Participants Wanted for Annual Balboa Island Parade
By Christopher Trela | NB Indy
The Balboa Island Parade wants you!
The 29th Annual Balboa Island Parade is Sunday, June 2, and event organizers are looking for locals who want to participate in the parade.
This year’s theme is “Balboa Island in Paradise – A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett,” with an after-party featuring Mark Wood and the Parrot Head Band.
As in past years, the parade will be filled with children on bikes, island dogs, decorated golf carts and floats, horses, decorated cars, Keystone Cops, drill teams,
the USC Marching Band and Cheer, school bands, local dignitaries and much more.
The parade begins on the Balboa Island Bridge and continues down Marine Avenue. The After-Party starts immediately following the parade in front of the Fire Station.
Come dressed in your favorite Jimmy Buffett attire, bring your beach chair and enjoy the parade Jimmy Buffett style.
If you would like to be a participant in the parade you may register online at https://www.balboaislandnb.org/parade.
You can also find registration forms at Irvine Ranch Market, Wilma’s Patio, and Island Market near the Balboa Ferry.
Parade entries will be accepted until May 19. Sponsors and volunteers are also needed; details on the website.
The bridge closes at 10:45 a.m.; parade starts at 11 a.m. Sponsored by the Balboa Island Improvement Association.
Awards for the Parade will be presented at the All-Island “Pancake Breakfast” at the Beek Center, on Saturday, June 22. Judges
Newport Beach City Manager Update
By Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager
The City works proactively to address homelessness through a comprehensive program designed to help unhoused members of the community find stable, permanent housing.
Our homeless response includes: a dedicated police officer and homeless services manager; temporary shelter beds; mental health care; benefits counseling;
new ordinances to reduce camping and other activities on public property; referrals to federal state, county and nonprofit programs; and more.
However, these efforts can be impeded by direct donations, such as food, cash or camping equipment. Although wellmeaning, these donations often have the unintended consequence of prolonging an PARADE Page 10
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Home Invasion Robbery in Newport Coast
By NB Indy Staff
The Newport Beach Police Department (NBPD) is investigating a home invasion robbery that occurred in the early morning of April 16 in the Newport Coast neighborhood. The incident is contained and there are currently no threats to the community.
The crime appears to be a targeted incident involving a prior connection between the suspects and victims.
Police received a 911 call at approximately 4:45 a.m. reporting a possible home invasion near Newport Coast Drive and Pelican Hill Road North. The caller reported that one of the residents shot a suspect while inside the home. The injured suspect and one other suspect then fled the house.
NBPD officers responded to the area and found a male armed with a handgun laying in the street with apparent gunshot wounds. That suspect was transported to a local hospital where he is currently being treated.
The second suspect was located in bushes near the victim’s home. He was found with what appeared to be a selfinflicted gunshot wound to his head. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.
All four people from inside the residence were safely evacuated and uninjured.
The incident is being actively investigated.
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Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager
Participants in the 2023 Balboa Island Parade. Photo by Lawrence Sherwin.
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STEPPING OUT Laguna Playhouse Production of ‘Tartuffe’ Keeps Comedy Rolling
By Eric Marchese | Special
to the NB Indy
Great comedy is immortal, like “Tartuffe,” Molière’s masterpiece. Even more than 350 years since it was first staged, it still tickles the funny bone. It makes us laugh, but also provokes thought about issues like religious faith, materialism, and the many guises of hypocrisy.
We relate to “Tartuffe.” It’s accessible – maybe because Molière understood human nature. So we’re laughing at human folly, at the kinds of peccadilloes and failings as commonplace in the 17th century as they are today.
Laguna Playhouse’s production, directed by Richard Baird, taps Richard Wilbur’s 1963 English verse translation, a stellar version which preserves the original’s use of Alexandrine verse in rhyming couplets. Wilbur translated 10 Molière plays in all, and his facility with the playwright’s style and language is evident in the fluidity of Laguna’s staging.
Career con artist Tartuffe (Bruce Turk) has hoodwinked wealthy yet gullible Orgon (Bo Foxworth) into believing he’s a humble, virtuous servant of the church.
With the backing of his mother, Madame Pernelle (the magnificently imperious Rosina Reynolds), Orgon takes Tartuffe in as a permanent houseguest. Not only that: He has promised that daughter Mariane (Shanté DeLoach) will break off her engagement and instead marry Tartuffe.
Worse still, Orgon deeds all his wealth and possessions, including the family home, to Tartuffe – a move that will later come back to bite him.
Orgon’s hotheaded son Damis (Rogelio Douglas III) wants nothing better than to run Tartuffe through
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with his sword. For all his concerns for the family and alarm over the villain’s disruption of the family, he’s taken to task by Orgon, then disinherited.
Baird’s cast captures the outward decorum of Molieré’s characters. What’s more, they master and expertly deliver their dialogue, a tricky proposition at best.
Turk is slyly, hilariously overthe-top, and in delivering this brazen, unctuous rogue’s lofty pronouncements, the actor’s ringing oratorical style might remind you of Victor Buono in some of his hammier roles, with touches of the bombast and hypocrisy of many a W.C. Fields screen persona.
Thanks to Foxworth’s portrayal, it isn’t hard for us to see Orgon is more than naïvely trusting – he’s outright gullible, his Orgon a cheerfully petulant oaf who has gone overboard in his ferocious devotion to Tartuffe.
Foxworth adds yet another layer, his Orgon so strong-willed and determined to have his way as to be an unyielding martinet – and once he sees the light, Orgon roils with volcanic anger, his stubborn pride preventing him from admitting to having been duped.
Melanie Lora is absolutely delightful, her Elmire a winning combination of elegance and intelligence, projecting femininity while her sharp mind devises ways to manipulate the sticky scenario facing the family. She aims to expose Tartuffe’s true colors to husband Orgon with a minimum of embarrassment to him.
Orgon, as we see, is merely the nominal head of the family. It’s actually a matriarchy under the
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Rogelio Douglas III, Christopher M. Williams, Bo Foxworth, Bruce Turk and Kate Rose Reynolds star in “TARTUFFE,” directed by Richard Baird and now playing at the Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach.
LOCAL FOCUS
Atria Resident Marilyn Knowlden Shares Memories and Films Made as a Child Actress
By Richard Simon | NB Indy
Some of the residents at Atria Senior Living in Newport Beach remember having stood in long theater lines to buy tickets to such 1930’s A-list films as “Little Women,” “David Copperfield,” “Les Miserable,” “Show Boat,” and “Marie Antoinette,” starring such Tinseltown legends as Norma Schear, Betty Davis, Claudette Colbert, Charlie Chaplain, June Haver, James Cagney, and Frederick March.
As one of the more senior of the senior citizens at Atria, 97-year-old Marilyn Knowlden recalls that — unlike most movie fans — she never had to brave the weather to stand in line with the throngs to catch these celluloid classics, for she either starred or appeared in these movies, plus nearly 45 other films during a 10-year career as one of Hollywood’s more soughtafter child actresses.
Knowlden doesn’t live in the past, her past still lives with her — evident by the many photos and other memorabilia of her once autograph-sought life that festoon her living room walls alongside family photos that also reveal other happy chapters of life after show biz.
Although her Hollywood era remains eight decades behind, some fans obviously have either grown to seniority with her, or film aficionados have discovered this one-time prodigy in film libraries. On one recent afternoon, Knowlden read and reread seven fan letters that just arrived from as far away as Austria, Germany, Italy and France.
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Born in Oakland in 1926, Knowlden was blessed with inordinate gifts: a photographic memory, a poet’s sense of creativity, and a dancer’s natural movements. She could read by age three.
Recognizing her potential, her attorney father (later in Hollywood, her theatrical agent), Robert E. Knowlden, enrolled her in dancing lessons when she turned three. Amazed at how quickly the child mastered chore-
ography, her teacher then challenged her to memorize scripts. It wasn’t long before the little dancer also became the little actress. By age seven, the musically gifted Knowlden could also tickle the ivories competently enough that she regularly played piano recitals on local radio shows, while her singing earned her musical spots in several movies, including a full solo in the 1936 comedy film, “Easy to Take,” starring John Howard and Marsha
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Hunt — and, of course, Knowlden. Knowlden broke into movies as a four-year-old, when she accompanied father to Hollywood on a business trip.
While there, recalled Knowlden, “Dad called Paramount to see if the casting director would meet me, but he said they wanted a mature eightyear-old for a part. Dad emphasized that I could memorize anything.”
On her “agent’s” third day of persistence, the director finally said to bring her in for a screen test.
If the third time’s a charm, charm was smiling that morning, for fouryear-old Knowlden not only got the part, it was a leading role in “Women Love Once,” starring Paul Lucas. Four movie parts later, and confident that his daughter would have a “career,” the family moved to Hollywood for a few years, where she attended the Hollywood Professional School. From there, they segued to Beverly Hills High School, where she and her drama classmates produced two 15-minute scripts each semester for presentation on radio station KMPC. She graduated with honors, earning a full scholarship to Mills College in Oakland.
At age 14, Knowlden retired from her successful movie career to focus on her education, although she never abandoned her entertainment focus, having composed 70 songs, and musicals, along with countless poems, all of which will be published soon under the titles “Holiday Songs through the KNOWLDEN Page 6
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Marilyn Knowlden with a photo from one of the movies she made as a child actress.
Dory Deli Serves Up the Official Cocktail of Newport Beach
By Christopher Trela | NB Indy
Did you know Newport Bech now has an official cocktail?
Dory Deli and Visit Newport Beach have announced that a creative concoction called “Dawn Patrol” is now the Official Cocktail of Newport Beach.
The cocktail puts a twist on the classic espresso martini with the addition of ingredients inspired by the salt and sand of the coastline.
The recipe features Flecha Azul Reposado Tequila, a fresh-pulled shot of MoonGoat espresso, house made brown sugar and sea salt syrup, and coffee and vanilla liqueurs. The finishing touch is a creamy chocolate and crunchy biscuit Pocky stick garnish.
According to information from Visit Newport Beach, each ingredient was carefully thought out from the locally roasted MoonGoat espresso and beach-inspired brown sugar and sea salt syrup to the Flecha Azul Reposado Tequila.
Dawn Patrol was one of four candidates for the city’s official cocktail, which was tasted and voted on by a panel of four judges including Visit Newport Beach’s President & CEO, Gary Sherwin, and Senior Vice President & CMO, Ashley Johnson.
The other two judges were Mario
Marovic and Andrew Gabriel, co-owners of Lounge Group and Dory Deli. Marovic was honored last December by incoming Mayor Will O’Neill as “someone who has invested in businesses, who lives in Newport Beach, someone who had been threatened by the restaurant closures in March 2020 yet still found a way to help his employees and low-income seniors.”
O’Neill then presented Marovic with
keys to the city, noting that Marovic had also been named Newport Beach Businessman of the Year in 2022.
“The espresso martini is experiencing a huge resurgence in popularity worldwide, especially in markets like Orange County where quality coffee and coffeehouses are favored,” explains Ashleigh Wiehl, Dory Deli Marketing Director. “For a busy town with a work hard, play hard mentality,
we knew it was the perfect template to use for the signature cocktail of Newport Beach.”
“Visit Newport Beach is absolutely thrilled to be bringing the official cocktail of Newport Beach to locals and visitors alike to enjoy beachside at Dory Deli,” said Ashley Johnson. “Crafted with locally sourced ingredients and a touch of coastal inspiration, Dawn Patrol seamlessly embodies the energy of our bustling community with the laid-back essence of our destination.”
Dawn Patrol is launched with the help of Mark Wahlberg, principal investor of Flecha Azul Tequila, who will be introducing it in a special Instagram and Facebook video.
“So, you know what happens when an iconic espresso martini meets iconic tequila? Magic,” says Wahlberg. “The next time I’m in Newport Beach, you better come down and meet me at Dory Deli and order one of these Dawn Patrols. Trust me.”
In case you have not been to Dori Deli, the seaside cafe & eatery just steps from the Newport Pier serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as coffee drinks and craft cocktails.
To learn more, visit www.dorydeli. com.
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Andrew Gabriel, co-owner of Lounge Group and Dory Deli; Visit Newport Beach Senior Vice President & CMO Ashley Johnson; Visit Newport Beach President & CEO Gary Sherwin; Mario Marovic, co-owner of Lounge Group and Dory Deli.
LOCAL FOCUS
Newport Coast Teens Named to Dragon Kim Foundation’s 2024 Fellowship Class
By NB Indy Staff
The Dragon Kim Foundation selected Newport Beach students Preston Kousoulas, 17, and Evan Razmjoo,16, both attending Corona del Mar High School, as members of the Foundation’s 2024 Fellowship Class. They will receive three weekends
of leadership training and hands-on guidance from mentors in the community, plus a single grant of up to $5,000 from the Foundation to implement their social service project in their local community this summer.
“CodeQuest Kids” is a project driven by the duo’s passion for coding,
and aims to equip underserved children with an essential introduction to coding skills. By conducting engaging coding bootcamps they will introduce students in grades six through eight to the world of programming and teach them to craft their very own 2D video games. During the bootcamp, kids will receive their own personalized copy of the popular CodeQuest Kids Coding Workbook, written and published by Preston Kousoulas (available at amazon.com), which is a modern take on the ABC’s of coding a video game.
CodeQuest Kids intends to help bridge the socio-economic opportunity gap by making an expensive coding education free and accessible to youth, helping them forge a valuable skillset that can lead to financially rewarding career opportunities.
Knowlden
PAGE 4
Years,” and “Holiday Poems Through the Years.”
Additionally, over the years, she has appeared in more than 20 plays.
Two years after attending Mills College in 1944, with a major in music and drama, she met her husband, Army Captain Richard Goates. A new adventure script had been “written,” when she accompanied him postWWII to his assignments in Japan and China.
Due to her background, and needing something to do, she became a radio announcer on the military radio station, XMAG, in Nanking, China. She returned to the U.S. several years later, with their first child. They went on to have two more children, plus a foster child.
She divorced Goates after 32 years of marriage, then married Eliseo Bernardo; that marriage also lasted 32 years.
Amazingly spry both physically and mentally, Knowlden today leads an active life. She plays bridge twice a week and socializes daily with her good friends; she speaks with her children every day. And once a month, Knowlden selects one of her films from her 50-DVD library to share with interested Atria residents, each performance enhanced by a memoryrich prologue.
It has been an entertaining life.
“I am so excited to be selected as a member of the 2024 Dragon Kim Fellowship class and am really looking forward to us igniting a passion for computer science by teaching kids to code their own video game, and leaving them with valuable coding skills. We are taking a small step toward ending generational poverty through the power of coding,” said Preston Kousoulas.
“It is an honor to be chosen as a member of the 2024 Dragon Kim Fellowship class. We are eager and excited to provide an engaging educational experience through CodeQuest Kids for young students who otherwise would not have had an opportunity to explore the future that coding can provide,” said Evan Razmjoo
NB Fire Department Crews Rescue Driver After Car Plunges Down Embankment
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The leadership training, which elsewhere can cost several thousand dollars, is provided for free to each Dragon Fellow. Cumulatively, the projects will benefit thousands of people, including many from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities.
“We congratulate Preston Kousoulas and Evan Razmjoo and sincerely thank all of the students who took their time to submit their wonderfully creative entries to the 2024 Dragon Kim Fellowship Program,” said Dragon Kim Foundation Board Chairman
Daniel Kim. “We thank our sponsors, mentors and other supporters for their belief in our program.”
Newport Beach Fire Department personnel rescue a driver whose car plunged down an embankment off of San Juaquin Hills Road
By NB Indy Staff
The Newport Beach Fire Department (NBFD), with assistance from the Orange County Fire Authority, successfully rescued a driver whose vehicle ran off the road and down an embankment on San Joaquin Hills Road near Spyglass Avenue on Tuesday, April 16.
NBPD received a dispatch call at 9:17 a.m. reporting that a vehicle had run off the side of the road. Fire crews arrived shortly after and found a vehicle resting 150-175 down the embankment adjacent to the street.
The Fellowship was founded in 2015 in honor of the late Dragon Kim, a talented young musician, athlete, and scholar who wanted to help others. It has become a seedbed for the next generation of creative thinkers and entrepreneurs who want to create positive change.
For more information, visit http:// dragonkimfoundation.org.
NBFD crews were assisted by Orange County Fire Authority personnel. An OCFA helicopter was used to extract the single occupant of the vehicle. The driver was airlifted out of the ravine and transported to a local trauma center.
The cause of the incident is under investigation.
(L-R) Corona Del Mar High School’s Evan Razmjoo, 16, and Preston Kousoulas, 17, created CodeQuest Kids which introduces coding skills to underserved children in grades six through eight.
3
commanding, outspoken Madame Pernelle. Reynolds wonderfully delivers the self-righteous piety of this grand dame, who’s even less inclined than Orgon to believe the depths of Tartuffe’s skullduggery.
The role of the sarcastic family servant is a grand tradition, and Katie Karel’s sharp-tongued Dorine is unafraid to mix it up with her rich employers, seeing right through Tartuffe, yet unable to open anyone’s eyes. What’s more, Karel dexterously uses her inflections to wring laughs from her cutting lines.
Christopher M. Williams has the rather thankless role of Elmire’s brother Cleante. Williams deftly portrays the sensible moderate who offers wise, if unheeded, counsel –one of the few to identify the family’s situation and dispense sound advice accordingly.
Jared Van Heel imbues Valere, Mariane’s betrothed, with a comically foppish, mannered demeanor that’s at first surprising but quickly proves an inspired choice. (Van Heel also arrives late in the play in the secondary role of Tartuffe’s loyal stooge, aptly named Loyal.)
In Mariane’s fervently earnest entreaties to Orgon to allow her to marry true love Valere, and not force marriage to Tartuffe, DeLoach tugs at our heartstrings in perhaps the story’s
STEPPING OUT
most thankless, pro forma role.
Baird’s direction and cast’s acting style are all of a piece. Here’s a “Tartuffe” that’s comically melodramatic, a purposeful choice that drives home the script and story’s humor. The use of couplets creates a singsong rhythm to Molieré’s dialogue, and his skillful writing can be justly compared with poetry.
We’re given the pleasure of Tartuffe’s (finally) getting his comeuppance in the eleventh-hour arrival of one of King Louis XIV’s officers (Kate Rose Reynolds) in a brilliantly comedic version of that ever-reliable theatrical trope, the deus ex machina.
Marty Burnett’s period set, Elisa Benzoni’s costumes and Peter Herman’s hair and wig designs, all fixed firmly in Molieré’s time, and Matt Novotny’s lighting, make this a gorgeous-looking, brightly lit confection. Ian Scott’s sound work, which includes original music, adds the finishing touches.
Laguna’s production is rife with many delicious moments, and while the script contains a handful of lengthy speeches, Baird and company keep things moving, holding our interest for the duration.
This isn’t a knee-slapping, laugha-minute comedy – more like a light drama punctuated with comical dialogue and populated by characters
whose personalities prompt us to laugh.
Your laughter arises from the developments of each scene and the interactions of the characters. You’ll laugh because you recognize the foibles of those characters – attired in such finery, polished and wellspoken, and given to the most blatant examples of human folly.
Moulton Theatre, Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Drive, Laguna Beach. Through May 5. Running time (including intermission): Two hours, 25 minutes. Tickets: $45 to $84. Ticket purchase/information: 949-497-2787, lagunaplayhouse.org
World Premiere of the Musical Version of ‘Prelude to a Kiss’
By Eric Marchese | Special to the NB Indy
In “Prelude to a Kiss, The Musical,” a random meeting that leads to romance is just the beginning of what evolves into a storyline right out of “The Twilight Zone.”
The all-new play is based squarely in the same romance-with-fantasy genre as the original “Prelude to a Kiss.” Both were written by Craig Lucas, and both were commissioned by South Coast Repertory.
The first time around was 1988 in a production that made its way to New York, with Alec Baldwin starring in the Broadway staging and the 1992 film version.
This time, the play’s creation, evolution and development have been more of a winding, circuitous road. That road has finally yielded the new musical version that’s now having its world premiere, directed by SCR artistic director David Ivers, as part of the company’s milestone 60th season.
As before, the focus of the story are Peter and Rita, young adults who appear in each other’s lives at just the right time. Peter (Chris McCarrell) works a non-descript office job, and
Rita (Hannah Corneau), an artist working as a bartender.
The most striking aspect of the musical’s earliest scenes is the subtly low-key aura surrounding each of these twenty-somethings, neither of whom is especially jazzed about life.
A day after they first meet, Peter drops by the bar where Rita works. He quickly realizes she has been checking into his life and background, and his almost casual “let’s get married” is met with an equally nonchalant “OK.”
A focal point of both “Preludes” is the wedding. What should be a joyous occasion for all takes an unlikely turn when an elderly stranger named Julius (Jonathan Gillard Daly) approaches the couple at the altar and asks “May I kiss the bride?”
Everyone is too startled to react –but Rita says “yes,” and her lips lightly touch those of the old man. From that point on, the story takes a metaphysical turn that veers toward supernatural fantasy.
Anyone familiar with the non-musical “Prelude” (or the movie version of it) knows that the mysterious kiss somehow causes the old man’s spirit to take over Rita’s body while transfer-
ring her spirit into his creaky, aging frame.
What’s behind this isn’t explained until late in the play. However tenuous that revelation might be, it carries just enough plausibility to hold up. During the honeymoon, Peter begins to see alarming red flags signaling that Rita’s personality has
undergone a radical shift: She’s in tune with the music and card games of an older generation. More bizarre is that though a bartender, she can’t identify even basic cocktail ingredients. As in the non-musical version, playwright Lucas skillfully documents
During their honeymoon, Peter (Chris McCarrell) realizes Rita (Hannah Corneau) has become someone he doesn’t recognize. “Prelude to a Kiss, The Musical” photo by Matt Gush, courtesy South Coast Repertory.
Shanté Deloach, Katie Karel and Jared Van Heel star in “TARTUFFE,” directed by Richard Baird and now playing at the Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach.
City Manager
PAGE 1
individual’s period of homelessness, as they may be less inclined to accept offers of shelter and other assistance.
The City’s Good Giving campaign provides an alternative way to help reduce homelessness. Donations to Good Giving go toward providing resources and support to help individuals as they work to gain employment, obtain shelter, or make other strides toward exiting the streets.
You can learn more by visiting www.newportbeachca/give.
Analog Water Meters Replaced
I am pleased to report that after a multi-year effort, the City’s Utilities Department has converted or replaced all of Newport Beach’s older, analog residential and commercial water meters – about 27,000 – with new digital water meters. The digital meters provide near real-time information to help reduce water waste, prevent property damage and cut extra charges to homes and businesses.
The new digital meters are known as Advanced Metering Infrastructure, or AMI. The AMI system uses a low-powered communication device to transmit water usage information once a day over a secure network. Where analog meters provided customers with water use information only for the prior billing cycle, the new digital system measures water use by the hour. It can detect both large leaks and small, pinhole-sized leaks.
City staff monitors the water use data for evidence of leaks. If a leak is detected, the City will alert the home or business owner who can then address the leak, avoiding additional
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water costs, water waste and potential property damage. Water customers can sign up to receive leak alerts for the quickest response.
The system is already working effectively. In the past year, since April 2023, City staff has notified about 480 water customers to major and minor leaks, most of which have been repaired within four days of notification.
Customers can view water use information on a desktop computer or smartphone application at www. nbca.gov/wateruse. Through the portal, customers can track water use, view bills, receive notifications, go paperless, make payments, schedule autopay, and more.
I encourage all Newport Beach water customers to sign up if you haven’t done so already!
Join us May 4 for Free Paper Shredding, E-Waste Disposal, Compost Giveaway Event
The City and CR&R will host a free paper shredding, e-waste disposal and compost giveaway event on Saturday, May 4 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Corporation Yard, 592 Superior Ave. The entrance will be from Superior Avenue via right turn.
The event is for Newport Beach residents. Please bring ID as residency will be verified.
The event includes free on-site paper shredding, electronic waste disposal and four free 30-pound bags of compost (while supplies last).
Please note that the following will NOT be accepted: household hazardous waste such as paint and cleaning products; universal waste including batteries, light bulbs, and thermostats, sharps, marine flares and microwaves.
For additional information please contact CR&R’s Sustainability Team at (949) 667-4158 or by email.
Mayor’s Youth Council Graduates Recognized
The 2023-24 Mayor’s Youth Council concluded this week with a mock city council meeting and recognition for students who completed the program.
The mock council meeting was hosted by Newport Beach Mayor Will O’Neill in the Council Chambers. Students assumed the roles of council or staff members and discussed several issues, including a new aquatics facility and items related to homelessness.
Eighteen participants received special recognition for completing the program, and four graduating seniors were honored with Mayor’s Youth Council cords to wear at their upcoming graduations.
The Mayor’s Youth Council will return in the Fall with another opportunity for high school students to get involved during the 2024-25 school year.
The Youth Council is an unpaid internship program for local high school students that includes education, service and outreach components. Participants are paired with City staff mentors to learn more about local government operations.
For more information or to apply, visit: newportbeachca.gov/ government/departments/recreationsenior-services.
Tips for Visiting Little Corona Tidepools
Little Corona del Mar is the best site in Newport Beach for tide pooling and is best accessed at the end of Ocean Boulevard and Poppy Avenue. Little Corona is part of the Crystal Cove State Marine Conservation Area, a protected habitat.
The best time to visit is about an hour before the lowest tide mark, to assure that you have plenty of time to see the lowest points and return
before the tide starts to rise. When visitors are still and quiet, it is more likely that animals like octopus, fish and lobsters will reveal themselves. You can gently touch -- but never pull on any animal stuck to the rocks, feed animals, or collect animals in tanks or buckets. It is illegal for anyone to collect or remove anything from the tidepools. Any fishing in the surrounding area requires a valid state fishing license and adherence to all licensing regulations.
Registration Now Open for New City Pickleball League
The City’s Recreation and Senior Services Department is excited to introduce a pickleball league, which will be held at the new public courts opening soon in Newport Coast. Teams may register in the women’s, men’s or mixed divisions, organized according to skill level (beginner, intermediate or advanced). Registration for league will be taken as a team (up to 4 players) on a firstcome, first-served basis.
Registration opened Monday, April 15. For questions or more information: Email pickleball@ newportbeachca.gov or call (949) 644-3151.
Slurry Seal Maintenance Now Underway in Several Neighborhoods Slurry sealing of public roads and parking lots is now underway in several neighborhoods.
Newport Beach’s slurry sealing runs on a seven-year cycle and is critical for maintaining the high quality of city streets and parking lots.
Slurry seal work is in progress in the Beacon Bay, Irvine Terrace, Corona del Mar, Mariners, Dover Shores, Bay Knolls communities, and
CITY MANAGER Page 10
Astral Tequila’s MargaritaCon Comes to Newport Beach to Support Habitat for Humanity
By Christopher Trela | NB Indy
Ask any bartender in America to make the most popular cocktail in the U.S. and he’ll hand you a margarita. Old fashioneds and martinis still rank high on the popularity list, but it’s the simple concoction of tequila, lime juice and triple sec that’s been number one on the list for many years.
Of course, many bartenders offer their own twist on a margarita, which makes ordering a margarita even more fun.
In honor of Earth Day on April 22, Astral Tequila has created something called MargaritaCon, a month-long celebration of the margarita, but for
a good cause. Now through May 5, bars nationwide will feature a special Astral margarita on their menus, with each cocktail contributing towards building homes for those in need.
Astral Tequila upcycles spent agave from tequila distillation into bricks to build homes, so every Astral margarita made goes towards a good cause.
The brand has partnered with Hábitat para la Humanidad México to build homes through their ongoing sustainability program, the Adobe Brick Project in Jalisco, Mexico. And for the first time this year, Astral Tequila is extending its support to
Astral Margarita
Annual Wild & Crazy Taco Night on May 16 Benefits Share Ourselves
By Christopher Trela | NB Indy
Are you ready for Taco Thursday?
Taco Tuesday may be a popular night for devouring tacos, but on Thursday, May 16, Share Ourselves is hosting its 31st annual Wild & Crazy Taco Night at the OC Fair and Event Center featuring noted Orange County chefs, including several from Newport Beach and Laguna Beach.
This vibrant celebration of flavor, community, and philanthropy supports the Share Ourselves mission of serving others in need, and what better way to do that than with an evening filled with extraordinary tacos crafted by some of Orange County’s finest chefs.
The chefs will be competing for the title of the most coveted taco as voted by event attendees, so you know you’ll be tasting some creative concoctions stuffed inside soft tortillas. Each chef donates their time, talent, and food to make the event a success.
This year, the chefs and restaurants participating in Wild & Crazy Taco Night include:
Chef Richard Mead from Farmhouse Restaurant in Corona del Mar,
Chef Matt Luna from Five Crowns and Side Door in Corona del Mar, Chef Scott Brandon and Chef Rainer Schwarz from Driftwood Kitchen and The Deck in Laguna Beach, Chef Hector Munoz from Rasta Taco in Laguna Beach, Chef Jose Angulo from Descanso Restaurant in Costa Mesa, Chef Marco Zapien from Melissa’s Produce, and Chef Efren Casillas from Newport Rib Company.
Other chefs participating include Chef Greg Byma from Orange Hill Restaurant, Chef Paul Buchanan from Primal Alchemy, Chef Ivan Lizaola from Puesto, Chef Oscar Pecina from SOHO Taco, Chef Lauren Arambulo from Verdant, Chef AC & Chef Chris Binotto from Yo Mama BBQ, plus 24 Carrots Catering, Dessert Box, Northgate Gonzalez Markets and Yogurtland (no, they’re not serving
yogurt tacos).
Early bird pricing is $85 per person, and $95 after May 1. VIP pricing is $160 per person and $180 per person after May 1. VIP tickets offer early admission at 4:30 p.m. General admission tickets are 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The pre-event VIP Party experience includes an opportunity to meet the chefs, and an exclusive preview of their mouthwatering tacos before the main event commences. With event tickets providing all-you-can-eat access to an amazing array of tacos and beverages, this night will certainly be something to taco-bout.
All proceeds contribute to Share Ourselves’ essential services, addressing medical and dental issues as well as food and housing insecurity, and promoting overall wellness for lowincome and homeless neighbors.
This is an ideal opportunity to enjoy a culinary feast while raising funds for an important cause.
Single tickets and sponsorships are available on the website at https:// shareourselves.org/event/31st-annualwild-crazy-taco-night-2024.
• ROOFING REPLACEMENTS/REPAIRS
• BALCONY DECK STRUCTURAL RECONSTRUCTION
• ROOFING WATERPROOFING
• EXTENSIVE DRY ROT/TERMITE REPAIRS
• SHEET METAL FOR HARSH COASTAL ENVIRONMENTS
• IN DEPTH SPECIFICATION/STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
• INTERIOR DAMAGE REPAIRS
• BALCONY RAIL SYSTEM DESIGNS/GLASS/CABLE
• PROFESSIONAL PAINTING SERVICES
• DOOR & WINDOW REPLACEMENT
• STUCCO/PLASTER RECONSTRUCTION
• RAIN GUTTERS/CHIMNEY CAPS
• SKYLIGHTS/ATTIC VENTING SYSTEMS
Chef Paul Buchanan from Primal Alchemy
City Manager
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parts of Cameo Shores communities. The work in those areas will be finished by early June.
The remainder of Cameo Shores and the Shorecliffs neighborhoods are expected to be completed in October after other projects are finished in those areas. All work near the beaches is scheduled to be completed before Memorial Day weekend, the start of the summer season.
Slurry seal is created by mixing water, asphalt emulsion, aggregate (very small crushed rock), and applying it to an existing asphalt pavement surface. Regular slurry sealing protects and prolongs the life of residential streets and parking lots, ensuring they remain in good condition.
The City asks that residents avoid turning their car tires while idling on freshly sealed streets to prevent damage and ensure durability as the sealant cures.
NBPD Investigating April 16 Home Invasion
The Newport Beach Police Department (NBPD) is investigating a home invasion robbery that occurred in the early morning of April 16 in the Newport Coast neighborhood.
The incident was quickly contained and presented no ongoing threats to
the community. The crime appears to be a targeted incident involving a prior connection between the suspects and victims.
Police received a 911 call at approximately 4:45 a.m. about a possible home invasion near Newport Coast Drive and Pelican Hill Road North. The caller reported that one of the residents shot a suspect while inside the home. The injured suspect and one other suspect then fled the house.
NBPD officers responded to the area and found a male armed with a handgun laying in the street with apparent gunshot wounds. That suspect was transported to a local hospital.
The second suspect was located in bushes near the victim’s home. He was found with what appeared to be a selfinflicted gunshot wound to his head, and was pronounced deceased at the scene.
All four people inside the residence were safely evacuated and uninjured. The crime is being actively investigated.
Fire Crews Rescue Driver After Car Plunges Down Embankment
The Newport Beach Fire Department (NBFD), with assistance from the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA), successfully
rescued a driver whose vehicle ran off the road and down an embankment on San Joaquin Hills Road near Spy Glass Hill Road on Tuesday, April 16.
The City received a dispatch call at 9:17 a.m. reporting that a vehicle had run off the side of the road. NBFD crews arrived shortly after and found a vehicle resting 150-175 feet down the embankment adjacent to the street.
An OCFA helicopter was used to extract the single occupant of the vehicle. The driver was airlifted out of the ravine and transported to a local trauma center. The cause of the incident is under investigation.
Library Launches New, Improved Smartphone App
Tap into the full spectrum of Newport Beach Public Library (NBPL) resources from anywhere with our new smartphone app.
The app lets library patrons manage their accounts, search the NBPL catalog, place holds, and renew materials quickly and easily.
You can find books, movies, music, video games, browse the eBook and eAudio collections, explore the library’s vast digital resources, and view upcoming events. The app is available on the Apple Store and Google Play.
substance use disorder facility.
• Transported a person to a psychiatric facility.
• Transported three people to the Be Well sobering station.
• Transported five people to homeless services providers.
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:
• Transported two people to the Costa Mesa Bridge Shelter.
• Enrolled seven people into services.
• Continued to shelter people: 23 people who had been experiencing homelessness in Newport Beach are sheltered in the Costa Mesa Bridge Shelter.
City Seeks Resident Input on General Plan Update
The City’s General Plan is being updated to reflect the community’s current needs and future aspirations. The General Plan contains goals that establish values and direction, policies that guide decision making, and programs that carry out the actions needed to achieve these goals. The last comprehensive update of Newport Beach’s General Plan was in 2006.
Alley Reconstruction Gets Underway in West Newport to Complete Utility Undergrounding Alley reconstruction, the last major phase in the underground relocation of utility lines, recently began in an area of West Newport generally bounded by Newport Boulevard, 22nd Street, Ocean Front Way and 31st Street.
A core part of updating the General Plan is engaging with residents and other stakeholders to capture and articulate a shared vision for the city for the next 20 years.
You are encouraged to visit the project’s website at www. newportbeachca.gov/gpupdate to learn more.
Utility lines in this area were placed underground in 2021, followed by residential conversion (converting from overhead to underground electrical and communication lines). This month, the last remaining power poles were removed, and alley reconstruction began.
A City contractor, Grigolla & Sons Construction Co., Inc., expects to complete the alley reconstruction before the busy summer season begins on the Balboa Peninsula.
The City requests that residents observe the “no parking” signs and any other traffic controls in the alley reconstruction areas, and exercise caution when driving or walking through the construction zones.
Parade
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are looking for enthusiasm, theme related and creativity.
Parade entries will be judged in the following categories:
• Best Kids Group
• Kid w/ Best Theme
• Best Youth Group
• Best Music Group
• Best Elementary School Band
• Best Middle School Band
• Best High School Band
• Best Float
Be Well Mobile Crisis Response Update
The Be Well mobile crisis response team operates in Newport Beach 12 hours a day, seven 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 a person to a
• Best Golf Cart
• Best Dog Group
• Judges Award
• Spirit Award
• Theme Award
• People’s Choice Award
• Grand Marshall’s Award
• Parade Chairman’s Award
• Merchant Award
• Perpetual Award
unforgettably haunting singing style and affecting acting that make her the production’s star.
“Prelude the Musical” also benefits from the characterizations of Julius Becker and his daughter Leah and the striking work of Daly and Julie Garnyé in those roles.
In the show’s closing minutes, Julius has two key songs. Singing with McCarrell, Daly gives us Rita’s persona as expressed through her uncomfortably “new” old-man body, then faces Corneau in her “Julius” persona as Rita and Peter try to duplicate the first kiss in hopes it will cause spirits to revert to their correct bodies.
5/15 MR BIG - The Big Finish Tour
5/18 VENICE
5/19 THE LETTERMEN 5/22 THE WAILERS 5/23 LISSIE
5/24 DSB (J ourney t ribute )
Peter’s growing realization that Rita is no longer the girl he fell in love with and married, and his attempts to understand and solve the mystery.
That, by the way, involves learning the identity of Julius and tracking him down – no easy feat, but one Peter is convinced is the key to getting the “real” Rita back.
If there’s a hitch to this retelling of the ’80s tale, it’s that, much to the show’s detriment, the Rita we first get to know isn’t palpably fearful of life. The audience needs more trepidation from Rita to contrast more with the “new” Rita who now fearlessly seizes the day.
By the same token, we need dashes of bravado in Peter to give us more of an opposites-attract dynamic. For now, this Peter and Rita are just too simpatico – and too similar.
Sean Hartley (lyrics) and Daniel Messé (music and lyrics) have created an essentially standard-issue score of 18 songs for what is more of a chamber musical as opposed to a fullblown, Broadway-style extravaganza. Unfortunately, not all the musical numbers are as compelling as we might have liked.
Rita’s parents (James Moye and Karen Ziemba) have two lightly enjoyable tunes clearly meant to provide comic relief to what is a fairly dark story.
Taylor (Jimmie “J.J.” Jeter) and Angie (DeAnne Stewart), the protagonists’ best friends, are extraneous characters, which makes dispensable the musical numbers showcasing each.
On the plus side, Corneau and McCarrell are rightfully featured in nearly half the songs. The focal duo is eminently watchable, from the realistic frankness of Rita and Peter’s initial, achingly tentative moves toward becoming a couple through the postwedding changes in Rita that bewilder Peter and on through to the musical’s utterly compelling conclusion.
Clearly the show’s standout, Corneau must be lauded for her performance as Rita from both vocal and dramatic standpoints, with an
In these last two scenes, Daly has more meaningful stage time – but so does Garnyé. Leah takes a crucial phone call from Peter, then delivers an achingly profound solo about dad Julius before a horrible medical prognosis consigned the entire family to despair.
The world premiere staging’s musical, production and design elements are impeccable – notably Wiley DeWeese’s music direction, Scott Davis’s scenic design, Yee Eun Nam’s projections and the on-stage work of a seven-piece orchestra.
Where you might find this new “Prelude” coming up short is in the way Peter and Rita react, in song, to what befalls them, and a sense that the full impact of this “Kiss” has yet to be fully realized.
Segerstrom Stage, South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Through May 4. Running time (including intermission): Two hours, 10 minutes. Tickets: $34 to $112. Purchase / information: 714-708-5500, www.scr.org.
the United States by donating a total of $50,000 to Habitat for Humanity affiliates across the country.
Locally, The Lido House on Balboa Peninsula and VEA Newport Beach in Fashion Island, as well as Playa Mesa on 17th Street (a lime’s throw from Newport Beach), are participating in MargaritaCon, with proceeds benefitting Habitat for Humanity Orange County.
You can check out a full list of participating bars at astraltequila.com/ margaritacon.
And in case you didn’t know, Astral Tequila is a super-premium tequila crafted using Blue Weber agave from Jalisco, Mexico. Astral Tequila’s unique recipe uses traditional, timeintensive processes to create a radiant tequila that launched in April 2022 with its first expression, Blanco, followed by Reposado and Añejo in April 2023.
5/25 IN THE AIR TONIGHT (P hil C ollin S & g ene S S t ribute )
5/26 BLACKHAWK
5/31 YACHTY BY NATURE
6/1 STEELHEART 6/2 CELEBRATING WHITNEY ( w hitney h ou S ton t ribute )
6/6 HOWIE DAY
6/7 ROBERT JON & The Wreck
6/8 THE ENGLISH BEAT
6/9 GARY HOEY
6/14 AMBROSIA
6/15 CHEST FEVER ( t he b an D t ribute )
6/16 ELVIN BISHOP - Big Fun Trio
6/21 DESPERADO ( e agle S t ribute )
6/22 DESPERADO ( e agle S t ribute )
6/23 JUSTIN HAYWARD
6/28 THE BACON BROTHERS
6/29 SKELETON CREW ( g rate F ul D ea D t ribute )
7/3 IAN MOORE
7/5 WALTER MICHAELS BAND
7/6 SHINE ON (P ink F loy D t ribute )
7/12 YYNOT ( r u S h t ribute )
7/13 FAST TIMES - t he u ltimate 80 S t ribute !
7/14 THE CREAM OF CLAPTON BAND feat. Will Johns & Noah East
7/19 THE 5TH DIMENSION
7/20 Y&T 7/26 KEN GARCIA
7/27 BOB SCHNEIDER 7/28 BOBBY GRAY
8/1 CASH’D OUT (J ohnny C a S h t ribute )
8/2 Beach Boy AL JARDINE
8/3 CUBENSIS ( g rate F ul D ea D t ribute )
8/10 BEATLES VS STONES
8/17 PIANO MEN: GENERATIONS ( b illy J oel an D e lton J ohn t ribute )
8/23 SUPER DIAMOND 8/24 SUPER DIAMOND
8/27 TAB BENOIT & ANDERS OSBORNE with Special Guest JD SIMO 8/29 THE PETTY BREAKERS 8/30 GLENN HUGHES - Deep Purple Set
8/31 MICK ADAMS & THE STONES 9/1 MIDGE URE 9/7 SOUTHERN ROCK THROWDOWN 9/8 An Evening with JOHN LYDON 9/12 GRAHAM BONNET P er F orming r ainbow , m S g & a l C atrazz 9/14 JOURNEY USA (J ourney t ribute )
9/15 BENISE: Fiesta!
9/19 THE MAN IN BLACK (J ohnny C a S h t ribute ) 9/22 JANE MONHEIT
9/25 ANA POPOVIC 9/27 DAVE MASON
10/3 ZEBRA 10/5 KIMBERLY PERRY (of The Band Perry) 10/16 JIMMIE VAUGHAN 10/18 GARY PUCKETT & THE UNION GAP
10/20 THE YOUNG DUBLINERS 11/8 COMMON SENSE 11/15 RONSTADT REVIVAL 11/23 RUFUS WAINWRIGHT 11/29 THE PLATTERS 11/30 LEE ROCKER of the Stray Cats 12/15 THE GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA
12/29 L.A. GUNS 1/24 GENE LOVES JEZEBEL / BOW WOW WOW
After a mysterious old man (Jonathan Gillard Daly) kisses Rita (Hannah Corneau) at her wedding, life takes a bizarre left turn for Rita and husband Peter – and for the old man. “Prelude to a Kiss, The Musical” photo by Matt Gush, courtesy South Coast Repertory.
