BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS

WIND CAUSES PIER CLOSURE, BUOY BREAK

Strong winds Sunday caused the Huntington Beach Pier to shut down and a

mooring buoy to break from an offshore oil platform, an official said.

“Any time you have winds that high, things are going to break,” Marine

Safety Lt. Steve Davidson said.

With gusts kicking up to 60 mph, scaffolding fell from the construction

around the pier’s soon-to-be-completed Tower Zero, and the trailer

housing the pier’s Surf City Store began to come off of its hinges, he

said.

Out of concern that the structure might tip over and hurt pedestrians,

lifeguards closed off the pier from 10 a.m. Sunday until early Monday

morning, he said. Until the trailer’s foundation is reinforced, a barrier

will remain around the store to protect pedestrians.

On Monday, a large crane near Tower 16 lifted a 10-foot-long buoy that

broke off the Elly platform about 10 miles off Huntington Beach, he said.

Vessels are tied to the buoy before passengers are unloaded to the

platform deck, he said. The buoy was spotted at 3 p.m. Sunday drifting

toward the beach. It was dragged by a tractor onto the shore to prevent a

collision with the pier, he said.

“I’m sure the pier would win but it might sustain some damage,” he said.

Despite the dangerous conditions, no one was hurt, he said.

HYPODERMICS WASH UP AT STATE BEACH

Syringes were found at Huntington State Beach last Thursday when a

cleanup crew picked up garbage along the shoreline between the Santa Ana

River channel and Brookhurst Street, an official said.

Two of the medical devices had no needles and the other two had caps

intact over the needle points, said Jewel Shaw, a state beach

supervisor’s aide. The discovery was reported to the Orange County Health

Care Agency.

In September, about 1,000 hypodermic needles washed onto the city beach,

but they were different than the ones found last week, said Monica Mazur,

the county agency’s environmental health specialist. The ones discovered

earlier were used to inject anesthetic at dental offices, while the ones

found recently are typically used by diabetics, she said.

In both cases, the source of the medical devices remain a mystery, she

said.

PEDESTRIANS GET A DIGITAL COUNTDOWN

Huntington Beach became the first city in the county to install countdown

clocks at traffic lights last week, an official said.

The digital displays at the intersection of Main Street and Pacific Coast

Highway count down the seconds before the light changes color. They are

meant to clear crowds that often block traffic, said Tom Brohard, the

city’s transportation manager.

During spring and summer, about 1,000 pedestrians go through the

intersection each hour, he said.

The timing for the lights hasn’t changed, he said. The signals, costing

$500 each, give pedestrians 20 seconds to cross Main Street and 25

seconds to cross the highway. The light doesn’t change until about three

seconds after the countdown.

CEREMONY SET FOR FIRST SEACLIFF STORE

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for Orchard Supply Hardware, the first store to

open in the new Seacliff Shopping Center in Huntington Beach, is planned

for 6:45 a.m. Saturday.

Mayor Dave Garofalo and Councilwoman Shirley Dettloff will do the honors

at the store near the corner of Yorktown Avenue and Goldenwest Street. As

part of the celebration, the first 2,000 shoppers Saturday and the first

1,000 Sunday will receive free 3.5-gallon buckets. Also, customers will

be charged no sales tax over opening weekend.

The Golden Eagle Jazz Band will perform at the ceremony, and children

will receive free balloons.