A Huntington Beach resident who’s been documenting the number of crashes that have happened along a busy intersection near his home is pushing for changes to improve safety.
In just the past three years, 11 crashes have been recorded on State Route 39 near the intersection of Beach Boulevard and Taylor Drive in Huntington Beach, according to police. One of those crashes resulted in a fatality and seven of them caused injuries to those who were involved.
Craig McCoy, who lives in the area, said the numerous crashes have left him and his neighbors apprehensive. As a result, the Orange County man has taken matters into his hands by tracking the crashes with his home surveillance camera in hopes it will push authorities to make appropriate changes.
“I put up a camera for my front yard, and then the company that makes security cameras came out with one that zooms in,” McCoy said. “So, I said, ‘Perfect, there’s a bunch of accidents in front of my house. Let me just point it to the intersection and see what happens.’”
The videos, which were recorded over a two-year period, show drivers attempting to make a left turn onto Taylor Street. Those drivers are often met with cars driving southbound and northbound on SR-39 at high speeds.
“It’s technically 40 to 45 through here, but the regular flow of traffic is 50 or 60, sometimes faster,” McCoy said. “People can’t typically account for that when they are trying to make left turns and that is typically how those accidents happen.”
McCoy said he reached out to the city for help but was told that because SR-39 is a state highway, it’s under state jurisdiction. He added that he was able to reach Caltrans and was told the agency recently completed a review of the area and the road. It said it was waiting for those findings to see if the agency can move forward with any changes.
More than 60 largely peaceful protests took place this weekend against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions, including several in Southern California.
But while many protests were without incident, they were not short on anger and moments of tension. Organizers called the gatherings the “ICE Out for Good” weekend of action in response to the fatal shooting of Renée Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis.
In Huntington Beach, Ron Duplantis, 72, carried a diagram to represent the three shots fired at Good, including one through her windshield and two others that appeared to go through her side window.
“Those last two shots,” he said, “make it clear to me that this is murder.”
Participants in the “ICE Out” protest hold signs Sunday in Huntington Beach.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
Huntington Beach has seen past clashes between Trump supporters and anti-racism activists, but as of mid-afternoon, Sunday’s protest was tense at times, but free of violence. About 300 people — and two dozen counterprotesters — stood outside City Hall, with protesters carrying anti-ICE signs, ringing cowbells and chanting “ICE out of O.C.”
As cars sped past them on Main Street, many motorists honked in a show of solidarity, while some rolled down their windows to shout their support for ICE, MAGA and President Trump.
“The reason why I’m here is democracy,” said Mary Artesani, a 69-year-old Costa Mesa resident carrying a sign that read “RESIST.” “They have to remember he won’t be in office forever.”
Participants in the “ICE Out” protest in Huntington Beach hold signs as a car with a MAGA hat in the windshield passes.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
The Trump administration has largely stood behind the ICE agent, identified as Jonathan Ross, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem saying he acted in self-defense. Democratic officials and many members of the public have said the videos of the shooting circulating on social media appear to contradict at least some of the administration’s assertions.
“I’m outraged a woman was murdered by our government and our government lied to our faces about it,” said protester Tony Zarkades, 60, who has lived in the Huntington Beach area for nearly 30 years. A former officer in the Marines, Zarkades said he is thinking of moving to Orange to escape the presence of so many Trump supporters in Huntington Beach.
Large protests against ICE occurred in the Bay Area as well as Sacramento and other California cities over the weekend. In Oakland, hundreds demonstrated peacefully on Sunday, although the night before, protesters assembled at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and left graffiti, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.
In Los Angeles on Saturday night, protesters marched through the downtown area to City Hall and past the Edward Roybal Federal Building, with the L.A. Police Department issuing a dispersal order at about 6:30 p.m., according to City News Service.
While many of the protests focused on what happened to Good in Minnesota, they also recognized Keith Porter Jr., a man killed by an off-dutyICE agent in Northridge on New Year’s Eve.
In Huntington Beach, the coastal community has long had a reputation as a Southern California stronghold for Republicans, though its politics have recently been shifting. Orange County has a painful legacy of political extremism, including neo-Nazism. In 2021, a “White Lives Matter” rally in the area ended in 12 arrests.
On Sunday, a small group of about 30 counterprotesters waved Trump and MAGA flags on a corner opposite from the anti-ICE rally.
Counterprotester Victoria Cooper, 72, holds signs and shouts at participants of the “ICE Out” protest in Huntington Beach.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
“We’re here to support our country and president and support ICE,” said Kelly Johnson, who gave his age as “old enough to be your sugar daddy.”
Wearing an “ICE Immigration: Making America Safe Again” T-shirt, Kelly said the protesters were “paid agitators” who had been lied to by the media.
“Look at the other angles of the [shooting] videos,” he said. “She ran over the officer.”
Standing with him was Jesse Huizar, 66, who said he identifies as a “Latino for Trump” and was here to “support the blue.”
The Chino resident said he came to the U.S. from Mexico when he was 5, but that he has no fear of ICE because he “came here legally.”
Huizar said Good’s death was sad, but that she “if she had complied, if she got out of her car and followed orders, she’d be alive right now.”
But their voices were largely overpowered by those of the anti-ICE protesters. One of the event’s organizers, 52-year-old Huntington Beach resident Denise G., who declined to give her last name, said they’ve been gathering in front of City Hall every Sunday since March, but that this was by far one of the largest turnouts they have seen.
She felt “devastated, angry, and more determined than ever” when she saw the video of Good’s shooting, she said.
Counterprotester Kelly Johnson stands across from the “ICE Out” demonstration.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
“It could be any one of us,” she said. “The people not out here today need to understand this could be their family member, their spouse, their children. The time is now. All hands on deck.”
Nearby, 27-year-old Yvonne Gonzales had gathered with about 10 of her friends. They said they were motivated to come because they were outraged by the shooting.
“I wish I was surprised by it,” Gonzales said, “but we’ve seen so much violence from ICE.”
She suspected that race was a factor in the outpouring of support, noting that Good was a white woman while many others who have been injured or killed by immigration enforcement actions have been people of color, but that it was still “great to see this turnout and visibility.”
A few feet away, 41-year-old Christie Martinez stood with her children, Elliott, 9, and Kane, 6. She teared up thinking about the shooting and the recent ICE actions in California, including the killing of Porter.
“It’s sad and sickening,” said Martinez, who lives in Westminster. “It makes me really sad how people are targeted because of their skin color.”
Anyone who thought the final nail had been hammered in the dispute between cities and the state over builder’s remedy might want to think again.
Let’s revisit the latest in the saga involving Huntington Beach, starting with the observation that there was some presumptive PR at play when Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a joint declaration of “victory” on Thursday. The win they claimed came when the California Supreme Court declined to review a lower-court decision on whether charter city status could be a loophole in challenges to builder’s remedy.
The lower court waived off any such special status. It more specifically put legal clamps on Huntington Beach’s fight against state law requiring local jurisdictions to create a “housing element” as a plan to meet mandated levels of housing production.
Sure, there was room for the governor and AG to claim a win in the latest legal round — but Huntington Beach still has a hand to play
In a lawsuit separate from the state’s, Huntington Beach headed to U.S. District Court to challenge the housing mandates based on their constitutionality. Charter cities — such as Huntington Beach, Los Angeles and San Francisco — are called that for a reason. They have charters that function as municipal constitutions of sorts. In some cases, a charter can shield a city from state regulation. Election laws and prevailing wage are areas where courts have found the city charter and ordinances to have the final say on a local matter.
Huntington Beach’s federal lawsuit is now at the U.S. Supreme Court, where a petition from the city seeks a review of lower-court rulings.
That’s partly what allowed the city to waive off the state-level denial for review Newsom and Bonta touted as a win.
“The city will continue to vigorously defend its environmental stewardship, its charter-city authority and its right to fair and evenhanded enforcement of state housing laws in the superior court,” Huntington Beach said in a statement Thursday.
What’s CEQA got to do with it?
A lot, actually.
If one looks at how Huntington Beach is arguing its case legally, the California Environmental Quality Act has plenty to do with the city’s legal posturing.
When CEQA went into effect in 1970, it set into motion a series of rules that have been pieced together over the decades, leaving the mess of interpretation and enforcement up to local government.
Huntington Beach asserts that the housing element puts it in a precarious situation with CEQA. That, the city said, opens it up to “penalties unless it adopts a housing element, even though CEQA prohibits adoption until environmental review is completed and lawful findings can be made.”
Ultimately, the question of how builder’s remedy plays with existing state regulations is only just getting started.
Lawsuit seeks no change on SB 9
Newsom’s carveout from a law allowing for split lots to build more density in Los Angeles’ burn areas is also facing a legal challenge now that YIMBY Law has filed suit against Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Los Angeles County, along with the cities of Los Angeles, Pasadena and Malibu.
The challenge comes to Senate Bill 9, which went into effect at the start of 2022, allows owners to split single-family lots for the purpose of building another home or adding an accessory dwelling unit.
The housing advocacy group contends that suspending SB 9 will make the rebuilding process harder on property owners who might need to sell a portion of their lot or use part of their property for generating rental income.
Turnover and retention
Sotheby’s International Realty landed a big get when the Walters | Plaxen Group announced it was parting ways with the Beverly Hills Estates this past week.
The seven-person group is led by Nicole Plaxen and Shauna Walters, with the two closing over $1 billion in career sales.
The change of scenery comes after former Beverly Hills Estates broker of record and general manager Matthew Clayman left to lead Coldwell Banker Realty’s Beverly Hills and Hancock Park offices. Clayman recently recruited Severin Braham, former director of operations for the Williams and Williams Estates Group at the Beverly Hills Estates.
Other departures from the brokerage include Shana and Emila Tavangarian, the daughters of luxury spec developer Ardie Tavangarian, who left for Carolwood Estates; Mick Partridge, who also left for Carolwood; and Greg LaPlant, who is also now with Coldwell Banker, per Department of Real Estate records.
Read more
Newsom in hot seat as YIMBY Law files lawsuit over SB 9 rebuild efforts
Newport Beach voters to determine state-mandated housing plan’s fate
Walters and Plaxen leave Beverly Hills Estates for Sotheby’s
The crushed cockpit of a helicopter is still resting where it crashed Saturday in Huntington Beach, California, south of Los Angeles. Investigators from the NTSB and FAA gathered evidence from the mangled wreckage on Sunday to figure out what went wrong. Andres Gutierrez reports.
Five people, including a child, were hospitalized when a helicopter crashed in the Southern California city of Huntington Beach on Saturday afternoon.It happened just after 2 p.m. local time near a parking lot off Pacific Coast Highway, between Beach Boulevard and Twin Dolphins Drive, according to Huntington Beach firefighters. City officials tell CBS News that the two people on the helicopter were safely pulled from the wreckage. Three pedestrians on the street were also injured in the incident, and all five people were taken to the hospital for treatment. None of their conditions was known.Police closed PCH between Huntington Street and Beach Boulevard at around 3 p.m., as they began to investigate the crash. They asked people to avoid the area and use alternate routes for at least several hours after the closure was put into place. A dramatic video posted on social media shows the helicopter spinning several times before crashing into palm trees and the outdoor stairway of the pedestrian bridge that runs over PCH to the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa. Other video footage shows an object falling from the helicopter moments before it plummeted from the sky. With SkyCal over the scene, scattered debris was seen in the beach access parking lot, a large part of which was blocked off by police tape. The tail of the aircraft broke off in the crash, with the rest of the helicopter still wedged between the staircase and palm trees as of 4:30 p.m.There were several other small helicopters parked in the parking lot near where the crash happened, just in front of the Hyatt Regency and Waterfront Beach Resort. An “exclusive helicopter landing party” was being hosted by MD Helicopters at the Offshore 9 Rooftop Lounge on Saturday afternoon, where attendees were invited to “watch helicopters arrive from a bird’s eye view.” The landing party was scheduled ahead of the Cars ‘N Copters On the Coast main event on Sunday.Event organizers said that the event was not going to be canceled. “We are sending our prayers out to all involved in the unfortunate incident today,” said a statement. “Our plan for now is to move forward with our event tomorrow, Sunday, October 12th. We will advise everyone at the earliest possible opportunity if that plan changes.”Witnesses said that the helicopter appeared to dip towards the bridge before it lost control and crashed. “You can hear this odd sound that didn’t sound right,” said Kevin Bullat, who saw the scene unfold. “I looked out and I see the helicopter spiraling out of control. … My friend saw shrapnel, or just debris, catapulting across PCH.”It’s unclear what caused the helicopter to crash. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have been notified of the crash, city officials said. The helicopter was a Bell 222, which is powered by two turboshaft engines, and was manufactured in 1980.
KCAL,KCBS —
Five people, including a child, were hospitalized when a helicopter crashed in the Southern California city of Huntington Beach on Saturday afternoon.
It happened just after 2 p.m. local time near a parking lot off Pacific Coast Highway, between Beach Boulevard and Twin Dolphins Drive, according to Huntington Beach firefighters.
City officials tell CBS News that the two people on the helicopter were safely pulled from the wreckage. Three pedestrians on the street were also injured in the incident, and all five people were taken to the hospital for treatment. None of their conditions was known.
Police closed PCH between Huntington Street and Beach Boulevard at around 3 p.m., as they began to investigate the crash. They asked people to avoid the area and use alternate routes for at least several hours after the closure was put into place.
A dramatic video posted on social media shows the helicopter spinning several times before crashing into palm trees and the outdoor stairway of the pedestrian bridge that runs over PCH to the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa.
Other video footage shows an object falling from the helicopter moments before it plummeted from the sky.
With SkyCal over the scene, scattered debris was seen in the beach access parking lot, a large part of which was blocked off by police tape. The tail of the aircraft broke off in the crash, with the rest of the helicopter still wedged between the staircase and palm trees as of 4:30 p.m.
There were several other small helicopters parked in the parking lot near where the crash happened, just in front of the Hyatt Regency and Waterfront Beach Resort. An “exclusive helicopter landing party” was being hosted by MD Helicopters at the Offshore 9 Rooftop Lounge on Saturday afternoon, where attendees were invited to “watch helicopters arrive from a bird’s eye view.” The landing party was scheduled ahead of the Cars ‘N Copters On the Coast main event on Sunday.
Event organizers said that the event was not going to be canceled.
“We are sending our prayers out to all involved in the unfortunate incident today,” said a statement. “Our plan for now is to move forward with our event tomorrow, Sunday, October 12th. We will advise everyone at the earliest possible opportunity if that plan changes.”
Witnesses said that the helicopter appeared to dip towards the bridge before it lost control and crashed.
“You can hear this odd sound that didn’t sound right,” said Kevin Bullat, who saw the scene unfold. “I looked out and I see the helicopter spiraling out of control. … My friend saw shrapnel, or just debris, catapulting across PCH.”
It’s unclear what caused the helicopter to crash. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have been notified of the crash, city officials said.
The helicopter was a Bell 222, which is powered by two turboshaft engines, and was manufactured in 1980.
INVESTIGATION. FIVE PEOPLE ARE IN THE HOSPITAL AFTER A HELICOPTER CRASH IN HUNTINGTON BEACH. VIDEO SHOWS THE MOMENT THE HELICOPTER CRASHED TO THE GROUND. LOOK AT YOUR SCREEN. THE HELICOPTER SPINNING IN THE AIR RIGHT THERE. FIREFIGHTERS SAY THEY RESCUED TWO PEOPLE FROM THE HELICOPTER AND THREE PEOPLE ON THE GROUND WERE ALSO HURT. THEY WERE ALL TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL FOR TREATMENT. THE CAUSE OF THIS CRASH IS NOW UNDER INVESTIGATION. ONE WITNESS SAYS THE HELICOPTER APPEARED READY TO LAND. HE SAYS ITS LANDING GEAR WAS DOWN, BUT THE CHOPPER APPROACHED THE GROUND. A PIECE BROKE OFF AND THAT SENT THAT H
5 taken to hospital after helicopter spirals out of control, slams into palms in Southern California
A helicopter that was coasting above a popular Southern California beach Saturday suddenly lost control and began spiraling in midair, eventually losing altitude and slamming into a row of palms as stunned sunbathers and beachgoers looked on.Multiple videos posted online show the aircraft twirling clockwise above Huntington Beach, then plunging toward the edge of the beach, where it becomes wedged between palms and a staircase near Pacific coast Highway.| RELATED | Suzie Smith, nurse onboard Sacramento helicopter that crashed, has diedThe Huntington Beach Fire Department said five people were hospitalized, including two who were in the helicopter and were “safely pulled from the wreckage.” Three other people on the street were injured. Details on their injuries were not immediately available.No cause was released.The department said the helicopter was associated with an annual “Cars ‘N Copters” fundraising event planned for Sunday.
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. —
A helicopter that was coasting above a popular Southern California beach Saturday suddenly lost control and began spiraling in midair, eventually losing altitude and slamming into a row of palms as stunned sunbathers and beachgoers looked on.
Multiple videos posted online show the aircraft twirling clockwise above Huntington Beach, then plunging toward the edge of the beach, where it becomes wedged between palms and a staircase near Pacific coast Highway.
The Huntington Beach Fire Department said five people were hospitalized, including two who were in the helicopter and were “safely pulled from the wreckage.” Three other people on the street were injured. Details on their injuries were not immediately available.
No cause was released.
The department said the helicopter was associated with an annual “Cars ‘N Copters” fundraising event planned for Sunday.
The second “No Kings Day” will take place on Oct. 18. This is in response to an increasingly authoritarian regime, protestors say
A series of “No Kings Day” demonstrations are set to take place nationwide on Saturday, Oct. 18. The protests are organized as a response to what activists describe as the Trump administration’s increasingly authoritarian tactics.
“On October 18, millions of us are rising again to show the world: America has no kings, and the power belongs to the people.” No Kings organizers wrote on their website.
They further entail how to register and find nearby events taking place.
This movement is a follow-up to June’s protest, which coincided with President Donald Trump’s birthday and a grand military parade in Washington, D.C.
While the protestors attempted to make their protest peaceful, police responded to the scene with tear gas and crowd-control tactics, according to Associated Press.
This protest is spearheaded by the 50501 Movement, which frames itself as a coalition rejecting concentrated power and authoritarian leadership. The name references “50 states, 50 protests, one movement.”
“This isn’t just politics.” No Kings organizers said. “It’s democracy versus dictatorship. And together, we’re choosing democracy.”
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Protest locations in Southern California include Huntington Beach, Pasadena, Orange County, Inglewood and more. To get the full list of cities, visit the No Kings protest website here.
One person was killed early Saturday after a car chase ended in a crash involving an innocent driver in Huntington Beach, according to police.
At 12:50 a.m., law enforcement was informed of a reckless driver traveling on Pacific Coast Highway near Brookhurst Street. Soon after, officers found the vehicle in question near Talbert Avenue and Beach Boulevard, where they tried to pull the driver over.
The driver refused to pull over, starting a pursuit. As the driver approached Beach Boulevard and Warner Avenue, they hit another vehicle and then a pole at a high speed.
As a result of the crash, the driver in the pursuit died at the scene. The identification of that individual was not released.
Police said the driver of the second vehicle was not injured and declined medical attention.
The California Highway Patrol is continuing its investigation into the case.
Huntington Beach — The Southern California city of Huntington Beach draws millions of visitors to its sandy shores each year. But there is one group that is not welcome: undocumented immigrants.
“My mom was an immigrant,” Huntington Beach Mayor Pat Burns told CBS News. “My dad’s parents were immigrants. This country was founded on immigrants, but legally.”
Burns is an avid supporter of President Trump, with a bust of the president in his office. He leads a city known for opposing many of California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s policies, and the state’s majority left-leaning voters, especially when it comes to immigration.
“Well, a lot of the impact is immeasurable,” Burns said of how he thinks the city’s residents are impacted or hurt by illegal immigration. “… You don’t know who’s here. We don’t know where they’re coming from, what their past is.”
Back in January, Burns pushed an initiative approved unanimously by the Huntington Beach City Council that declared Huntington Beach a “non-sanctuary” city.
At least 16 cities and counties across the U.S. have declared themselves non-sanctuary jurisdictions in recent years, according to the CBS News research team, while about two dozen states have passed legislation banning sanctuary policies.
Non-sanctuary status gives local police the green light to help federal law enforcement officials in their efforts to capture and detain undocumented immigrants. However, California is a so-called “sanctuary” state that restricts local cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Burns said the city’s non-sanctuary policy has teeth “in the sense that we’re making a statement.”
“Our policemen can’t use ICE translators, or they can’t translate for ICE, they can’t use their computer systems,” Burns said. “I mean, there’s so many different types of law enforcements that could all work together, and when they do, we have the best law enforcement in the world.”
The Trump administration has repeatedly threatened to withhold a variety of federal grants from cities and states classified as “sanctuary jurisdictions” if they don’t cooperate with immigration enforcement. But so far, these attempts have been struck down in the courts.
This week, Portland, Oregon, was the latest sanctuary city to be targeted by the White House, with Mr. Trump ordering the deployment of 200 Oregon National Guard troops to protect an ICE facility and other federal buildings from protesters.
“The type of help that’s being offered isn’t being asked for,” Portland Mayor Keith Wilson told reporters this week. “It’s not necessary. The number of troops that we want or need is zero.”
Back in Huntington Beach, Burns is encouraging other cities to adopt a non-sanctuary approach to immigration.
“Politicians should stay the hell out of law enforcement and let law enforcement do their job,” Burns said.
How Huntington Beach is bucking California’s “sanctuary city” policies – CBS News
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The Southern California city of Huntington Beach draws millions of visitors to its sandy shores each year. But there is one group that is not welcome: undocumented immigrants. Adam Yamaguchi reports.
1.Surf instructors help Candace Chestnut, of Los Angeles, ride a wave for her first time as she takes lessons.2.Nicole Mitchell, of Charlotte, N.C., celebrates with fellow beginners after riding a wave.3.Surf instructors Mike Bennett, left, and Shanden Brutsch, right, cheer on Cassandra Winston as she rides her first wave.
Huntington Beach residents gathered Tuesday for a vigil in honor of the teenager who went swimming in the ocean and failed to return earlier this week.
Candles and flowers rest near the pier in Huntington Beach a day after the Coast Guard announced it suspended its extensive search for the 15-year-old boy.
“The decision to suspend an active search is never easy and is only made after exhaustive efforts to find the missing person,” said Capt. Stacey Crecy, commanding officer of Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach. “Our hearts ache for his family and friends.”
“A lot of the people here today — the mothers and fathers –they are here to show support and that’s why we call it “HB ohana;” we are all here to show support,” said Bushman Orozco, a Huntington Beach resident who attended the vigil.
First responders received a call at about 9 p.m. Sunday about the missing swimmer and began a search with lifeguards in the water, on land and in the air with a helicopter from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, according to Jennifer Carey, Huntington Beach’s public affairs manager.
The unidentified teen had gone swimming with another person who got out of the water and realized the teen was missing, Carey said. The location was near Lifeguard Tower 11, which is between Twin Dolphin and Huntington Streets.
There were strong rip currents earlier in the day, she said.
The search spanned from the Bolsa Chica Wetlands to Newport, with crews searching by air and sea for nearly 20 hours, covering approximately 105 square miles, according to the Coast Guard.
Officials on Monday were searching for a teenager who disappeared while swimming in Huntington Beach on Sunday night.
Two swimmers went into the water, but only one returned, according to Huntington Beach public information officer Jennifer Carey. There were strong rip currents earlier in the day, she said.
The U.S. Coast Guard began searching around 9:45 p.m. for the 15-year-old boy, who was last seen near Lifeguard Tower 11, according to Coast Guard public affairs specialist Richard Uranga. The Huntington Beach Fire Department has also assisted in the search.
A water search was called off about 10:40 p.m., Carey said, but the search continued on land and in the air.
The Coast Guard’s air and patrol units and its response boats have been searching the area. The search is expected to continue until at least Monday afternoon, Uranga said, when the Coast Guard captain and search-and-rescue coordinator will decide whether efforts will be suspended.
The missing teen hasn’t been publicly identified, but Uranga said he’s an Orange County resident.
A person is in custody after several people were stabbed Thursday night in Huntington Beach, leaving two dead and three others injured, according to authorities and news reports.
Police received reports of an assault with a deadly weapon near the intersection of 16th Street and Pecan Avenue around 11:15 p.m., the Huntington Beach Police Department said in a news release. When police arrived at the scene, they found several people with significant injuries.
Two people died from their injuries and three others were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Witnesses told news station KTLA-TV that a group of people were watching fireworks from the street when a man drove up in a car, got out and started stabbing people on the sidewalk. Two bystanders tackled the man and held him until police arrived, witnesses told the news station.
One person is in custody, according to police, but it’s unclear if they are a suspect. There are no additional details about the victims or the circumstances surrounding the stabbing.
The incident is under investigation by the major crimes unit. Huntington Beach police said they believe the stabbings were an isolated event.
A magnitude 2.6 earthquake struck Newport Beach on Wednesday afternoon, resulting in weak shaking in Orange County.
The epicenter of the quake, just southeast of Costa Mesa, was underneath Mariners Park. Weak shaking was felt in Irvine, Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, Garden Grove, Tustin, and Fountain Valley, according to people who reported the shaking to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Did You Feel It? website.
The earthquake struck at 1:46 p.m. and occurred near mapped traces of the Newport-Inglewood/Rose Canyon fault zone. In Santa Ana, one person felt the earthquake as starting with the slowest of rumbles, then a quick jolt.
The Newport-Inglewood fault has long been considered one of Southern California’s top seismic danger zones because it runs under some of the region’s most densely populated areas, from the Westside of Los Angeles to the Orange County coast.
The last major quake on that fault occurred in 1933 — the magnitude 6.4 Long Beach earthquake. That temblor — the deadliest in modern Southern California history — resulted in “very strong” shaking, or level 7 on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale, in Long Beach, Huntington Beach and Compton.
The 1933 quake left nearly 120 dead and caused $40 million in property damage.
Scientists have said that recent observations suggest earthquakes as large as magnitudes 6.8 to 7.5 have struck the Newport-Inglewood/Rose Canyon fault system, which stretches from the border of Beverly Hills and Los Angeles through Long Beach and the Orange County coast to downtown San Diego.
Research published in 2017 suggested the Newport-Inglewood fault is more active than previously thought. If a magnitude 7.5 earthquake did rupture along that fault system, such a temblor would bring massive damage throughout Southern California. An earthquake of magnitude 7 would hit areas of Los Angeles west of downtown particularly hard.
The 2017 study uncovered evidence that major earthquakes on the fault centuries ago were so violent they caused a section of Seal Beach near the Orange County coast to fall 1 1/2 to 3 feet in a matter of seconds.
Wednesday’s earthquake was the fifth of magnitude 2.0 and above that has struck the Southern California metro area in the last five days.
Earlier Wednesday, a magnitude 2.2 earthquake struck underneath the San Gabriel Mountains, less than two miles from the northern edge of Rancho Cucamonga in San Bernardino County. That earthquake, which was down from an earlier estimate of 2.5, struck at 5:01 a.m.
A pair of earthquakes hit the eastern Los Angeles neighborhood of El Sereno on Sunday and Tuesday. The first was a magnitude 3.4, striking at 9:56 a.m. Sunday, a couple blocks south of Huntington Drive and Eastern Avenue. The second was a magnitude 2.8, down from an earlier estimate of magnitude 3, and hit at 3:05 p.m. Tuesday. Its initial estimated epicenter was revised from beneath the Elephant Hill Open Space to farther south, about 700 feet northwest of Sunday’s quake.
On Friday, at 10:26 a.m., a magnitude 3.6 earthquake — down from an original estimate of 3.8 — occurred with an epicenter just north of the Ojai Valley, causing weak shaking to be felt from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles.
It’s not uncommon for Southern California to see small earthquakes. Most do not lead to larger, catastrophic quakes. And while some larger earthquakes are preceded by smaller quakes, that is not always the case.
It’s simply impossible to know whether small earthquakes are “foreshocks” to a larger quake before the more powerful event strikes.
Times staff writer Gustavo Arellano contributed to this report.
Huntington Beach, CA, is known for its beautiful beaches, perfect weather, and vibrant surf culture. With its endless outdoor activities, stunning coastline, and renowned surf competitions, Huntington Beach draws residents and visitors to its shores. Whether it’s the iconic Huntington Beach Pier, the International Surfing Museum, or the annual U.S. Open of Surfing, there’s always something exciting happening in this city.
If you’re considering moving to this beachside paradise, the average rent in Huntington Beach is $3,826, while the median home sale price is $1,210,000. At Redfin, we’ve collected 6 popular Huntington Beach neighborhoods to explore. From the charming neighborhood of Bolsa Chica-Heil to the bustling Downtown Huntington Beach, you’ll find the right neighborhood to buy a home or rent an apartment in Huntington Beach.
1. Bolsa Chica-Heil
Bolsa Chica-Heil is a residential neighborhood located in north Huntington Beach. This neighborhood is known for its proximity to the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, a popular destination for birdwatching and nature walks. The housing types in Bolsa Chica-Heil include single-family homes and townhouses in styles ranging from modern to Mediterranean.
Median Sale Price: $970,000
Average Rent for 1-Bedroom Apartment: $1,895 | Average Rent for 2-Bedroom Apartment: $2,795
Downtown Huntington Beach is in the heart of Huntington Beach. It offers easy access to the iconic Huntington Beach Pier and Main Street, known for its vibrant dining and shopping scene. You can find landmarks like the Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum, the Pacific City shopping mall, and the Huntington Bike Trail, which has ocean views. The housing in Downtown Huntington Beach consists of beachfront condos, modern apartments, and some historic homes varying from contemporary to Spanish Revival styles.
Median Sale Price: $1,900,000
Average Rent for 1-Bedroom Apartment: $2,500 | Average Rent for 2-Bedroom Apartment: $2,700
Goldenwest is in the eastern part of Huntington Beach, close to Murdy Park and Huntington Central Park, where you’ll find the Huntington Central Park Equestrian Center, sports fields, and the Shipley Nature Center. The housing in Goldenwest includes single-family homes, duplexes, and some mid-century modern properties.
Median Sale Price: $550,000
Average Rent for 1-Bedroom Apartment: $2,254 | Average Rent for 2-Bedroom Apartment: $2,795
Huntington Harbour is a waterfront neighborhood in Huntington Beach, offering a marina lifestyle and access to the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. The area is known for its scenic waterways, boating opportunities, and proximity to Sunset Beach, where you’ll find parks, waterfront restaurants, and stunning sunsets. Huntington Harbour has waterfront estates, custom-built homes, and contemporary townhouses. You can often find homes with architectural styles like Cape Cod, Mediterranean, and modern.
Median Sale Price: $1,430,000
Average Rent for 1-Bedroom Apartment: $2,535 | Average Rent for 2-Bedroom Apartment: $3,405
Seacliff is near the Pacific Coast Highway and is known for its proximity to the Huntington Club, a private golf course, and the famous Huntington State Beach. Residents enjoy a coastal lifestyle with access to golfing and beach activities. The housing in Seacliff consists of luxury estates, custom-built homes, and upscale condos, often in Mediterranean, Spanish Colonial, and contemporary designs.
Median Sale Price: $1,370,000
Average Rent for 1-Bedroom Apartment: $2,345 | Average Rent for 2-Bedroom Apartment: $2,820
Southeast Huntington Beach is located in the southeastern corner of Huntington Beach, offering a suburban setting close to the Santa Ana River and Edison Park. The area provides a peaceful residential environment and is close to Huntington State Beach and the beachfront restaurants and shops. The housing in South Huntington Beach includes single-family homes, townhouses, and some condos.
Methodology: All neighborhoods must be listed as a “neighborhood” on Redfin.com. Median home sale price data from the Redfin Data Center during March 2024. Average rental data from Rent.com during March 2024.
Offshore recovery assets put in place to deal with an oil sheen off the coast of Huntington Beach are being demobilized after a flyover Sunday did not observe any sheen, however shoreline cleanup teams continue to observe tar balls along the beaches, and at least two birds have died, authorities said.
The roughly 2.5-mile-long oil sheen was spotted in the ocean water Thursday evening. Monitoring and cleanup efforts are being handled by a Unified Command consisting of the U.S. Coast Guard, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Flyovers Saturday and Sunday morning by a Coast Guard helicopter did not observe any sheen offshore. Cleanup crews recovered approximately 85 gallons of product from offshore recovery and removed about 800 pounds of oily waste and tar balls from the shoreline and will continue to remove them as needed, according to the Unified Command.
The largest tar ball was 15 centimeters but others were six centimeters, the Coast Guard’s Richard Uranga told City News Service on Saturday.
No beach closures were ordered, but the public was advised to avoid contact with tar balls along the shoreline.
The CDFW-OSPR consulted with the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, which found that there is not likely to be a public health threat associated with consuming fish due to the incident, but officials advised against fishing in areas with a visible sheen on the water.
Wildlife crews were surveying the shoreline for oiled wildlife, and found at least three live birds who were visibly oiled: a Brandt’s cormorant, a common loon and a western grebe. The cormorant died in care overnight, officials said. An injured, unoiled snowy plover who was captured also died overnight.
Beachgoers observing oiled wildlife were advised not to attempt to capture the animals, but to report observations to 1-877-UCD-OWCN (1-877-823-6926).
The Coast Guard’s Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach Command Center said it received a report at 6:50 p.m. Thursday of an unknown substance in the water 1.5 miles off the coast of Huntington Beach.
Coast Guard Pollution Responders got underway at 6:30 a.m. Friday with a Newport Harbor Patrol boat to investigate. A Coast Guard helicopter also conducted an overflight in the area at sunrise. Upon investigation, an oil sheen was discovered that spanned 2.5 miles in length and a half-mile in width, roughly 2.8 miles off Huntington Beach near platforms Emmy and Eva, according to the Coast Guard.
Approximately 85% of the sheen, roughly 85 gallons of product, was recovered before the deteriorating sea state caused operations to pause for the evening, the Unified Command announced at 8:19 p.m. Friday.
The cause of the sheen was still being investigated.
“For clarification, reports that Platform Elly reported a discharge of produced water on the morning of March 8 are correct,” the Unified Command said Saturday. “Still, the characteristics of the produced water from Platform Elly do not align with what was observed from the sheen. At this time, we do not believe the sheen and the discharge are related.”
Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley visited Dog Beach in Huntington Beach on Friday and got some of the tar on her shoes, but she said the problem appears to be contained.
“It’s contained is what I understand, but they’re still investigating and the good news is we have all the resources out there,” Foley said. “And they’ll get it cleaned up quickly.”
Foley said regular Dog Beach visitors reported the tar balls were worse than usual.
Meanwhile, the Orange County Health Care Agency warned beach visitors about touching the tar balls.
“Contact with crude oil can pose health risks,” said Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, County Health Officer. “Residents and visitors are advised to take caution in affected areas and to avoid touching visible tar.”
Crude oil poses a risk of skin contact contamination and may emit volatile components into the air, including toxic chemicals, the HCA’s Environmental Health Division said. Prolonged exposure to these substances can lead to health issues including skin, eye, nose and throat irritation, headache, dizziness, upset stomach, vomiting and coughing or shortness of breath. People with preexisting respiratory conditions such as asthma, as well as the elderly and children are particularly vulnerable to adverse effects from inhaling oil vapors.
An oil spill in the same general area in 2021 led to reforms that appear to have improved the response, Foley said.
“We have a better system in place now,” Foley said. “Everybody is all coordinated now — better than they were before so they got a quick response out there.”
The U.S. Coast Guard is still investigating what caused the oil sheen off Huntington Beach in Orange County this week, as clean-up crews on Saturday morning fanned out across the coast.
The sheen — it’s still unclear, officials say, if it was caused by a leak or a spill — was first reported Thursday evening not far from the site of a massive spill in 2021. By Friday night, officials had skimmed most of the oil, or about 85 gallons, from the ocean.
Coast Guard spokesperson Richard Uranga said that a flyover of the area early Saturday morning “showed a lighter sheen on the water.”
Uranga described the cleaning efforts along the coast Saturday morning as “very light,” but urged people walking along the shore with children or pets to keep an eye out for tar balls.
The city of Huntington Beach said beaches remain open, but cautioned against picking up tar patties to dispose of them. If you see tar, the city said, notify a lifeguard.
Uranga said that investigators are still looking into what caused the sheen.
In a statement Friday, Amplify Energy Corp., which owns the pipeline that spewed at least 25,000 gallons of crude oil into the ocean and along the coast in 2021, said they had “no indication that this sheen is related to our operations.”
“We will continue to cooperate with the U.S. Coast Guard and other relevant authorities,” the company added.
Officials from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s office of oil spill prevention and response said Friday that, so far, one oiled bird, a grebe, had been recovered.
The Coast Guard plans to conduct another fly-over inspection Saturday afternoon.
California’s lawsuit against Huntington Beach, which accused the city of defying state efforts to ease the housing crisis, appears to be back on a fast track after the suit was temporarily halted by a Superior Court judge in November.
A three-judge panel at California’s 4th Circuit Court of Appeal instructed a lower court Thursday that Huntington Beach’s status as a charter city did not stop the state from seeking a rapid hearing on its lawsuit. Charter cities adopt a voter-approved set of governing rules that give them more say over local affairs.
The lawsuit, brought by Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Department of Housing and Community Development, alleges that the city violated state law by rejecting a plan to provide enough houses and apartments to meet the region’s expected population growth.
Thursday’s action did not decide the merits of the state’s case against Huntington Beach. Instead, it paves the way for the case to continue on an expedited basis, unless the city can persuade the courts to halt the lawsuit for other reasons.
Although numerous cities have been slow to increase their housing supplies, Huntington Beach has drawn fire repeatedly from state officials because it has pointedly refused to follow state laws that address the housing crisis.
Triggering the latest battle, Huntington Beach’s council voted in March against a proposal to zone for roughly 13,400 additional housing units — the number assigned to the city by the Southern California Assn. of Governments in 2021. Under state law, cities have to revise the housing element of their general plans periodically to comply with a “regional housing needs assessment” done by intergovernmental groups such as SCAG.
The day after state officials filed an early version of its current lawsuit, Huntington Beach sought protection in federal court. In that case, the city claims the state-mandated regional housing needs assessment and its additional housing demands usurp Huntington Beach’s authority as a charter city, in violation of the California Constitution. It also argues that the mandates violate the city’s rights under the U.S. Constitution’s 1st and 14th Amendments, as well as the Commerce Clause.
For the record:
7:50 p.m. Jan. 19, 2024A previous version of this story said a federal judge rejected the state’s lawsuit. The ruling was against the city’s suit.
Huntington Beach persuaded San Diego County Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal in November to put the state’s lawsuit on hold until after the city’s federal lawsuit could be decided. Shortly thereafter, a federal judge rejected the city’s lawsuit, saying the city had no standing to sue. Huntington Beach has since taken its case to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
On Thursday, the state 4th Circuit panel wrote that by state statute, “charter cities are exempt from some requirements of state planning and zoning law,” but “like all other cities, charter cities must adopt general plans with the mandatory elements specified by state law, including a housing element.”
It went on to say that state law gives top priority to lawsuits against a city’s general plan, obligating the court to hold a hearing within 120 days if requested.
In a statement Thursday, Bonta said, “Today the Court of Appeal affirmed that every city will be held to the same standard…. No one, including Huntington Beach, is exempt from following the law. We’ll continue to use every legal tool available to hold those who break state housing laws accountable.”
Huntington Beach City Atty. Michael E. Gates, however, said the appeals court misread state law. “We will continue to challenge any ruling that applies state law to charter cities that do not apply to charter cities,” he said in an interview.
Bacal has set a hearing for Jan. 26 on Bonta’s motion to let the state’s lawsuit proceed. Gates said Bacal “could continue the stay on other bases,” or she could lift the stay and have the two sides start litigating.
A federal agency wants changes in how container ships are anchored off Southern California as well as new safety measures for vessels near offshore pipelines to help prevent or minimize ruptures like the one that spilled 25,000 gallons of crude oil off Huntington Beach.
The 2021 spill caused damage to beaches and wetlands and killed scores of fish and birds.
After a sweeping, two-year review, the National Transportation Safety Board released findings Tuesday that the Orange County spill was a direct result of container ships anchoring in close proximity to offshore pipelines. The board called for the U.S. Coast Guard to increase the buffer between anchored ships and pipelines.
The catastrophe also could have been avoided with improved communication and planning between those monitoring the massive container ships in Southern California’s ports and the operators of the pipelines, investigators found.
The probe into the major oil spill off Huntington Beach confirmed initial findings that indicated a months-earlier anchor strike caused the undersea pipeline to burst, sending at least 25,000 gallons of oil into the Pacific. The investigation found no other possible cause of the damage, officials said at an almost four-hour NTSB meeting Tuesday.
NTSB investigators specifically blamed the “proximity of established anchorage positions to the pipeline,” which made it difficult for crews to prevent the anchors of two container ships from striking the pipeline during stormy weather in January 2021.
Though two ships — the MSC Danit and Cosco Beijing — struck the pipeline with their anchors, investigators determined the former caused the “initiating event” that led to the spill.
NTSB officials said that, given the ships’ locations, there was not sufficient time to weigh anchor or redirect the vessels when bad weather struck. This finding led the board to recommend that the U.S. Coast Guard revamp its plan governing the locations of ships anchored off Southern California to provide a greater margin of error among pipelines.
“Anchorages need to be designed to account for the size of vessels using them and the time it takes for these ships’ crews to react when anchor dragging occurs,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said in a statement.
In the 2021 incident off Huntington Beach, the initial contact from the anchor caused “progressive cracks” in Houston-based Amplify Energy’s 17.3-mile underwater pipeline, which eventually burst in October, almost nine months later. The two giant ships had been anchored outside the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports as vessels stacked up during the COVID-era supply chain backups, officials said.
The probe found two other factors also contributed to the spill: When the ships dragged their anchors, the pipeline operators were never notified — a step that officials noted is not yet required. Also, months later, the operators’ response to leak alarms was significantly delayed.
Based on those findings, board members urged the Coast Guard to implement new alarms for its marine traffic monitors who stand watch over busy waterways, to signal when anchors might come close to pipelines in any U.S. waterway, as well as to put in place processes for notifying pipeline operators when such contact may have occurred.
Although the NTSB does not have regulatory or enforcement power, its recommendations carry weight.
Investigators also found pipeline operators involved in the 2021 spill had “insufficient training,” which contributed to a 14-hour delay in halting the pipeline’s operation after the first alarm sounded to indicate a possible leak — confirming prior reports of a delayed response.
“It took eight total leak alarms before controllers shut down and isolated the line,” the NTSB said in a statement. “Had the San Pedro Bay Pipeline controllers responded in accordance with company procedures and shut down and isolated the line at the first alarm, it would have significantly reduced the volume of crude oil released and the resulting environmental damage.”
The NTSB board also is seeking a federal audit of the company operating the pipeline, a subsidiary of Amplify Energy. Although the report didn’t find any indication that drugs were a factor in the spill, it said operators were not given drug or alcohol tests after the spill — as regulations require — so it’s impossible to know for sure.
Amplify Energy did not immediately respond Tuesday to questions about the findings or recommendations.
“Although there were no human injuries, there most certainly was injury to the environment and to the wildlife and their habitats,” Homendy said Tuesday. She said the estimated damage and cleanup costs from the spill were $160 million, and a total of 116 dead birds were recovered.
Pinpointing fault in the spill before these findings created a string of complicated lawsuits, court cases and settlements. It wasn’t immediately clear if any would be affected by the federal investigation.
The companies behind the two container ships agreed earlier this year to pay Amplify Energy almost $100 million.
