Balboa Peninsula

NEWPORT BEACH — A certified farmers market is coming to Lido Marina Village on Sunday. The hope is that the market, located in the shopping center on the northern end of the Peninsula, will pump more life into the promenade, a rustic-looking, cobble-stoned, open-air quarter dotted with shops and businesses. The market will feature a dozen farmers selling fruits and vegetables and is scheduled to open at 9 a.m. and close at 1 p.m. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. City and Chamber of Commerce officials are expected to be on hand for the big day. Posters around town have been promoting the event for several weeks, displaying a fat red tomato.

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.

A power outage Sunday night will affect homes and businesses on the Balboa Peninsula. Southern California Edison will be conducting maintenance to improve electrical service beginning at 11 p.m. Sunday through 5 a.m. Monday, according to a city press release sent Friday. Homes and businesses from Island Avenue to the end of the peninsula will be without electrical power. Stop signs will be placed at Main Street and Balboa Boulevard while the street lights and traffic signals are not operating.

A drug and alcohol recovery home on the Balboa Peninsula that was scheduled to shut its doors in September has been given permission to stay at its location if it reduces the number of residents. In a public hearing Friday afternoon in the Newport Beach City Council Chambers, operator of Balboa Recovery, Inc., Kevin Cullen told independent hearing officer Judy Sherman, who is not directly affiliated with the city and was brought in for the hearing, that the rent for the Balboa Recovery, Inc. home at 124 30th St. had been reduced.

S urfers are still wearing their wetsuits, but it's getting closer to the time of year when they're going to start showing up on the beach in just swimsuits or rash guards. Ocean water temperatures increased by 10 degrees in two weeks, going from a relatively chilly 55 degrees to 65 degrees, said Capt. Mike Halphide of the Newport Beach Fire Department. "The surf is clean, the water is warming up and even though it's drizzling, there are at least 50 surfers along that half mile stretch near the Santa Ana River," said Halphide, referring to the body of water that separates Huntington Beach from Newport Beach.

 Saturday and Sunday May 29th and 30th, Ocean Crest Newport Apartment Homes will celebrate Memorial Day with an Open House from 10:00am to 4:00pm and a community BBQ open from 12:00am to 2:00pm to all residents and prospective renters. Please join us for some delicious free BBQ, special savings, and a chance to win great prizes! The grand prize is a big screen TV which will go to the first person to sign a 12 month lease and move-in.  Ocean Crest Newport Residents enjoy a life of everyday luxury, where you can choose between sailing, surfing, sunbathing, golfing, elegant shopping and fine dining.

Even as Newport Beach city officials broke ground this week on a new $128-million civic center on Avocado Avenue, plans on what to do with the old City Hall site on the Balboa Peninsula remained up in the air. Newport Beach City Manager Dave Kiff said he’ll feel sorry for the Starbucks employees across the street when the 240 people who work at the old City Hall at 3300 Newport Blvd. clean out their desks and move to the new building in late 2012. “We really are an economic engine for this area,” Kiff said.

Newport Beach could phase in plans for a multimillion-dollar park and sailing center on the Balboa Peninsula to lessen the project’s effect on the city’s already strained budget, city officials said Tuesday. The City Council on Tuesday night approved an environmental-impact report for the park. Preliminary estimates have put the cost of the park as high as $23 million. The plans could now be realized in three phases, said Dave Webb, deputy director of public works.

    Joan Marie Carlton died peacefully, surrounded by her family, on May 1, 2010, at the age of 88. Her life was enriched by family and many, many friends. She enriched our lives with love, humor, and a positive attitude about everything and everyone. Joan was born to George and Clara Lucey on August 30, 1921, on a farm in Plymouth County, Iowa. She had four sisters and one brother, and seemingly numberless aunts, uncles and cousins.