The City of Costa Mesa recently awarded a construction contract to Copp Contracting Inc. to reconstruct and place approximately 5,400 tons of new asphalt on Pomona Avenue from 18th to 16th Street.

Construction started on Monday Aug. 27 and is anticipated for completion by mid-November. This Federally Funded Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) street improvement project involves removal and reconstruction of the asphalt pavement and concrete storm drain, sidewalk, curb, gutter, and access ramps.

The city has worked with Newport Mesa Unified School District to relocate the school bus pick up/drop off of Shalimar Drive to now stop at the 18th Street and Wallace Avenue bus-stop.

On Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, the Costa Mesa Police Department (CMPD) and Code Enforcement, along with the Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC), the Department of Consumer Affairs’ Division of Investigation-Cannabis Enforcement Unit (DOI-CEU), California Department of Taxes and Fee Administration, and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) arrested a man, who was unlawfully operating a marijuana dispensary in Costa Mesa.

Omid Delkash, 47, Newport Beach, was charged today with four misdemeanor counts of unlawful transportation, sale, and furnishing marijuana. He is currently in custody and is being held on $150,000 bail. He was arraigned today and is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on Aug. 31, 2018, at 8:30 a.m., Department C-5, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.

Measure X

In the City of Costa Mesa, Measure X prohibits any type of retail sales of marijuana and/or marijuana products within the city boundaries. Under this ordinance, medical marijuana businesses may not conduct retail activity of any type. It is permissible to conduct wholesale medical marijuana distributing, manufacturing, processing, and transporting, and to establish a laboratory for research and development; however, one must apply for a business license and be approved by the City.

All commercial cannabis activity in California requires a license from one of the state’s three cannabis-licensing authorities. Selling cannabis goods without a state license is a violation of state law. Enforcement of unlicensed commercial cannabis activity may occur at the state and/or local level.

Investigation

Prior to the arrest, in March 2018, the defendant is accused of opening a business, Church of Peace and Glory, at the 1600 block of Irvine Avenue in Costa Mesa. Due to citizen complaints, the CMPD Special Investigations Unit investigated the location for several months starting in May 2018. Costa Mesa Code Enforcement issued the location two citations for unlawfully operating a marijuana dispensary. On May 9, 2018, and June 5, 2018, Delkash is accused of selling marijuana to customers.

On June 14, 2018, the defendant is accused of having a walk-through with Code Enforcement to show they are in compliance and not operating as a marijuana dispensary. Delkash is accused of commercially selling marijuana on the same day as the walk-through. He is also accused of selling marijuana to customers on July 17, 2018.

Arrest

On Aug. 24, 2018, CMPD, BCC, DOI-CEU, and members of OCDA served a search warrant at the Church of Peach and Glory and placed Delkash under arrest without incident. The agencies executed the search warrant and confiscated marijuana, edibles, and tobacco products.

Reporting Unlawful Dispensaries

To report unlawful dispensaries in Costa Mesa, residents can call the Code Enforcement duty officer at (714) 754-5638, Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Residents can also report via the City’s app “MyCostaMesa,” online or through the mobile version on an Apple or Android device.

To file a complaint regarding an entity licensed by the BCC, click here – Enforcement Online Services. Once the user clicks “File a Complaint,” they will be prompted to select a license type, or they can simply report on unlicensed activity. After filling out the nature of the complaint, the user then reviews and submits the complaint to the BCC for follow up.

Costa Mesa Police Department will participate in a high-visibility national enforcement campaign, “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” through Monday Sept. 3.

During the campaign, which started Aug. 17, Costa Mesa officers, along with the CHP and other local agencies, will increase the number of officers on the road with the mission of mitigating suspected drunk and/or drug impaired drivers.

Motorists caught driving impaired will be pulled over and arrested. CMPD is increasingly trained and poised to act on drug impaired drivers. Motorists taking prescription drugs, particularly those with a driving or operating machinery warning label, may be impaired enough to get a DUI.

Marijuana can also be impairing and result in a DUI, especially in combination with alcohol or other drugs. CMPD will continue these added DUI Saturation Patrols up through the Labor Day weekend, which tends to have some of the highest statistical occurrences of DUI related collisions and fatalities.

City Manager Tom Hatch presented Fairview Park Administrator Cynthia D’Agosta with the City Manager Leadership Award for August at the monthly Meet and Greet on Thursday Aug. 23.

“Cynthia is charged with overseeing one of the city’s most beloved parks,” City Manager Hatch said. “She leads the charge on all aspects of the land management and her role requires her to communicate extensively. She has cultivated strong relationships with community members and additional partner agencies that have ties to Fairview Park. The city is fortunate to have her.”

D’Agosta is also responsible for the Fairview Park Steering Committee, which works to provide the City Council with recommendations on the park, through the assistance of Public Services staff. She has worked to educate the committee on the existing Fairview Park Master Plan, on reviewing all existing and approved Capital Improvement Projects and grants at the park, and to formulate and present a set of recommendations to the City Council specifically related to the implications of Measure AA.

In addition, she coordinates general and special park maintenance, oversees the biological monitoring of all sensitive plant and animal species in the park, communicates with local neighbors and stakeholders and assures compliance with state and federal regulations and organizes nature-based educational and volunteer opportunities.

D’Agosta began with the City in September of 2017 as the Fairview Park Administrator.

Her past work experience includes management and design of regional scale urban open spaces for both non- profits and government entities such as the Los Angeles County Dept. of Parks & Recreation, the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the National Parks Service and the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority.

D’Agosta is a native Californian and urban open space planner, landscape architect and artist. She holds a bachelor’s degree in science and fine arts from UC Santa Cruz and a master’s degree in landscape architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.

In addition to honoring D’Agosta, City Manager Hatch welcomed several new hires and congratulated others on promotions.

New hires include John Begin, who was hired to work as an Outreach Worker on the city’s Network for Homeless Solutions team. Also Ronald Dam moved from part time to full time as the city’s Video Production Specialist.

In the Finance Department, Jennifer King was recognized as the new Assistant Finance Director and Arnold Antonio is the new Fire Department Code Enforcement Officer. In the Parks & Community Services Department Tai Pace is a new Recreation Leader III and in Public Services Hector Soriano is a new Engineering Technician III.

Promotions Include Carlos Henriquez who upgraded to Equipment Mechanic II, Paul Mackinen to Lead Maintenance Worker and Dylan Sickler to Fire Protection Specialist.

The reconstruction of Fire Station No. 1 reached another major milestone.

The new station is in the final stages of construction with the installation of architectural finishes and site landscaping.

Cabinetry, carpeting, tiling and exterior finishes are putting the final touches on the beautiful new building.

As Public Services prepares to commission the building for occupancy, the station’s emergency generator is ready for testing and the associated 2,000-gallon fuel tank has been filled with diesel fuel.

This milestone will commence the start-up and testing of various mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems in preparation for certification as a Gold level energy efficient building and occupancy for fire crews.

On Thursday Aug. 16, local residents reported a strong odor emanating through the air that could be smelled in several Orange County cities including Costa Mesa.

According to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the source of the odor at this time is unknown, however, it was erroneously reported in local media and other areas that the source was OC Vector Control.

The odor did not come from OC Vector Control and officials there issued the following statement Friday regarding this misinformation:

“The Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District has not conducted any aerial spraying and this year’s data does not support such drastic measures. The District’s campaign against mosquitoes involve the use of public health pesticides that are registered by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and is conducted to prevent human illness or to suppress a heavy nuisance infestation of mosquitoes.”

Vector Control officials also confirmed that the product they use to spray for mosquitoes is water-based and odorless.

Officials at the South Coast Air Quality Management District confirmed they are aware of the odor and have dispatched inspectors to conduct an investigation into the source of the odor.

The South Coast AQMD web page has information about similar odors that have been noticed by residents in the past. Click here to learn about the source of these odors.

Last week during a routine morning patrol, Costa Mesa Senior Code Enforcement Officer Mike Brumbaugh came across an older woman and her two dogs sitting in her car near a motel.

She had been staying at the motel.  Unfortunately, she ran out of money and her husband left her. She had no other options and began living out of her vehicle. She was frightened and staying in an area known for some questionable activity.

Brumbaugh did not want to leave the woman in this situation, so he reached out to Muriel Ullman, an outreach coordinator for the city’s Network for Homeless Solutions. Ullman assessed the woman, who disclosed that one of her dogs had cancer and she did not have the money to put the animal to sleep.

Brumbaugh reached out to the city’s Animal Control staff who came out to assist.

“I see many negative things during my day, but this was heartbreaking,” said Brumbaugh. “Watching this lady say her last goodbyes to her life-long pet and put it in the truck and be taken to be put down was tough.”

With the help of NHS and community partners, the woman and her remaining dog were placed in a shelter.

Outreach staff are working with her to get the registration of her vehicle renewed and locate a more permanent place to stay.

“This was one of three similar situations I came across in the same week,” said Brumbaugh. “If I didn’t have NHS and this group available to help me, it would be difficult to assist those in need.”

Interstate 405 through Huntington Beach and Westminster is scheduled to fully close from approximately 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 18 and again on Saturday, Aug. 25 as part of the I-405 Improvement Project.

The full freeway closures are necessary to safely demolish the McFadden Avenue bridge. The bridge is the first of more than 18 bridges to be built, widened or replaced as part of the project, which will speed up travel times on I-405 between Costa Mesa and the Los Angeles County line, an area traveled by more than 370,000 vehicles a day.

During the freeway closures, northbound drivers will be detoured off the freeway at Beach Boulevard, and southbound motorists will be detoured off the freeway at Bolsa Avenue/Goldenwest Street.

Nighttime lane closures on I-405 are also expected during the weeks of Aug. 20 and Aug. 27 for additional demolition activities but those will not require the freeway to be fully closed.

Drivers should expect nighttime delays in the area and are encouraged to use alternate routes if possible. Up-to-date closure and construction information is available on the project’s interactive map at www.octa.net/405map.

The $1.9 billion I-405 Improvement Project will add one regular lane in each direction between SR-73 and I-605 and a second lane in each direction in the center of the freeway that will combine with the existing carpool lanes to form the 405 Express Lanes.

This 16-mile segment of I-405 is one of the most heavily traveled stretches of highway in the nation, and both the regular lanes and carpool lanes are heavily congested during rush hour and on weekends. The project is critical to accommodate expected employment, population and housing growth throughout the region.

It currently takes drivers about an hour to travel this section of freeway during rush hour and without the project, the commute is projected to double in the next 20 years. Once the project is finished in 2023, it is expected to take about 30 minutes to drive the 16 miles during rush hour in the regular lanes and about 15 minutes in the 405 Express Lanes.

People are encouraged to visit the project website at www.octa.net/405improvement to sign up for construction alerts via automated call, text message or email.

The City of Costa Mesa recently launched MyCostaMesa, a new mobile app that is replacing the city’s first mobile app, Costa Mesa Connect.

MyCostaMesa is now available for free through the App Store and Google Play.

MyCostaMesa will have all of the same citizen reporting and request for service features of the original app, and the improved reporting and routing features will allow staff to be more efficient and responsive.

MyCostaMesa allows citizens to report issues using their phone’s GPS and camera capabilities, review existing requests, send updates, and receive phone and email notifications of status changes on their issues.

Residents can also submit a service request via the city website and review their submission history and knowledge base articles online.

Costa Mesa Mayor Sandy Genis presented longtime youth baseball coach and volunteer Todd Cowley with the Mayor’s Award at the Tuesday Aug. 7 City Council meeting.

A 24-year Costa Mesa resident, Cowley has volunteered with the Costa Mesa American Little League for years and since 2011 he also served as league president.

“For your years of service to this community, your extraordinary leadership and your passion for Little League Baseball it is my honor and privilege to present you with the Mayor’s Award,” Mayor Genis said.

For more about Cowley’s dedication to the Costa Mesa community watch the video below.

The 128th OC Fair welcomed a record 1,470,636 guests who enjoyed 35 sold-out shows, ate hundreds of thousands of chocolate chip cookies and freed their inner farmers by greeting 11 new piglets at Centennial Farm.

“2018 was a banner year for the OC Fair in so many ways,” said OC Fair & Event Center CEO Kathy Kramer. “We want to thank the community for coming out in record-breaking numbers to enjoy the best celebration of the summer. We’re proud that 87% of guests surveyed said they increased their knowledge of agriculture and gave us a 4.62 overall enjoyment rating (out of 5).”

Through its community programs, the OC Fair collected 11,055 children’s books, 10,769 items of clothing, 8,849 cans of food and 8,229 school supplies for local charities through the We Care Wednesday program during which guests received free admission with their donation.

The Friends of the Fair program welcomed 4,501 guests with special needs for a free VIP experience while the OC Fair Kids Club brought 1,150 children from local Title 1 programs to the Fair for a special experience that included free admission and rides, a gift card and bus service.

The final audited attendance figures show an increase of increase 10% from the 2017 number of 1,334,753. Final revenue numbers will be released in October.

“The annual Fair funds our community give-back programs, agriculture education and supports Centennial Farm and Heroes Hall, so a great year for the Fair pays dividends all year long,” said Kramer.

This year the OC Fair offered more discounts and promotions than ever before to help make the event more accessible. New in 2018 was Overalls Day and 3,140 fairgoers received free admission on Thursdays when they wore the denim classics. And a new carnival wristband deal was added to Sundays.

The most popular one-time promotion was the opening day “Free Till 3” admission and parking deal and 38,091 guests arrived early on July 13 to get the party started. Half-price early-bird weekend admission attracted 73,091 fairgoers. Some 16,610 veterans and active members of the military received free admission during the run of the fair and their family members purchased 22,647 discounted tickets.

On Thursdays, 25,158 children received free admission for Kids Day and more than 13,000 free carnival rides were provided to children who participated in the Read and Ride program.

The previous attendance record for the 23-day event was set in 2011 when 1,400,280 fairgoers turned out for the “Let’s Eat” theme and watched sold-out concerts by Bob Dylan, Selena Gomez, Blake Shelton, Weezer, Chicago and more in Pacific Amphitheatre.

The 2018 OC Fair also broke the previous single-day attendance record when 86,334 fairgoers arrived on Saturday, July 28. That turnout bested the record of 84,986 guests who visited the Fair on July 21, 2001, to see the Orange Crush Demolition Derby debut, the “I Love Lucy” 50th-anniversary exhibit and to ride La Grande Wheel and the Euroslide for the first time at the OC Fair.

The OC Fair is currently the second-largest Fair in California by attendance, behind only the San Diego County Fair which runs three days longer. Nationally, the OC Fair ranks seventh by attendance.

Here are some more wrap-up numbers:

Guests

Survey – Results of the 10-day patron survey showed that 48% rated food as their favorite part of the Fair. Of those surveyed, 25% were first-time fairgoers and 48% are OC residents.

Super Pass – 15,518 guests went for the season’s best deal and received free admission to all 23 days of the Fair and express entry lines along with deals on shows and concerts.

OC Fair Express – The bus service that picks up from nine different OCTA locations on Saturdays and Sundays brought 79,684 guests straight to the Fair.

Food

Cathy’s Cookies – Baked 300,000 chocolate chip cookies.

Chicken Charlie’s – Fried 3,000 pounds of filet mignon, went through a truckload of vegetable oil, two pallets of cookie dough and an actual truckload of chicken.

Bacon-A-Fair – Guests purchased some 400,000 pieces of bacon in all forms.

Noel’s – Sold 20,834 tacos.

Ten Pound Buns – Cooked up 6,500 pounds of Ten Pound Buns.

Hot Dog on Stick – Served 17,200 hot dogs on sticks.

Entertainment

Pacific Amphitheatre – The Toyota Summer Concert Series at Pacific Amphitheatre hosted 34 shows, including four pre-Fair shows and there are seven post-Fair shows coming up. There were nine sold-out shows including Trevor Noah, Steve Martin and Martin Short, Psychedelic Furs/X/The Fixx, Earth, Wind & Fire, Brett Eldredge, Willie Nelson and Alison Krauss, Rebelution (two concerts), Steve Miller Band and Peter Frampton and Stray Cats.

Action Sports Arena – There was a spectacle every night in Action Sports Arena, plus five matinees, totaling 28 adrenaline-pumping shows. The Daredevils & Wheels motorcycle stunt show was new this year. There were 13 sold-out events including Speedway, Broncs & Bulls rodeo, five monster truck shows and all six demolition derbies during which 45 cars and trucks and 12 motorhomes were smashed.

The Hangar – Tribute bands, classic rock bands and mariachi acts brought the fans to The Hangar where there were 12 sold-out shows in 2018: Rumours, Dead Man’s Party, Firefall with Poco, Elton the Early Years, Queen Nation, Hotel California, Journey Unauthorized, Zeppelin Live, Ozomatli, I Am King, Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez and Devotional/Hollywood Erasure.

Community entertainment – There were 524 community entertainers performing throughout the day on five different stages and across the fairgrounds.

Rides and games – La Grande Wheel XL was the No. 1 ride and Bank A Ball was the top game. Ray Cammack Shows reports that nearly 2.5 million fairgoers enjoyed the rides this year.

Exhibits and competitions

My Fair Selfie – OC Fair’s first-ever pop-up palace of photo fun was open for 18 days and featured 11 backdrops made for photography. The limited-run exhibit was visited by 36,003 guests.

Bounty of the County – Three large-scale murals honoring local agriculture enterprises were created by artist John Cerney and installed at the main Fair entry gates.

Outstanding in their Fields – Life-size portraits of 29 people who play a role in California agriculture were placed throughout the fairgrounds and their video stories played for guests who scanned them with an app.

Heroes Hall – Open for its second OC Fair, Heroes Hall welcomed 19,375 visitors and 11,450 of them experienced the new Bravemind exhibit’s VR technology. Taps was performed every evening of the Fair, five times by bugle and 18 times on the harmonica.

Competitions – There were 4,866 entries in the Garden & Floral competition. There were more than 1,300 tomatoes entered and more than 2,000 cut flower entries. At this year’s Junior Livestock Auction, 312 animals were sold for a total of $301,854.

Explorium – During the daily eating contests, 23 Fair food vendors donated food for the 1,035 contest participants. Frank Thurston performed 66 magic shows and 5,616 water balloons helped keep little fairgoers cool. There were 210 entries in the kids’ art competitions.

Arts – Two tons of clay was used in Muddy’s Pottery Studio during demonstrations and 1,104 hours of volunteer time were logged. In visual arts, there were 6,194 competition entries and 4,465 were in the photography category.

The OC Fair Fun Run – Celebrated its 10th anniversary with 2,923 registered runners.

The 2018 OC Fair was held July 13-Aug. 12 at OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, and offered 23 days and nights of entertainment, food, rides, shopping, exhibits and more. OC Fair & Event Center is also home to Centennial Farm and Heroes Hall – both open to the public year-round. For more information, visit ocfair.com.

Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the Network for Homeless Solutions and its community partners, three individuals living on the streets of Costa Mesa were reconnected with their families within a 48-hour period.

Two individuals were sent home to Texas, one who came to Costa Mesa for work and lost his job and the other who suffered mental issues. A third person, who came to a sober living facility in Costa Mesa, was sent home to Ohio.

All three people are now off the streets of Costa Mesa and back home thanks to the hard work of this dedicated team.