Around Town: Assemblyman Harper trying to repeal state plastic bag ban
Assemblyman Matthew Harper (R-Huntington Beach) has introduced legislation to repeal California’s ban on the use of plastic grocery bags, his office said Tuesday.
He also introduced a separate measure to repeal the requirement for retailers to charge 10 cents for paper bags.
The measures followed a decision last month by the Huntington Beach City Council, on which Harper served from 2010 to 2014, to start the process to revoke the city’s plastic bag ban.
“The plastic bag ban was ill-advised from the beginning,” Harper said in a statement. “It will force California consumers to pay as much as $613 million more per year – a tremendous hardship for low-income Californians. Sacramento should not be telling consumers and business owners what kind of bags they must use.”
Harper, who was elected to the Assembly in November, represents the 74th District, which includes Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Irvine, Laguna Woods and Laguna Beach.
* Principal named for new Irvine high school
John Pehrson, principal of University High School in Irvine for nearly a decade, was named principal of Portola High School, a new campus in the Irvine Unified School District that is expected to open in August 2016.
Pehrson will begin the job this summer, assembling a team and creating curriculum for the school, according to a district announcement.
Before joining Irvine Unified, Pehrson spent 10 years in the Capistrano Valley Unified School District as a high school assistant principal and activities director and was part of the team that opened Tesoro High School in 2001.
Pehrson also taught physics and chemistry in the Whittier Union High School District, where he coached basketball and volleyball. He has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Whittier College and a master’s in administration from Cal State Fullerton.
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Conference addresses human trafficking
The Orange County Department of Education joined with the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force and Vanguard University to present a Human Trafficking Summit on Jan. 29 in Costa Mesa.
The purpose of the free conference was to teach educators and other school-based professionals how to identify human trafficking – also called modern slavery – and report suspicious activities.
“More than 440 victims of human trafficking, including children, have been identified in Orange County due to proactive investigations and community referrals,” Lita Mercado, program director at Santa Ana-based Community Service Programs, said in a statement. “Our hope in exploring schools’ roles in providing an environment for healthy relationships and youth safety is that we will create a culture of proactive prevention and early intervention for at-risk children and youth targeted by trafficking recruiters.”
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South County Outreach awarded grant
South County Outreach, an Irvine-based organization that provides hunger and homelessness prevention services to low-income people, received a $10,000 grant from the S. Mark Taper Foundation to fund purchases for its food pantry.
“The ability to provide fresh, healthy food to our clients is extremely important, and this grant will make a huge difference in the lives of local people,” South County Outreach Executive Director Lara Fisher said in a statement.
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Town halls set in Newport
Newport Beach Mayor Pro Tem Diane Dixon will present two town hall meetings for Balboa Peninsula and Lido Isle residents and business owners in coming weeks.
The first, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Feb. 17 at the former City Hall site at 3300 Newport Blvd., will focus on beach fire rings, Balboa Village parking, the Balboa Fine Arts Center and various public works projects planned or underway on the peninsula.
The second meeting, at 6:30 p.m. March 16 at the same location, will center on traffic and public safety issues on the peninsula. Newport Beach Police Chief Jay Johnson is expected to speak.
Dixon, who was elected to the City Council in November, ran on a platform of government transparency and open communication between residents and elected officials.
“Local government works best when the citizens are actively involved,” Dixon said in a news release.
AROUND TOWN is a column about people and events in Newport Beach, Costa Mesa and Irvine. Please submit information about your fundraiser, charity event or a person deserving attention to dailypilot@latimes.com or alicia.lopez@latimes.com.