Mayor’s Memo: September 2026
From free dog adoptions and cleaner athletic fields to beach safety, trolley growth and the Mayor’s Youth Council.
Mayor’s Memo: June 2026
Lauren Kleiman
Mayor of Newport Beach
It was a busy Memorial Day weekend for our public safety personnel, with the Safety Enhancement Zone in place. NBPD officers fielded 1,392 calls for service, made 71 arrests, issued 220 citations and took 147 police reports.
June gloom may be here, but so is the Wooden Boat Festival, the CdM Scenic 5K, TV Fest, new (old) movie showings at Lido Theater, as well as Father’s Day!
And… the Red Car returns! The City has added five brand-new open-air trolleys to the fleet, inspired by the historic Pacific Electric Red Cars that once traveled throughout Southern California. This is the first rollout, with six additional trolleys to join the fleet, next year, as we expand service to connect other villages and amenities throughout Newport.
The trolley is free to ride and runs Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., through Labor Day. Riders can hop on and off at 22 stops from Mariners’ Mile to Balboa Pier, with access to beaches, restaurants, shopping and local favorites along the route. There’s even space for beach gear, surf boards and bike racks! Free parking for trolley riders is available at the Avon Street Parking Lot in Mariners’ Mile.
Police Station Update and FAQs
The City Council is assembling a public advisory committee, composed of four residents and three council members, to assess the various options, engage the community, and make recommendations to the Council.
NBPD Names Two New Deputy Chiefs
I am pleased to share that the Newport Beach Police Department has promoted two highly accomplished law enforcement professionals to the rank of deputy chief. Josh Vincelet and Shawn Randall each bring decades of experience that will strengthen our Police Department and help ensure Newport Beach remains one of the safest communities in California.
Vincelet has served as supervising SWAT operations, overseeing field training and probationary officers, leading internal affairs investigations and serving as commander of the combined Newport Beach and Laguna Beach SWAT and Negotiations Teams. Most recently, he led the Traffic Division, overseeing motor officers, major accident investigations, special events, parking control, animal control, and the City’s Animal Shelter. In his new role, he will oversee the Patrol and Traffic divisions, which include approximately 150 sworn and professional staff members across general operations and specialized units.
Throughout his career in the Newport Beach and Huntington Beach Police Departments, Randell has held multiple leadership roles overseeing patrol operations, narcotics investigations, professional standards, training, recruitment, community relations, and a special investigations unit that targeted serious career criminals. We welcome him back to Newport to have him oversee the Detective Division; the professionals who investigate crimes and support complex cases.
Safety Spotlight: NBPD Sergeant Kelley Maslin
Sergeant Kelley Maslin has been with the Newport Beach Police Department since 2012, after working as a dispatcher in Irvine for six years. She pursued a career in law enforcement with the desire to become a detective and help make a difference in people’s lives by seeking justice for those who have been victimized.
Currently, the Sergeant overseeing the Peninsula Enforcement Team, the four Homeless Liaison Officers (HLOs) known as the Quality of Life Team, as well as part of the Crisis Negotiations Team (CNT) leadership, Maslin has also worked as a Field Training Officer (FTO), FTO Sergeant, Special Victims Unit Detective, Negotiator on CNT, and Advisor for the Department’s Volunteers in Policing. She has received two merit and two lifesaving awards, and was part of the team that completed the investigation of the cold case homicide of 11-year-old Linda O’Keefe which led to the arrest of a suspect in 2019.
Having grown up in Irvine, spending summers at CDM Main beach, she has always loved Newport. “Now getting to work as an officer in Newport Beach, I appreciate how unique the city is, in the sense that our community and City Council could not be more supportive of our department.” She and her husband, NBPD Sergeant Alex Maslin, have three kids under the age of seven, so they keep busy and love to travel as a family to Hawaii and Montana.
Safety Spotlight: NBFD Lifeguard Genesis Navarrete
Genesis is a third-year doctoral student at Arizona State University and a researcher for the Tempe Police Department, working nine summers as a tower guard to pay for school. She’s now operating the trucks on the beach, and will be joining the Newport Beach Junior Lifeguard program this summer as a Group B instructor. She grew up doing Junior Guards as a teenager in Huntington Beach, and says she always knew she would someday be a lifeguard.
She shares that “the best success stories are not the ones that are formally awarded, but rather being out on the beach, interacting with beachgoers, and going home knowing that I provided the best of my ability, safety, service, and professionalism.”
In 2025, she was awarded the Brent Ranek Scholarship by the Newport Beach Ocean Lifeguard Association. When she’s not lifeguarding, doing research or teaching at ASU, she is most likely outside at the beach, hiking, working out (CrossFit, Olympic weightlifting, running, swimming), and spending time with friends.
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Mayor’s Memo: July 2026
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