Community Members: 

The voter registration deadline for the November 8 General Election is Monday, October 24. You can register to vote in
Orange County online at this link. 

If you want to check your registration status, or if you need to make updates, you can do so here. If you miss the voter registration deadline, you can conditionally register to vote through November 8 at a Vote Center or at the Registrar of Voters, 1300 S. Grand Avenue, Bldg. C, Santa Ana. You may also conditionally register to vote online but must then go to a Vote Center or the Registrar of Voters to be issued a provisional ballot.

Vote Centers are your one-stop shop for voting and registration needs for the 2022 General Election. There will be more than 180 Vote Centers throughout Orange County for this election -- including 6 in Newport Beach -- where you can vote, solve voter registration issues, register to vote, get a replacement ballot or general assistance. Select Vote Centers will open starting on October 29 (including the Newport Beach Civic Center Community Room, 100 Civic Center Drive) and all Vote Centers will be open November 5 through November 8. You can locate a Vote Center, find hours of operations and view live wait times at this link.  

You can also vote by mail or use a secure ballot drop box to cast your ballot. Vote-by-Mail ballots can be returned to the U.S. Post Office; they do not require postage but must be postmarked by November 8. You can locate a secure ballot drop box near you at this link (there are four in Newport Beach). 

Important upcoming dates are as follows:

• October 24 – Voter Registration Closes
• October 25 - November 8 – Conditional Voter Registration
• October 29 – Select Vote Centers Open
• November 1 – Last Day to Apply for a Replacement Vote-by-Mail Ballot
• November 5 – Additional Vote Centers Open
• November 8 – Voting Ends at 8 p.m.

For information specific to Newport Beach voters, please visit the City's web site or contact our City Clerk's office by phone at 949-644-3005 or visit 100 Civic Center Drive, Bay E/2nd Floor. For general voting information, visit the County Registrar of Voters FAQ page or contact the Registrar directly at 714-567-7600 or ocvoter@ocvote.gov.

City Manager, Grace K. Leung

Newport Beach residents are invited to bring documents and household electronic waste for free shredding and disposal on Saturday, October 22 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Big Canyon Reservoir Parking Lot, 3300 Pacific View Drive, across the street from Harbor Day School.

Residency will be verified; please bring identification. Free kitchen pails for organics recycling will be available for pickup.

For more information visit the City's web site.

The Mayor's Youth Council has returned after a two-year hiatus due to COVID restrictions. 

The City program, managed by the Recreation and Senior Services Department, pairs City staff mentors with high school students, who gain career education, service hours and opportunities for community outreach.

Students are assigned to various departments throughout the City, where they get a backstage view of operations. The students may also join community service projects. On October 18, the Mayor's Youth Council held a kickoff meeting to welcome 21 participating students from Corona del Mar, Newport Harbor and Sage Hill high schools. 

In recognition of National Teen Driver Safety Week (October 16-22), the Newport Beach Police Department encourages teens and their parents to talk about the importance of following the rules of the road and driving responsibly. Car crashes remain the leading cause of death for teens. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2,378 teenagers died in car crashes in 2020 – a 14% increase from the prior year.

Per mile driven, teen drivers are nearly four times as likely to be involved in a crash than drivers in all other age groups. It’s important for parents and caregivers to play an active role in talking to their teens about risky driving behaviors that can lead to deadly and tragic consequences. The Police Department offers the following tips to parents and guardians for starting conversations about safe driving with teens:

• Provisional Driver’s License: Learn about California’s provisional licensing law, which places restrictions on passengers and driving at night during the first year they have a license.
• Lead by example: Have driving sessions with your teen. Tell, but also show your teen how to drive safely.
• Set ground rules: Be firm on rules such as no phone use, being distracted by friends, always following the speed limit, and always buckling up.
• Sober driving: Emphasize the importance of never driving under the influence or riding with someone who has been drinking.

The Be Well mobile crisis response team operates in Newport Beach 12 hours a day, 7 days a week to respond to mental and behavioral health crises. The mobile unit is staffed with mental health specialists and EMTs, and works closely with the City’s police and fire departments.

This week the Be Well team:

• Responded to a situation involving a middle school student with suicidal ideations. The student was transported to a children’s hospital for evaluation and treatment.
• Transported four people to the Costa Mesa Bridge Shelter for intake appointments.
• Transported one person to the Be Well sobering station for treatment.
• Transported eight people to services, shelter intakes, and appointments.
• Presented an overview of their services to the Corona del Mar High School PTA.
• Engaged with community members at the Love Newport Beach Volunteer Day event.

On the Agenda: City Council Meeting for Oct. 25

Our next City Council meeting is Tuesday, October 25. Items of interest are highlighted below. The entire agenda and reports can be viewed here.

The regular meeting will begin at 4 p.m. Agenda items include:

• A resolution to establish an ad hoc citizens' advisory committee to provide input and make recommendations to address residential crime and burglary. The committee would include three community members with backgrounds in public safety or criminal justice. If approved, the committee will be advertised and qualified residents invited to apply.
• Approve a $3.4-million, 10-year agreement with Axon Enterprises for the purchase of body-worn cameras, in-car video systems and tasers for the Police Department, along with related hardware, software and services. Among other improvements, the agreement would expand the use of body-worn cameras departmentwide. 
• Reconsideration of a development project amendment for the Tennis Club at Newport Beach. The Tennis Club, located at 1602 E. Coast Highway, is seeking to amend a previously approved development agreement. The Council voted 5-2 on September 27 to continue the item, directing the Planning Commission to consider the inclusion of pickleball courts instead of tennis courts. On October 11, the Council voted 4-3 to reconsider the applicant's original request. The applicant is seeking to increase the number of tennis courts, hotel rooms, and hotel floor space, and reduce the number of single-family residences, along with a 10-year term extension.
•    A resolution that would amend a lease agreement with the Lido House Hotel, 3300 Newport Blvd. The applicant is requesting to add 15,103 square feet to the previously approved 130-room Lido House Hotel to allow the construction of five new rentable cottages, increased storage space, enlarged meeting rooms, a new greenhouse seating room, expansion of three existing hotel rooms, and an enclosed area on the rooftop terrace. The amendment also includes demolition of the former Fire Station No. 2 building to create additional public and private parking spaces.