Improvements on Pacific Coast Highway will designate Class II bike lanes and upgrade roadway to reduce Bicycle Accidents and Serious Injury.

The California Transportation Commission has allotted $700 million for transportation infrastructure, restoration, and modification. Huntington Beach will benefit from this allocation with $14.8 million worth of upgrades to its transportation systems and bicycle access routes.

Along Pacific Coast Highway (SR-1) between the Santa Ana River Bridge and Anderson Street, Class II bike lanes will be added in both directions. These eight-foot wide lanes provide exclusive bike use with the exception of vehicular parking and crossways. Additionally, cyclists will benefit from a number of upgrades being planned with them in mind. 

According to Caltrans, the SR-1 Bike Lane Project would include the “widening of right-turn pockets, widening of existing shoulders, and reducing median island widths to accommodate bike lane treatments; removing existing sand deposits along the roadway; installing a concrete center median barrier; replacing and refreshing lane and shoulder striping; implementing bicyclist detection sensors at signalized intersections; upgrading curb side grated inlets to be bike-rated; and installing signage from Anderson Street to Santa Ana River Bridge;” all part of Caltrans’ Complete Streets directive. 

Caltrans HQ Traffic Safety investigations revealed that Huntington Beach has a higher than state average number of bicycle accidents along SR-1. The upgrades come in an effort to reduce “bicyclist fatalities and serious injuries on the California State Highway System.” Upgrading guardrails at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve and the relocation of some traffic signals and lighting poles in specific areas are also part of the plan.

These upgrades would begin in Winter 2025.

The House of Horrors brings Happiness to its Owner and its Neighbors.

As Halloween rolls around again, residents of Huntington Beach no doubt would be looking forward to visiting the home of Dominic Menaldi, better known as the “castle house.” The castle house sits on the corner of Bermuda Drive and Magnolia Avenue and is distinctively unique. But it’s not just the gargoyles on the roof, the stone lion out front or the mediaeval-like stonework that makes this a special house.

Every Halloween, Menaldi transforms his home into a walk through house-of-horrors full of frightful scenes, spooky lighting, and sound effects to scare the living daylights out of those who dare to enter. 

The castle house is a free thrill to Huntington Beach residents and Menaldi loves sharing his house. Getting the house decorated for Halloween gives Menaldi a sense of purpose and he enjoys watching the excitement his house provides. He has been doing it for years. He and his volunteers decorate the house and distribute hundreds of pounds of candy every Halloween.

But it hasn’t always been all fun for Menaldi. In 2009 he was in a legal battle with the city over lion heads and shields on the walls surrounding his house. Then on Dec. 10, 2020 while his girlfriend was testing Christmas lights, a stand of lights caught fire and ignited the attic. Despite the fire department’s rapid response, the fire destroyed the attic and upper patio, while water and smoke caused substantial damage to the rest of the premises.

Menaldi, who worked in security, saw his business decline during the pandemic. With limited income he was forced to consider whether to continue paying for medical insurance or home insurance. He chose medical insurance. His home was uninsured at the time of the fire, with just two weeks until Christmas, it was devastating. While the stone exterior remained intact, the interior was unlivable. Manaldi spent that night in his car.

The castle house returned to frightening its neighbors last year. Following the fire, Menaldi worked continuously for over two hundred days doing whatever he could to repair his home. Loyal friends supported his rebuilding and the newly restored castle house was back to scaring residents.

Prior to the fire, he spent eleven years completing the house to his liking. If history is a predictor, we can expect Minadli would be working for many more years to restore this house. “I don’t like stucco…” he once said.

It is obvious Menaldi does not like the ordinary. Halloween provides the opportunity to be extraordinary. 

The man was arrested for allegedly assaulting a protestor at her town hall event last year

California Rep. Katie Porter reportedly criticized the Irvine Police Department after authorities arrested a man she lived with for allegedly assaulting a man at one of her town hall events, according to Fox News Digital. The man, Julian Willis, supposedly punched a protestor at the town hall, resulting in the protestor having a bloody nose.

Fox News Digital recently obtained text messages from Porter to Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan following the event. 

“Your police force is a disgrace,” Porter reportedly said.

Irvine Police arrested Willis after the alleged attack and gave him a citation. Porter, at the time, said her feelings toward the Irvine PD had changed forever due to the incident.

“I will never trust them again,” Porter said.

Porter spokesperson Jordan Wong told Fox News Digital in a statement that the Congresswoman “was upset that a planned family-friendly town hall was hijacked by extremists, who made constituents feel unsafe, including using hateful slurs in front of children.”

The altercation had broken out between Porter’s own supporters and supporters of former President Donald Trump. The incident had caused Porter to talk to media, claiming the event had triggered memories of January 6th. 

Wong said that the Congresswoman was “disappointed” in the preparation of law enforcement that day.

“She was disappointed that despite our staff alerting police days before the event that the extremists were openly advertising their intention to disrupt the town hall, officers on the day of the incident were hundreds of feet away and did not intervene immediately when fighting broke out,” Wong said.

“Since then, Rep. Porter and our office have worked productively with the Irvine Police Department, including the Congresswoman hosting the new police chief in her office for a constructive and cooperative meeting,” Wong explained.

Porter is currently running for re-election to the House of Representatives this November with her new district including Huntington Beach.