CITYSCAPE ROUNDUP:Wetlands Center has new look

The Bolsa Chica Conservancy is announcing the grand opening of its newly refurbished Bolsa Chica Wetlands Interpretive Center.

The center features new exhibits on wildlife and the wetlands ecosystem, a marine aquarium and a touch tank where visitors can get hands-on experience of marine life in the area. In addition, the center will continue to distribute trail maps and guides to the wildlife and birds of the area.

An opening ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. Monday, followed by a two-hour open house at 5 p.m. Reservations can be made by calling (714) 846-1114.

The Bolsa Chica Wetlands Interpretive Center is at 3842 Warner Ave., Huntington Beach.

Normal hours for the center are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, and 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

Vintage beach cruisers on display at festival

Woodies, nomads, and beach cruisers will converge on Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street Saturday for the seventh annual Huntington Beachcruiser Festival.

The Pier Plaza north parking lot will be filled with vintage vehicles of numerous types — the event is open to any beach cruising car or sedan built before 1970. Trophies will be awarded by a panel of judges.

The event is free and open to the public.

Protesters rally against war in Iraq

Opponents of the war in Iraq will hold a “Declare Peace and Communicate” rally at 5:30 p.m. at Beach Boulevard and Edinger Avenue Friday. Protesters are part of the Declaration of Peace nationwide campaign, and will call for a withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

At 7 p.m. that night, St. Wilfrid of York Episcopal Church will hold an ecumenical prayer service for peace in Iraq. The church is at 18631 Chapel Lane.

The events come three days before Monday, the fourth anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war in 2003.

Hearing to be held for border patrol agents

Huntington Beach Rep. Dana Rohrabacher announced progress this week in his fight to clear two convicted border patrol agents who are serving prison terms. A statement from his office on Tuesday said Rep. William Delahunt, (D-Mass.) who chairs a House foreign affairs subcommittee, has agreed to hold hearings on what Rohrabacher suspects was foreign influence in the agents’ case.

The agents, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, were convicted of the 2005 shooting of a drug smuggler who crossed illegally into the U.S. Critics have said the agents didn’t follow procedures and then tried to cover up the shooting.

Rohrabacher has said the federal policy the agents allegedly violated by using their weapons is “nonsensical.” He already has actively sought pardons for the men and brought the wife of one as his guest to the State of the Union address in January.

“This hearing will permit us to conduct an official investigation into aspects of the Ramos and Compean prosecutions and others’ cases where a pattern of questionable foreign influence seems to exist,” Rohrabacher said in a news release.

“If a foreign government is having an undue influence on the decisions of our government to make concessions for illegal aliens over our law enforcement officers, the American people have a right to know about it.”