On Friday, June 28, 2019 the Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue Department officially took possession of  CAL OES Fire Engine no. 302 from the State of California, Governor’s Office of Emergency Medical Services, Fire and Rescue Division. Fire Chief Dan Stefano, Captain Joe Noceti, Captain Chuck Torres, and Engineer Steve Savage traveled to the Garden Grove Fire Department to pick up the engine in an agreement facilitated through CAL OES Region Fire Chief Dave Stone.  The engine will be housed at Fire Station no. 4 located at 2300 Placentia.

“We appreciate this highly valued opportunity to take on the assignment of an OES engine,” said Chief Stefano. “We have been in close contact with CAL OES over the course of many years making both formal and informal requests for this assignment, and today marks the day this expanded partnership with CAL OES begins.  This is a very special day for Costa Mesa.”

The State of California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services has responsibility for administering the California Fire Service and Rescue Emergency Mutual Aid Plan.  This plan, in which the City of Costa Mesa participates, provides emergency resources to be shared throughout the state during major emergencies, which exceed the capability of a local jurisdiction to mitigate on their own.  This includes emergencies such as wildfires, floods, and earthquakes.  As part of the statewide mutual aid system, CAL OES has purchased fire apparatus and equipment for responding to incidents in furtherance of the California Fire and Rescue Mutual Aid Plan.

These fire apparatuses are assigned, through agreement, to fire departments throughout the state to be staged for CAL OES purposes and for use by local jurisdictions.

In Orange County, CAL OES fire engines are currently assigned to Anaheim Fire & Rescue, Fountain Valley Fire Department, Huntington Beach Fire Department, Laguna Beach Fire Department, and now the Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue Department.

For questions please contact Captain Joe Noceti, Public Information Officer of Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue at (714) 754-5091.

We recently told the story of Deanne, a Bridge Shelter client, who had agreed to enter into the shelter after living in her car for eight years.

Senior Engineer Arash Rahimian was presented with the City Manager Leadership Award at the monthly Meet and Greet event on Thursday June 26 at City Hall.

“Arash has shown excellent leadership, dedication and hard work to see that projects are completed on time, within budget and to the highest standards,” Acting City Manager Tammy Letourneau said. “For the Costa Mesa Library he went above and beyond his normal duties to coordinate and resolve issues with utility providers, stake holders, regulatory agencies and departments, contractors and consultants.”

Rahimian joined the Costa Mesa’s Public Services team in April 2015 as an Associate Engineer. In October 2016 he was assigned as Acting Senior Engineer and in December 2017 he was promoted to his current position.

Rahimian’s  responsibilities include planning, design and construction of Capital Improvement Program projects and the supervision of the Construction Management Section in the Engineering Division. Throughout his tenure with the City he has received numerous compliments from residents in regards to his professionalism and dedication.

He has completed a number of projects that include reconstruction of alleys citywide, street rehabilitation projects, Arlington Drive Bioswale and Pedestrian Improvements, Fire Station No. 1 Reconstruction, and most recently, the City’s most iconic building – the Costa Mesa Library.

In 2017, Rahimian worked with the Coastline Regional Occupational Program to provide high school students the opportunity to work closely with Engineering Staff during a summer internship.

Acting City Manager Letourneau also welcomed several newly hired employees and recognized another for her recent promotion.

Julie Dance, originally hired as an intern in 1997, has been promoted to Civilian Investigator in the Police Department.

Nataly Jacobo is a new Building Technician I working in the Building Division of the Development Services Department, Phoebe Jin is a new Progammer Analyst II in I.T and Staphani Ogas is a new Community Outreach Worker working for our Network for Homeless Solutions.

Fairview Developmental Center will be holding its annual Independence Day Fireworks event for clients, employees and general public on Thursday June 27.

The event starts at 4 p.m. and lasts until 10 p.m.

The fireworks show is expected to begin at 9 p.m. and last until 9:20 p.m.

Participants at this event will be in the closed roadway and adjacent parking areas, at various venues, in the area of the Goodell School.

In addition to fireworks, there will be food vendors and musical groups.

Fairview Developmental Center is located at 2501 Harbor Blvd. For additional information or questions please contact Dispatch at (714) 957-5000.

Caltrans work crews will be busy in the coming weeks as they perform pile driving work on the Fairview Bridge and demolition of a portion of the I-405 Freeway bridge over Harbor Boulevard as part of the I-405 Improvement Project.

Construction crews advise this work may be loud at times.

Both the demolition and pile driving work will begin on Wednesday June 26, continuing intermittently through Thursday July 11.

The demolition work will occur on the southbound I-405 bridge over Harbor Boulevard between the northbound and southbound freeway ramps. This work will also require lane closures on the southbound I-405, but not full freeway closures.

Additional Closures include the southbound I-405 loop on-ramp from Harbor Boulevard and the northbound I-405 loop on-ramp from Harbor Boulevard.

Detours will be in place, and signs will be posted to guide motorists around the closures. Motorists should expect delays and use alternate routes if possible.

The demolition work over Harbor Boulevard will start as early as Wednesday, June 26 and continue to Monday, July 1 from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., and resume on Monday, July 8 to Thursday, July 11 from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The following detours will be created.

For northbound Harbor Boulevard commuters:
• Detour No. 1: Eastbound Baker Street to NB Fairview Road to westbound South Coast Drive to northbound Harbor Boulevard
• Detour No. 2: Eastbound Baker Street to NB Fairview Road to westbound Sunflower Avenue to northbound Harbor Boulevard

Northbound I-405 loop on-ramp from Harbor Boulevard Detour:
• Baker Street to Fairview Road to South Coast Drive to Harbor Boulevard straight on-ramp

For southbound Harbor Boulevard commuters:
• Detour No. 1: Eastbound Sunflower Street to southbound Fairview Road to westbound Baker Street to southbound Harbor Boulevard
• Detour No. 2: Eastbound South Coast Drive to southbound Fairview Road to westbound Baker Street to southbound Harbor Boulevard

Southbound I-405 loop on-ramp from Harbor Boulevard Detour:
• South Coast Drive to Fairview Road to Southbound I-405

In addition to this work, crews will also be performing pile installation at the Fairview Bridge Over Crossing during the day and with vibrating method during the night at I-405 Center Median. The work will take place from June 26 through June 28, July 8 through July 10 and July 15 through July 17.

Pile driving will also take place during the day and by vibrating method during the night adjacent to southbound Fairview On Ramp from July 10 through July 17.

Deanne is a Costa Mesa senior woman who spent nearly eight years living in her car with relatives.

Recently, she became severely ill and was hospitalized. The staff at the hospital reached out to Costa Mesa’s community outreach team and through collaborative efforts, Deanne was able to successfully move into the Bridge Shelter.

Initially, Deanne was extremely hesitant and reluctant to stay at the shelter because she was alone and without her relatives, since they did not want to move with her to the shelter. She even experienced panic attacks due to this.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to again consider the John Wayne Airport General Aviation Improvement Program (GAIP) on Tuesday, June 25. This item was continued from the Board’s May 7 meeting to allow time for a compromise solution proposed by Supervisor Andrew Do to be evaluated by County staff.

On June 19, County staff moved forward with the same recommendation that was presented at the May 7 Board meeting, which asks the Board to approve Alternative 1. The cities of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach opposes Alternative 1 in its original form because it will result in more jets flying over our community.

Both cities remain willing to consider the “modified Alternative 1” as proposed by Supervisor Do, or another reasonable plan that contains the project elements that protect the communities under the airport’s arrival and departure corridors from additional noise and pollution impacts. Specifically, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach leaders are looking for the Board to adopt a plan based on, or that contains element similar to, the principles of Alternative 3 (the preferred alternative):

Click here for the staff report and public comments.

• No more than two (2) full-service Fixed Based Operators
• One (1) new and one (1) existing limited-service Fixed Base Operators
• No General Aviation Facility (for processing international general aviation passengers)
• Increased hangar space for small general aviation planes
• Maintain the current “GA mix”, meaning, keep the current ratio of light general aviation aircraft (single and twin engine) and general aviation jets.

What You Can Do

Learn More at our web page Airport Noise and Concerns or at newportbeachca.gov/gaip
Sign the Petition – http://chng.it/Z5V87DkmFv
Email Your Comments to the Board – www.ocgov.com/gov/bos/opinion
Attend the June 25 Board of Supervisors Meeting – Starts at 9:30 a.m. at 333 W. Santa Ana Blvd., Santa Ana, CA 92701.

The City of Newport Beach has received a number of questions about or related to the GAIP.

You can find a list of those questions, with the city’s answers, here.

The Costa Mesa City Council at the June 18 meeting adopted a $172 million Operating & Capital Improvement Budget for Fiscal Year 2019-2020.

The 2019-2020 budget reflected revenues that increased by 2 percent compared to a 5.6 percent increase the previous year as well as costs for the temporary and permanent Bridge Shelters, increases to salaries and benefits for existing positions and recent litigation costs surrounding sober living homes.

City leaders began working on the budget in December of 2018.

“I’m really proud of the work we have done, and the work we continue to do,” Mayor Katrina Foley said. She pointed out that the Police Department for example is now one of the highest paid in the county and is a destination department once again with specialty units and community policing.

Still, she acknowledged that the recent financial burdens placed on the city meant this year’s budget was tighter than in years past.

“We can’t have everything,” she said. “We worked hard to prioritize necessities and set up things now so that we can be ready to build and develop projects later when revenue is better. We are prioritizing recreation, we are prioritizing learning, we are prioritizing public safety and sustainability, and we are prioritizing economic development. It’s important to be a destination city and thriving business community, so we can achieve our priorities.

The council used about $454,599 in reserves to balance the budget that includes the addition of eight full-time equivalent (FTE) positions to address operational needs in the City, which includes five new positions and three positions that were the result of reclassification or elimination of certain part-time positions to create full-time positions.

There were also a number of accounting corrections that ultimately reclassified accounts from salaries and benefits to maintenance and operations as well accurately recording revenues and expenditures individually, rather than netting them together. This was the result of an extensive review of the accounting records to ensure the City is following proper accounting principles.

In addition to approving the budget, the City Council directed the City Manager and Finance Department to report back to City Council by November 15, 2019 on the status of the first quarter operating budget for the General Fund, provide additional recommendations on the staffing changes recommended for deferral and how to address the Police Department’s operating and capital requests.

Costa Mesa Police Special Investigations Detectives recently assisted in a six-month investigation that resulted in the arrest of nine defendants now charged with numerous firearms and narcotics charges for trafficking firearms, heroin and methamphetamine.

Two of those arrested were from Costa Mesa.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) began the investigation in September 2018, which included Costa Mesa Police, Huntington Beach Police and Homeland Security Investigations.

Throughout the investigation, law enforcement obtained 20 firearms, ammunition, more than five pounds of methamphetamine, and 131 grams of heroin in controlled purchases. In addition, various firearm parts and ammunition were seized. Several of the guns bought were self-manufactured and un-serialized, numerous firearms were unregistered National Firearms Act (NFA) weapons, and at least one firearm was proven to be stolen from a residential burglary.

The two federal criminal cases are being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office, Santa Ana Branch Office.

“This type of law enforcement partnership amplifies our efforts to combat these crimes and allows us to cast a wider net,” said Costa Mesa Police Chief Rob Sharpnack. “The apprehension of these criminals is a step toward making our communities safer. We will continue to work with our partners in our pursuit of those who threaten public safety.”

Throughout the investigation, law enforcement bought 20 firearms, ammunition, more than 5 pounds of methamphetamine, and 131 grams of heroin in controlled purchases. In addition, various firearm parts and ammunition were seized.

Several of the guns bought were self-manufactured and unserialized, numerous firearms were unregistered National Firearms Act (NFA) weapons, and at least one firearm was proven to be stolen from a residential burglary.

One of the indictments returned by a federal grand jury alleges Timothy A. Murphy, a.k.a. “Papa Smurf,” 67, of Costa Mesa; Brad J. Nelson, 50, of Newport Beach; John W. Breneman, 46, of Irvine; and Danny Ramos, a.k.a. “Bull,” 49, of Santa Ana, conspired to distribute methamphetamine and heroin.

The indictment also states Murphy, Nelson and Breneman sold pistols, shotguns, and ammunition to a prohibited person on various dates and in varying amounts. Nelson, a prohibited person, is also charged with possessing firearms illegally.

The second indictment returned by a federal grand jury alleges Joseph T. Doody, 30, of Huntington Beach; Brian P. Ros, a.k.a. “Rosco,” 32, of Santa Ana; and Steve M. Bonales, a.k.a. “Ghost,” “G,” and “S-Man,” 40, of Santa Ana, conspired to distribute methamphetamine.

The indictment alleges Caleb T. Sagiao, 36, of Harbor City, engaged in the business of selling firearms without a federal license on numerous occasions selling semi-automatic shotguns with no serial numbers, homemade AR-15 type pistols and rifles, and seven homemade AR-15 type short-barreled rifles.

Short-barreled rifles fall under the National Firearms Act and must be registered with ATF. They were not. Therefore, federal charges of possession of unregistered firearms were levied against Sagiao. According to the indictment, Ros was also engaged in the business of selling firearms without a federal license. Doody, Ros and Sagiao allegedly sold various firearms to a prohibited person throughout the investigation. Bonales, a prohibited person, is charged with a felon in possession of a firearm. According to the indictment Shelia L. Cundall, 48, of Costa Mesa, is charged with selling a firearm to a prohibited person.

“When ATF partners with its local PDs to reduce violent crime by targeting these individuals who pose the greatest threat to public safety, the enforcement strategies produce results,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge of Los Angeles Field Division Carlos A. Canino. “These partnerships are true force multipliers. They enable law enforcement to identify, investigate and seek prosecution against these illicit gun possessors, and drug and firearm traffickers.”

“This case is just one of the great examples of our partnerships in law enforcement,” Huntington Beach Police Chief Rob Handy. “The investigation and prosecution of these dangerous individuals would not have been possible without the excellent partnerships we enjoy with both local and federal law enforcement agencies. It is because our teams worked together, these dangerous people and weapons have been removed from our communities.”

“This investigation is a perfect example of the positive impact achieved in the community when local and federal law enforcement join forces to dismantle the dangerous criminal networks operating in our neighborhoods,” said Joseph Macias, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles. “I commend the investigators for their coordination and tireless work. This joint investigation is a victory for law enforcement and the communities we serve.”

For more information about ATF visit and follow ATF on Twitter @LosAngelesATF.

Gabriel Silva is a Senior Site Lead for Mercy House working in the city Bridge Shelter.

He grew up in a single parent home and at the age of 5, his father passed away and left his mother to raise eight children.

“Mama did her best but I decided to take the road of hard knocks which lasted into my 30s,” Silva said. “Once I came to my senses I knew I wanted to share my experiences and help others find their way back home if you will.”

In 2015, he began to volunteer with the Salvation Army and eventually was offered a position as an Outreach Coordinator working with the homeless community. He found his passion.

After two years with the Salvation Army, he was hired by City Net to help with the project of relocating people from the Santa Ana River Trail as well as the Santa Ana Civic Center.

Silva has assisted with relocating people from homeless encampments into emergency shelters, transitional living, permanent housing, and connecting them to mental health services, and drug rehabilitation programs.

He later learned about Mercy House and was hired by the nonprofit in November of 2018. He started as a site lead at a new shelter in Santa Ana and then moved to work on the Costa Mesa Bridge Shelter in March

“All of my past experiences have brought me to this point and have prepared me for the service here at the Costa Mesa Bridge Shelter in helping the homeless find their way home,” he said. “I am very grateful for this opportunity and I look forward to continuing this service with Mercy House and the City of Costa Mesa.”

Russ Carter  first began his involvement with individuals experiencing homelessness in Costa Mesa 14 years ago as part of a small group from Saddleback Church that served breakfast and provided fellowship at the Sandpiper Motel.