Gains & Losses

GAINS

MAKING ART OF SURFBOARDS

Michael Roberts’ three-dimensional art recycles old surfboards into

phenomenal seascapes. The 54-year-old brick and stone mason and avid

surfer began creating works from old boards eight years ago. Now his

intricate sculptures are on display at the Huntington Beach International

Surf Museum, and he recently had an exhibit at the Art Center.

PAYING THE RENT

The Huntington Beach City Council is making an effort to help families

find affordable housing in the city. The council recently approved a deal

with Habitat for Humanity to build three homes. It also agreed to loan

money to Shelter for the Homeless to help buy and renovate a four-unit

apartment complex. It’s a start.

PAINTING THE WAY

Gail Pelliccioni and the Parent-Teacher-Student Assn. of Huntington Beach

High School are determined to see the math and science building at the

school repainted over spring break. The Painting the Way campaign is more

than halfway to its goal of $14,000. “We can’t change the world,”

Pelliccioni said, “but shame on us if we don’t try and do a few things.”

ALMOST A DONE DEAL

After months of impasse, Huntington Beach City School District and

teachers association negotiators have agreed on a contract settlement. If

it’s ratified by both sides, the two-year contract will give the teachers

a 1% plus cost of living raise for the 1999-2000 school year and a cost

of living raise in the 2000-2001 school year with an added 1% tacked on

in February 2001. With the contract covering two years, neither side will

have to go back to the table until spring 2001.

LOSSES

GOODBYE, CAPTAIN JACK

Jack Haley, the unofficial mayor of Sunset Beach, died at age 65 after a

long struggle with cancer. Haley, owner of Captain Jack’s restaurant on

Pacific Coast Highway, won the first-ever U.S. Open surfing championship

in 1959. “It was this community, this beach and the water that defined

him,” said Sondra Haley, his daughter.

OLDEST HOUSE IN ASHES

Huntington Beach lost a piece of history when the Northam Ranch Building

by Yorktown Avenue and Lake Street burned to the ground March 22. Northam

Ranch was the oldest house in the city. A group of residents from the

Huntington Beach Historical Society had hoped to restore the abandoned

home, but owner PLC Land Co. planned to demolish the property to make

room for 17 homes. Fire officials suspect transients are to blame for the

blaze.