Dredging gets dumped

Bush’s budget earmarks no money for the restoration of Upper Newport Bay, but local representatives will press for federal funds needed to finish project.With a three-year dredging project in the Upper Newport Bay set to begin within weeks, Newport Beach officials were dismayed this week to see the project slighted in President Bush’s 2007 budget.

It doesn’t mean the city will end up with no money for the project next year, and it’s not entirely unexpected. But Newport officials still face an uphill battle to get the $19 million they need to finish the dredging.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is supervising the $38-million project to remove more than 2 million cubic yards of sediment from the bay and restore it as a wildlife habitat. Orange County also is involved in the project.

“I’m not surprised, given the administration’s posture on the corps, which is to focus on large, commerce- related projects like the ports and [Hurricane] Katrina,” Newport Beach Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff said.

“But it’s still frustrating because here we’ll have a project that’s up and running, and this will pull the plug on it while it’s underway.”

The 2006 budget also started out with no money for the project, so the city had its federal representatives lobbying hard last year and came out with about $6 million. That money, added to $13.5 million in state funding, was enough to start the work this year.

But $19 million more is needed in the next two years to finish the project, and the supply of state funding is exhausted. Kiff said the city will press Rep. John Campbell and Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein for help, and he’ll encourage the project’s local partners to apply pressure to federal officials -- or else pony up.

Partners include the Irvine Co., the Irvine Ranch Water District, Tustin, Irvine, Lake Forest, Orange County and portions of the cities of Orange and Laguna Woods.

“If the federal money doesn’t come through, we’re going to ask the local partners for the money,” Kiff said.

Commission OKs dunes settlement

The California Coastal Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved a settlement that requires five West Newport homeowners to pay a $225,000 fine and finance the restoration of a sand dune in front of their homes that was destroyed in April 2005.

The 150-foot-long dune was bulldozed with equipment from the nearby Santa Ana River dredging project, and a Newport Beach police investigation showed the homeowners commissioned the job.

The homeowners agreed to the settlement in January. They’ll have to hire an environmental specialist to plan the restoration of the dune, which will be planted with native species, and they must monitor it for five years.

It’s unclear how much the restoration will cost.

Campbell is assigned finance, budget duties

Newport Beach Rep. John Campbell was appointed Wednesday to his first committee assignments. Campbell will serve on the House financial services, veterans’ affairs and budget committees.

Campbell’s experience as an accountant “makes him a natural fit for the financial services and budget committees,” House Speaker Dennis Hastert said in a statement.

Campbell was pleased because the financial services committee was his first choice, he said. And he has the prospect of working with his predecessor in Congress.

Because the committee handles banking, finance and securities -- just about everything the Securities and Exchange Commission does -- Campbell will get to hobnob with Chairman Chris Cox, who used to hold Campbell’s House seat.

“Being a CPA, I have a great deal of background in that area, and I also believe that we have so much business in our district that people in our district are interested in that committee,” Campbell said.

Tran keeps promise, donates his pay raise

Costa Mesa Assemblyman Van Tran may wish he’d held on to his paycheck when he gets into the thick of his state Senate campaign, but a promise is a promise. When a commission that governs state legislators’ salaries voted to give them a raise last May, Tran didn’t want the 12% salary boost and vowed he’d give his to charity.

Tran kept his promise Friday, donating between $500 and $1,000 to each of 16 Orange County nonprofit groups, including Angels Charity, a Newport Beach-based organization that helps children with birth defects. 20060209hiakc1kfKENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is heading up a $38-million project to restore Upper Newport Bay as a wildlife habitat.