Through my eyes -- Ron Davis

I have difficulty understanding the events of the past and present, so

a little word of advice here -- don’t take these 2002 prognostications

seriously.

Our very own government access channel, billed as “Your window to open

government,” will be a City Council cost-cutting-squeegee. Our council

will either reduce or entirely eliminate self-serving/propaganda shows

such as “Your City, Your Issues,” and focus on programming that doesn’t

sap the general fund of revenue. I predict that we’ll see a partnership

with the likes of Goldenwest College and others, who will use our

hardware and facilities as a training tool for students while producing

community programming for Huntington Beach at little or no cost to the

taxpayers.

Next year, the complexion of Downtown will undergo a dramatic change.

The Hyatt, and attendant conference center, will almost be complete

and will draw tourists and conference attendees alike. I hear the o7 cha

chingf7 of sales tax revenue and bed tax registering in the city

coffers.

I also predict that by the end of next year, the City Council will

approve the closure of the second block of Downtown. This, like so many

issues in our wonderful community, will be highly charged and hotly

debated. But, in the end, the closure will happen, and the Downtown

businesses will be the better for it.

While it will be a divisive issue during next November’s City Council

race, the 31-acre project -- also Downtown -- that will be known as

Pacific City, will gain approval, after the City Council ensures that the

project is architecturally fit and environmentally compatible.

Next year we’ll also see the groundbreaking for a new mall to replace

the failing Huntington Center. It’s my bet that the current owner, while

having threatened big-box retail, will enhance and develop the original

plan of a themed center, which will serve the retail shopping and

entertainment appetites of this community and those of the surrounding

area as well. o7 Cha ching!f7

The little-engine-that-could, also known as the Bolsa Chica Land

Trust, and the California Coastal Commission, will win, once again, in

court against Hearthside Homes. The court will confirm that only very,

very limited development may occur on the Bolsa Chica mesa. Hearthside

will conclude that bringing water to the mesa is cost prohibitive, and

sell the entire property for cents on the dollar to a private big-bucks

individual who will dedicate the mesa as open space in perpetuity.

Next summer, the Orange County Sanitation District will announce the

discovery of cement shoes off our coastline matching Jimmy Hoffa’s feet,

further confusing the beach closure and pollution issues. Whether the

“H” in the 301h waiver refers to Hoffa will remain unclear, but, like

Jimmy, the waiver is dead.

Well, that’s it for my first effort at crystal ball reading. Tuck

these babies away and review them this time next year. I’ve become very

accomplished at making predictions. It won’t be long now before my Penn

Central stock rebounds.

* RON DAVIS is a private attorney who lives in Huntington Beach. He

can be reached by e-mail at o7 [email protected]