CITYSCAPE ROUNDUP:City adds features to website

The city unveiled a new service Monday on its website called “My Huntington Beach” that allows residents to find a nearby polling place, and street sweeping and trash pick-up schedules as well as other information. The new program was developed by the city’s information technology staff using the city’s Geographic Information Systems and other Web resources.

The “My HB” icon is displayed prominently on the left-hand side of the Web page. On entering a local street address, the program pulls up services provided in the area such as library hours and locations, schools, parks and emergency numbers. An aerial map provides a bird’s-eye view of the neighborhoods in Huntington Beach.

Staff wanted to keep the design simple for people who just wanted some basic information, said Jack Marshall, information services director. The new service is especially useful for newcomers to the city.

The feature is expected to be fine-tuned going forward and offer different types of information, Marshall said.

“We have been trying the whole e-government approach and hope to add a lot of things to the website,” Marshall said.

Staff also considered putting information about restaurants and coffee shops by ZIP Code, but would need more resources to update and maintain the information, said Daniel Richards, a senior IT analyst.

Ascon-Nesi town hall forum Nov. 15

State Sen. Tom Harman of Huntington Beach will be moderating a town hall forum on the Ascon-Nesi landfill from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 15, at the Edison High School cafeteria, 21400 Magnolia St. Panelists from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, Huntington Beach Fire Department, Ascon landfill site representatives and property owner Cannery Hamilton Properties LLC will be present at the forum.

The Ascon-Nesi landfill was a former dumping ground for sludge produced from the oil drilling fields for several decades.

The upcoming presentation will talk about the landfill’s status, determine extent of contamination as well as discuss future plans or alternatives to remediate the site. The discussion will also include an environmental impact report and other public meetings. For more information, call the 35th Senate District office at (714) 957-4555 or e-mail at [email protected].

Who ya gonna call at City Hall?

The Huntington Harbour Property Owners Assn. is organizing a lecture “Who Ya Gonna Call at City Hall?” as part of its Huntington Harbour and citywide outreach lecture series from 7 to 8 p.m. today. The lecture is at the Huntington Beach Community Center, 16700 Saybrook Ave.

The city’s community relations officer Laurie Payne will talk about the right people to call for a variety of questions. Payne coordinates media relations for the city as well as Channel 3, and publishes the Community Connection and City News in the Huntington Beach Sands publications.

Payne, who joined the city in 2002, also serves as a liaison for community groups and puts together presentations at council meetings.

Golden West’s pillars of support

Golden West College honored alumni and donors at its 11th annual “Courtyard of Honor” ceremony recently. Randy Jepson, Patrick Pierce and Gary Stromlund received the alumni Pillars of Achievement award. The alumni award program was initiated in 1991, and 72 former students have been inducted so far.

The Huntington Beach community college also bestowed Pillars of Support awards to individuals and businesses who have supported the college foundation with contributions of $25,000 or more.

Former Golden West College faculty member Brunilda Nunez Cronk; the late James Jordan; Carolyn Cunningham; Norah Morrison and Charlie and Margie Bunten received the Pillar of Support honors for their financial support.

The El Viento program from the Oakview area of Huntington Beach also received the same award for providing students who stick with the school from fourth to 12th grade with a college scholarship.