Huntington Beach weathers the storm

A tropical thunderstorm battered but didn’t bruise Huntington Beach

Monday night and Tuesday. Officials said the city did well during the

first rainstorm in months.

“We fared our first storm nicely and didn’t really have any

problems,” said Howard Johnson, city utilities director.

Scattered power outages across Surf City and a few broken tree

limbs were the extent of the damage caused by the storm, which

officials with the National Weather Service said dropped about a

half-inch of rain on Huntington Beach.

Countywide, about 1,000 people were without power as of midday

Tuesday, said Marlon Walker of Southern California Edison, with power

crews scrambling to bring everyone back up before midnight.

“Many of the outages were caused by lightning strikes,” Walker

said.

The storm surprised many residents when it surged into Orange

County Monday night around 7 p.m. Outdoor league sports planned for

the Edison Community Center in Southeast Huntington Beach were

canceled after a lighting bolt short-circuited several outdoor

lights.

The storm was caused by moisture from Hurricane Max, brewing off

the eastern Pacific near Baja, which moved north into a low-pressure

system off the West Coast. Thunder and lightning were produced when

the storm collided with warm daytime air, Noel Isla of the National

Weather Service said.

Some low-lying areas in Orange County near creeks faced flooding,

but Huntington Beach’s half-dozen flood-control channels were

operating without any problems, said Bill Hisey of Orange County

Flood Control.

The first rain of the season will likely pollute the ocean with

bacteria and other urban runoff, and local residents are advised to

stay out of the water for several days after the rain.

“Everything that’s in the storm drains, in the gutters and on your

lawn -- everything -- is on the way to the beach,” said Monica Mazur

of the Orange County Environmental Health Department.

Golden West professor nets award for service

Professor Brian Conley of Golden West College has been awarded the

M. Dale Ensign Trustee Pacific Regional Award from the Assn. of

Community College Trustees.

The regional awards were given to community college trustees for

their dedication and service.

The award was given during the association’s national leadership

congress in Seattle. This year’s event addressed issues included

enrollment-increase strategies, developing stronger business and

civic community partnerships, and the role trustees play in

state-level policymaking.

Conley has been a faculty member at Golden West College since 1975

and served as department chair for nine years. He teaches fine arts.

Since 1988, Conley has been an elected member of the board of

trustees of Rancho Santiago Community College District, where he is

serving his fourth term as board president.

In 1999 Conley was appointed by former Gov. Gray Davis to the

Board of Governors of California Community Colleges and served a

four-year term.

City names economic development director

A City of Commerce official has been chosen to replace David Biggs

as the city’s economic development director.

On Tuesday, City Administrator Penny Culbreth-Graft announced the

appointment of Stanley Smalewitz to the position. Biggs left earlier

this year to take an assistant city manager position in Redondo

Beach, where he will be joining former Huntington Beach Assistant

Manager Bill Workman, who now serves as Redondo Beach’s city manager.

Smalewitz has worked for the cities of Alhambra, Riverside,

Inglewood and Los Angeles. He spent five years with Urban Futures

Inc., where he assisted more that 15 California cities and agencies

with planning, redevelopment, housing and community development

programs.

One of the many projects Smalewitz worked on for the City of

Commerce was rebuilding a neighborhood that had been partially

demolished by a 31-car train derailment. He also worked on the

revitalization and expansion of the 100-store Citadel Outlet Mall.

Smalewitz has his bachelor’s degree in international relations

from the University of Southern California and has done graduate

studies in urban and regional planning.

He is married and has two school-age children. He will start his

new position Oct. 24.