 21, 2012, five surfers jumped a closed gate and walked to Martin's Beach, a storied stretch of Pacific in the Northern California's San Mateo County. Their aim was to perform an act of surfing disobedience that could get them arrested. It did. This week the surfer's website The Inertia and Surfrider Foundation released a short film, "Martin's 5: Battle for the Beach," that explains why these surfers – Jonathan Bremer, Kyle Foley, Tyler Schmidt, Austin Murison and David Pringle – risked misdemeanor convictions. They, along with surf access and ocean advocacy organization Surfrider Foundation, claim that access to Martin's Beach is granted to individuals through California's Coastal Commission, which formed 40 years ago and passed the California Coastal Act in 1976. The Act was designed both to conserve marine resources along the Pacific, from Oregon to Mexico, and to maximize opportunities for the public to access and recreate on California beaches. Continue Reading... ...
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Should Long Beach shell out $100K yearly to keep a one-room Catalina Island schoolhouse open?

Posted on by in California Coastal Notes of Interest, Catalina / Channel Islands, Coastal Dweller Reference, Los Angeles, Misc., Orange County  |  Comments are closed
By Nadra Nittle - Press-Telegram The little red schoolhouse in Catalina Island’s tiny village of Two Harbors has kept its doors open since 1987, despite fluctuating enrollment. At its busiest, two dozen students have attended Two Harbors Elementary School, which has just one room. At its slowest a mere three students have attended. Today Two Harbors serves six students, an enrollment number that is too low to justify keeping it open, argues Karen McKay, a retired schoolteacher who worked at the nearby Avalon K-12 School until 2002. Both schools fall under the jurisdiction of the Long Beach Unified School District, and McKay said that school officials have not taken her views seriously. “My concern is that the school district is spending $100,000 a year on six students,” said McKay. “Keeping this school open is almost like a pet project.” Continue Reading... ...
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