Daily Pilot:  08.28.03

This article appeared on the Daily Pilot front page, Thursday, August 28th, 2003.  Note the misquote in the third paragraph.  Bryan Clarkson never "thanked the City Council" during their August 26th meeting.  We're beginning to wonder if maybe Steve Bromberg is actually writing these articles!  Click on "Videos" to see the tape.  Play the August 26th video.

Review of Fourth Policing Favorable
■ Police chief tells City Council that it would be wise to extend this year's restrictions to future Fourths in West Newport.

NEWPORT BEACH — Officials have agreed on a prescription for next year's Fourth of July celebration in West Newport: Stay the course.

That was the conclusion of Police Chief Bob McDonell, and it was enthusiastically echoed by council members and, to their surprise, by the leader of the opposition, FreeNewport.com spokesman Bryan Clarkson.

"I must give credit where credit is due and thank Chief McDonell, the Police Department and the City Council for making this arguably one of the best Fourth of Julys in recent history," Clarkson said Tuesday night.

FreeNewport.com had opposed some of the tougher restrictions on West Newport Fourth of July celebrations, including the prohibition of liquor deliveries and the tripling of fines for some offenses. Stopping short of actually supporting those rules, Clarkson nonetheless joined the chorus of officials who praised their outcome: a calmer Fourth of July with measurably fewer arrests — a move Councilman Tod Ridgeway praised as "classy."

The discussion took place as part of the annual Police Department presentation on Fourth of July celebrations in West Newport and throughout the city. A nine-minute video presentation aired in the council chambers and broadcast on local cable TV portrayed a far more serene holiday than did the footage of volatile incidents last year.

McDonell also reviewed the statistics for the holiday: 2003 arrests were down to 103 from last year's 162 and a staggering 193 in 2001. The total number of citations was 1,224. Despite the increase of some fines, the cost of policing the area during the holiday continues to outweigh the income. Contracting extra police personnel shipped in from many other jurisdictions, added to overtime for Newport Beach officers, brought the total cost to $142,758. Revenue from fines is estimated to be no more than $120,000.

Though McDonell called the Fourth of July outcome a success, he cautioned that the potential for someone to get seriously hurt remains high. To prevent that, he said, the city must use the same strategy next year and continue to get the word out that Newport Beach is no longer a place to make trouble on the Fourth.

"We're getting there," Mayor Steve Bromberg said.