Letters/Online Comments

RE: “Newport Beach Docks (again): Who is “Concerned Boater”?” (Sept. 6-19)

I hope that the county finally sees that Lt. Corn is a bad actor and should not be in a position of public trust.  He made a unilateral decision to violate a Coastal Commission directive and from the actions above is clearly willing to deceive the public. How is a person like this in a position of authority? Certainly should have the attention of the Orange County Sheriff.  Hopefully they can move him to a more appropriate assignment and away from our harbor.

Newport Beach citizen

As a sworn Deputy for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Lt. Corn has an obligation to be honest and forthcoming in all of his dealings, both on and off duty. If Lt. Corn has provided false information to the public regarding Sheriff’s Department related matters (via an alias or not) he needs to suffer the consequences. The Sheriff and Board of Supervisors need to immediately drop the misguided efforts (led by Lt. Corn) to shut the public out of these county owned public docks at Newport Harbor. We need more public access and involvement at this facility (to serve as watchdogs), not less!

Dismayed Boater 

It looks like the matter has been resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. Why is this still being beaten about??

Doug

It has not been resolved to the satisfaction of the public. The dock on the north side of the station is still painted red and has signs that it is off limits to the public. This used to be a common pick up and drop off point for people leaving the harbor loading guest that live on the CDM side of the bay. The dinghy dock hours have been expanded but are not what they used to be and are not what was agreed to by the Coastal Commission when they county received authorization to rebuild the Harbor Patrol station. Additionally the parking lot closures are still in place. Half the parking lot was closed for “protection” purposes and the staff at the station seems to have been instructed to park in the few remaining public spots as a means to “keep the public out.” The county is trying to keep both the hours and closure in effect and has applied to modify the original agreement. As it stands now, the residents of NB are not being treated fairly by Lt. Corn or the county. This is a battle that is just starting and water way rights of the city residents are being trampled by the very officers that are sworn to protect and serve the public.

Newport Beach citizen

Doug, the matter has NOT been resolved. The Sheriff’s Department was called out for violating the Coastal Act by the Coastal Commission Enforcement Division in May of this year.  Rather than bring the matter into full compliance of the violations, the Sheriff’s Department has chosen to apply for a retro-active Coastal Development Permit in an attempt to sneak this through.  They are attempting to shut down much of the public access that existed at the facility for decades. It appears Lt. Corn has been disseminating misinformation under an alias in order to confuse the general public. This is a shocking development. The political weight of elected Sheriff Don Barnes is significant. Don’t be surprised if this gets buried under the OC curtain.

Dismayed Boater 

Obviously “Concerned Boater” is a regular reader of this web site. His usual comments are conspicuously missing from this specific article though. “Concerned Boater” can type out a comment and state the he is not Lt. Corn. If suddenly “Concerned Boater” vanishes from this comment section, it would then appear as though Corn got caught playing a very childish game.

Robert

RE: “Oceanside beefs up work plan for harbor” (Sept. 6-19)

Is there a way to pressure wash the parking lot? Especially next to the coffee house on the south end of the harbor – it gets really, really dirty, often times gross.  Thank you!  Looking forward to all the improvements.

Erin

I understand the harbor bathrooms are remodeled, I’m not sure I understand why the sinks that where put in where chosen. Has anyone tried to use them? As far as infectious control goes these sinks fall far from what I would consider an improvement. Your hand must physically touch the sink in order to get them wet. Please have someone in charge really look at these sinks. We should realize we made a mistake and replace them to do we all can be a little healthier this year. Maybe we can consider purchasing something that turns on so no one has to touch a filthy sink.

Trish

How about checking all of the kayaks stored on the docks. We moored a boat on J dock for almost four years and never got a rack for our kayaks. You can easily tell that many haven’t been used for years.

Kristen Johnson