Council Member Sandra Genis and members of the city staff attended the opening of the 35th Annual USVA Tet Festival this past weekend at the OC Fair and Event Center.

Costa Mesa was once again home the world’s largest Tet Festival, attracting over 60,000 guests to the three-day event.

Featuring culturally enriching attractions, live entertainment, festive games and rides, a variety of ethnic foods, and a spectacular firecrackers show, the festival celebrated the Lunar New Year and the “Year of the Monkey.”

UVSA is a 501(c)3 non-profit, non-partisan, community-based organization founded in 1982 to bring together Vietnamese American youth including students from different colleges and high schools throughout Southern California.

The festival serves as a vehicle to help develop student volunteers in the community to become well-rounded leaders with a strong sense of cultural awareness and civic responsibility to improve their communities.

Over the past 15 years, UVSA’s members have awarded over $1.25 million of festival proceeds as community grants to non-profit organizations across Southern California.

Come check out the Costa Mesa High School Drama department’s presentation of Shrek The Musical at the Costa Mesa High School Performing Arts Center located at 2650 Fairview Road.

The production will run March 4 through March 13 with Friday and Saturday shows beginning at 7 p.m. and Sunday showings at 4 p.m.

Tickets will be $15 for adults, $10 with ASB and $8 for children 12 and under.

Today is the last day to register for the Costa Mesa Senior Center’s Sweetheart Dance on Friday, Feb. 12, 2016.

The event will go from 4-6 p.m. and will feature live music by entertainers Jim and Christina Starr.

Entry cost is $10 per person and includes a delicious dinner. Reservations will be accepted through today or until the event is full. Tickets will not be sold at the door.

The event will take place at the City of Costa Mesa Senior Center located at 695 W. 19th Street.

Reservations must be made in person and are required for entry.

Event is open to ages 50 and over. Please call (714) 327-7550 for additional information.

The Costa Mesa Police Department has two new sergeants today as veteran officers Bang Le and Jimmy Brown were sworn in Thursday outside Chief Rob Sharpnack’s office.

“We couldn’t be prouder of these two individuals,” Chief Sharpnack told the crowd, which included Mayor Steve Mensinger, several top ranking officers and police staff and family members who had gathered in support.

Le is a Garden Grove native who joined the department in 2000 and was the first in his family to pursue a career in law enforcement, Sharpnack said.

Brown was born and raised in Orange and also started his law enforcement career in the year 2000, first joining the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He became a Costa Mesa officer in 2005.

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Le thanked the chief and his fellow officers for entrusting him and Brown with these leadership roles.

“It’s something we take seriously and we promise we won’t let you down,” Le said. “It’s a privilege and honor to carry on the great traditions of this department.”

Brown also welcomed the challenge.

“I look forward to leading the next generation and moving forward with the department,” he said.

During the badge pinning, both men had their children do the honors, with Brown having his daughter pin his badge and Le had both his son and daughter take part in the ceremony.

Sharpnack pointed out how important the families are to these officers and others in the department and he thanked them for their support. And he reiterated that these promotions are symbolic of where the Costa Mesa Police Department is headed in the future.

“Our department is on the rise,” he said. “And we are going to seek excellence in all we do.”

Due to unsafe wind conditions and falling trees, the Bark Park is closed until further notice.

City staff is working as quickly as possible to clean up the fallen trees and branches.

Please call (714) 754-5300 for additional information.

The CMTV staff have created this new video to let members of the public know how the City of Costa Mesa is preparing for El Nino 2016.

From the City’s Public Services and Fire Departments to the Costa Mesa Sanitary District and Mesa Water District, residents and businesses in Costa Mesa can be assured that their local public services are as prepared as possible for El Nino 2016.

Battalion Chief Kevin Diamond was recognized recently as the Fire Terrorism Liaison Officer of the Year for Orange County at an annual meeting of the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center.

The assessment center is responsible for assisting in keeping our Orange County community safe from terrorist attacks. The web page can be found here.

Chief Diamond was instrumental in getting every member of the Costa Mesa Fire and Rescue certified as a Terrorism Liaison Officer.

These officers are trained to recognize possible indicators of terrorist activity, and then report such findings to assessment center.

Chief Diamond has been the coordinating officer for Costa Mesa Fire and Rescue and the assessment center.

Costa Mesa Police Department brass and ranking city leaders welcomed new Police Officer Nick Wilson in a swearing-in ceremony early Tuesday morning.

Police Chief Rob Sharpnack officiated the ceremony with some welcoming words for the new lateral hire officer, who formerly worked as a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy. Sharpnack noted Wilson’s already impressive career achievements.

“He really embodies what we embody as a city and a police department,” Sharpnack said. “I’m excited to welcome Nick. We are fortunate to have him.”

Wilson is one of three boys raised by John and Antonia Wilson in the small town of San Marino, nearby Pasadena. He is a graduate of San Marino High School, where he played high school baseball. He served as a cadet for San Marino Police Department from 2008-2011.

Wilson’s father is a retired 31-year veteran of the California Highway Patrol and one of his brothers is an officer for the San Marino Police Department. Wilson graduated from Rio Hondo with an Associates of Science degree in Administration of Justice in 2011.

Wilson was hired by the Los Angeles Sheriff Department in 2012. Since then he served in the custodial environment and is currently assigned to the courthouse in Compton.

Several family members attended the ceremony, including his father and brother. Also attending was his wife, who placed his badge on him after he was sworn in by City Clerk Brenda Green.

Mayor Steve Mensinger and Councilmember Katrina Foley, City CEO Tom Hatch and Assistant CEO Rick Francis, and several members of the police command staff were also in attendance.

The department’s three new academy graduates, Brandon Kim, Tyrus Ranck and Matthew Richie, also made an appearance to support their fellow officer.
Chief Sharpnack noted that the department continues to move in the right direction with these new hires, which puts the staffing levels now at 112 sworn officers.