Crossword

Three Southern California agencies awarded SAVE grants The Division of Boating and Waterways Surrendered and Abandoned Vessel Exchange (SAVE) program provides grant funds for the removal, reduction and prevention of abandoned recreational vessels.

BY LINDSEY GLASGOW

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA—Public agencies in Ventura, Santa Barbara and Newport Beach recently accepted Surrendered and Abandoned Vessel Exchange (SAVE) grants from the California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways. The grant provides public agencies with funds to, under certain guidelines set by the state, accept and dispose of derelict or abandoned vessels, or vessels likely to become abandoned that are voluntarily surrendered to the city for disposal when the owner has no funds or means to remove their vessel. The grants are used to reimburse the awarded agency 90 percent of the cost of disposing vessels acquired under the program.

The SAVE grant program provides funds to remove, reduce and prevent abandoned recreational vessels and marine debris. Newport Beach has removed more than 50 vessels since 2014 using grant funds.

The goal is to prevent abandoned recreational vessels from sinking in the harbor, getting ditched in side alleys or washing up on local beaches. Abandoned and derelict vessels can also pose an environmental threat as they can be prone to discharges of oils, gas, sewage or other toxic fl uids or take on water and sink in the harbor. The Santa Barbara Waterfront Department, Ventura Port District and the city of Newport Beach accepted the grants in January. Santa Barbara and Ventura were each awarded $70,000 and Newport Beach was awarded $175,000. Santa Barbara Interim Harbor Operations Manager Lieutenant Erik Engebretson said the waterfront department has been plagued with derelict and abandoned watercrafts for years. Many of which are moored east of Stearns Wharf in an area commonly referred to as “Fools Anchorage.” He said many of these California state registered pleasure boats were once berthed in the harbor, but were given away or sold for next to nothing and now many of the outdated vessels are left unattended off East Beach.

“The bad news is that without stemming the tide of abandoned boats left to rot east of the Wharf, more will still sink or fi nd their way onto the beach,” Engebretson said in an email.

Engebretson said there are currently six vessels in Santa Barbara that qualify for the program at an average cost of $3,000 per vessel. Abandoned vessels are also a concern in neighboring, Ventura. Ventura Port District Harbormaster John Higgins said because Ventura had been denied SAVE grants the past couple of years, most of the grant money has already been dedicated.

“I have what I believe is a back up of vessels,” Higgins said.

Higgins said he surveyed the marinas to determine the harbor need and will now be meeting with marinas to prioritize projects. Higgins said the process of removing a vessel can be time consuming, arduous and often expensive. He said the program has been a huge help.

“It’s a great program,” Higgins said. In Newport Beach, over time, the city has accumulated a list of vessels that needs to be surrendered, according to a staff report. The staff report said due in large part to the creation of the harbor department, staff has been able to clean up the harbor these past couple of years and dispose of many abandoned and derelict vessels. With a revamped outreach program and more active code enforcement staff with a presence on the water, there are fewer abandoned eligible vessels, providing the city with an opportunity to accept more Vessel Turn-In Program boats, the staff report stated.

Newport Beach was also granted funds in 2014 and 2017, with which the city was able to remove and properly dispose of more than 55 vessels.

Crossword Puzzle

ACROSS 1 ___ & Span 5 “A likely story!” 8 Sorcerer 13 Big tippler 14 Aces, sometimes 16 Garlicky mayonnaise 17 Astringent 18 “Empedocles on ___” (Matthew Arnold poem) 19 Comb stoppers 20 Found by accident 23 Caste member 24 Charlotte-to-Raleigh dir. 25 Big bird 28 Concrete illustration of a principle (2 wds) 33 Amniotic ___ 36 Common deciduous tree 37 Portable computer 38 Dwell in 41 Nazareth native 42 40th U.S. president 43 “Flying Down to ___” 44 Calphalon product 45 Loose 49 “Harper Valley ___” 50 A™ ranchise 51 Snares 55 Ox-eye daisy 60 Grilled meat with sauce 62 Flight data, briefl y 63 Welfare, with “the” 64 Administer extreme unction to 65 Spanish appetizer 66 Deceive 67 Novices 68 Toni Morrison’s “___ Baby” 69 At one time, at one time

DOWN 1 Swagger 2 Mushroom caps 3 Bury 4 Blackhead 5 Worked the soil 6 Against 7 Bully 8 Ocean menace 9 Hokkaido native 10 Infantry marching style (2 wds) 11 Final: Abbr. 12 ___ boom bah! 15 Peter, Paul or Mary 21 Center 22 Tattles (2 wds) 26 Money, in slang 27 Unfasten 29 Together 30 “Dig in!” 31 Ring bearer, maybe 32 Marienbad, for one 33 Pancake topper 34 About 35 Trait 39 “Act your ___ !” 40 ___ -relief 41 “Rocky ___” 43 Knock 46 Change, as a clock 47 Addis Ababa’s land: Abbr. 48 Change channels? 52 French romance 53 Withdraws 54 Refi ne, as metal 56 Angel feature 57 Bakery selections 58 Auto parts giant 59 Boris Godunov, for one 60 Convened 61 “___ calls?”