Balboa Boulevard

June Casagrande BALBOA VILLAGE -- Roadwork begun this week on a stretch of Balboa Boulevard marks the start of an $8-million improvement project likely to continue into 2004. The City Council on Tuesday approved a nearly $3.3-million contract with GCI Construction for the first phase of a three-phase project of major work, which will include a 35-foot tower at the northeast corner of Palm and Balboa Boulevard. Work crews have closed off the north side of Balboa Boulevard between Adams and Main streets.

COSTA MESA Center Street and Pomona Avenue: Unlawful possession of a shotgun was reported at 8:10 p.m. Thursday. El Camino Drive: False impersonation was reported in the 1000 block at 8:12 a.m. Thursday. Maple Avenue: Drinking in public was reported in the 2000 block at 12:41 a.m. Thursday. Mesa Drive and Newport Boulevard: An individual was reported under the influence of a controlled substance at 3:20 a.m. Thursday. Monrovia Avenue: An individual was reported drunk in public in the 1800 block at 12:15 a.m. Thursday.

Students in the surf and environmental class at Newport Harbor High School will try to persuade the city of Newport Beach to crack down on littering and smoking on beaches. In collaboration with the Earth Resource Foundation, the students are seeking signatures for a petition asking the city to step up enforcement. They hope revenue from citations will help pay for beach cleanups and more educational efforts. The group will gather at 10 a.m. today at the Newport Beach Pier, at Balboa Boulevard and 21st Street.

Newport Boulevard could close again A broken water main on Newport Boulevard could cause lanes to be closed through part of Friday, officials announced Tuesday. Workers will close portions of the intersection at 32nd Street at 7 a.m. Thursday. Closures will continue throughout Thursday and possibly into Friday. Officials said that one lane of traffic will be kept open to accommodate northbound and southbound traffic on Newport Boulevard, but 32nd will be closed between Balboa Boulevard and Lafayette Avenue.

Newport Beach Balboa Boulevard: Vandalism was reported in the 1100 block at 8:21 a.m. Tuesday. MacArthur Boulevard and Bonita Canyon Drive: Reckless driving was reported at 8:20 a.m. Tuesday. Balboa Boulevard: A suspicious vehicle was reported in the 1100 block at 8:03 a.m. Tuesday. Onda: A vehicle was reported burglarized in the 400 block at 8:02 a.m. Tuesday. Bay Front North: A hit and run was reported in the 100 block at 6:17 a.m. Tuesday.

POLICE FILES COSTA MESA Harbor Boulevard: A person in possession of drugs was reported in the 2200 block at 12:29 a.m. Tuesday. Pierpont Drive: Grand theft was reported in the 500 block at 2:38 p.m. Tuesday. Placentia Avenue: Vandalism was reported in the 2300 block at 12:10 p.m. Tuesday. Wallace Avenue: Auto theft was reported in the 1900 block at 5:25 p.m. Tuesday. NEWPORT BEACH Balboa Boulevard and 11th Street: A vehicle was impounded after being illegally parked near the intersection at 11:14 a.m. Wednesday.

Gina's Pizza and Pastaria has returned to the Balboa Peninsula. The new location at the Landing shopping center features the same recipes and a faster oven, a restaurant spokesman said Tuesday. The 2,600-square-foot Italian eatery on 3142 W. Balboa Blvd. is the first expansion for the Corona del Mar-based chain in 10 years, said company Director of Operations Fred Caron. Other Gina's locations are in Laguna Beach, Costa Mesa and Irvine. Gina's previously had eateries at the Balboa Fun Zone and off West Coast Highway and River Avenue.

NEWPORT BEACH — Aiming to include kids and families in the holiday-weekend fun, on Monday the city hosted the first-ever Newport Peninsula Bike Parade and Community Festival. Hundreds took part in the new peninsula event — dubbed "Fourth of July is for Families" — by dressing patriotically in red, white and blue. Many participants rode their bikes and walked their dogs the short distance from 38th Street Park up Balboa Boulevard to Channel Place Park. At Channel Place Park, a festival organized by the city's Recreation and Senior Services Department offered carnival games, jump houses and food.

NEWPORT BEACH — With the dust long settled from another Fourth of July on the Balboa Peninsula, most residents in West Newport Beach considered the Police Department's new tactics a success, members of the area's homeowners association said Friday. "It was quieter, more peaceful," said Craig Batley, president of the West Newport Beach Assn. "Some residents are going to disagree because they were impacted more. But overall, it was an improvement." Police and city officials met at City Council chambers this week to review the Fourth of July weekend's problems and successes for police and residents.

Area 1 Harbor Boulevard: Public drunkenness was reported in the 2700 block at 2:10 a.m. Friday Hamilton Street: An abandoned vehicle was reported in the 300 block at 10:41 a.m. Friday Fairview Road: A vehicle burglary was reported in the 2300 block at 12:25 p.m. Friday Atlanta Way: An identity theft was reported in the 1100 block at 1:00 p.m. Friday Vanguard Way: A vehicle burglary was reported in...

It's almost that time of again, when Newport Beach police clamp down on the Balboa Peninsula as both drunken and sober holiday revelers turn the area into a virtual street and beach party for the Fourth of July. "The biggest issue is the crowds," said Sgt. Evan Sailor. "You have a lot of people coming down to celebrate, a lot of people drinking. You put that mix together, it can become a volatile situation." Last year, police arrested 119 people in Newport Beach on the Fourth of July.