Mayor’s Memo: August 2026

August 1, 2026

Lauren Kleiman

Mayor of Newport Beach

CdM 3rd Thursdays

Complete with branded fresh coconuts, July CdM 3rd Thursdays was an epic summer smash! The Endless Summer-themed event transformed the Corona del Mar Village into a bustling, coastal street festival, with live music and engaging activations that brought neighbors, families, and pets together for a perfect summer night. We pulled out all the stops, treating attendees to hula dancing, frozen treats, a touch tank, animal adoptions, mechanical bull riding, and even an appearance from Ducks mascot, Wild Wing. Locals enjoyed scavenger hunts, discovering exclusive in-store sales, custom pop-ups, giveaways, and special menus at beloved CdM restaurants.

3rd Thursdays is put on by the community, for the community, and is a glowing testament to the strong, vibrant, and welcoming spirit of Corona del Mar. It is made possible by presenting sponsor, The File Group, decor sponsor, B.Candy, Mayor Lauren Kleiman, Visit Newport Beach, CdM Life, Newport Beach Living, and the hard work of our incredible volunteer team.

Missed this one? Come join us on October 15th, for Carnival Del Mar!

Moving Beyond the 4th of July

While prosecutions move forward at the District Attorney’s office, I have been working to build on the measures we put in place over the last year:

✓ Called for city consultants to apply for grant funds to support DUI check points at beach entrances.

✓ Met with Coastal Commission, neighboring cities, Uber, and Lyft, to develop a plan for congestion, crowd, and parking management.

✓ Met with AirBnB, VRBO, TikTok, and Meta to partner on policy enforcement on their respective platforms.

✓ Lastly, I am continuing my conversations with Verizon, T Mobile, and Starlink in my commitment to improve connectivity for residents and public safety personnel.

At our July 28^th Council meeting, I moved the following code changes forward for consideration:

Police Headquarters Website

The City has launched a new website where residents can go to learn all about the police headquarters and sign-up to receive updates. The committee meets next on September 2nd, at 3:00pm.

E-Bike Updates

Effective this school year, Newport Mesa Unified School District is implementing a new bike safety policy. As a reminder, the City Council adopted new e-bike ordinances, including a minor diversion program, in January of this year. This has been a valuable enforcement tool for our officers, providing a range of options to address unsafe e-bike operation. Since being implemented, the city has seen an overall decline in e-bike collisions, with standard bicycle collisions continuing to occur at approximately twice the rate of e-bike collisions.

Pesticide Program

There has been a lot of discussion in the news and community about the use of pesticides in spaces used most by our children and pets. Last year we convened an Ad Hoc committee to address these concerns. At that time, the committee, consisting of myself, Mayor Pro Tem Blom and Council Member Weber, initiated a turf replacement and organics-only pilot program in the Port Streets. We met again last month and are recommending expansion of this program citywide, which will come to the entire City Council for consideration at our August 25th meeting.

Summer Concerts on the Green – Pacific Symphony August 9th!

Join us on Sunday, August 9, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. for the summer’s second Concert on the Green featuring Pacific Symphony: Symphony in the Cities. The concert will take place at the Newport Beach Civic Center. Parking and admission are free.

Safety Spotlight: NBFD Lifeguard Luke Bradbury

Luke became a Newport Beach Lifeguard in 2015, giving him the chance to pursue both his passion for helping others and his love for being in and around the ocean. He participated in Junior Lifeguards throughout his childhood and was fortunate enough to have some really great junior lifeguard instructors who taught him ocean safety.

He has worked all over the city in the towers and patrol units, and received the Division 3 Lifeguard of the Year Award in 2023, but shares that his greatest success stories come from his time as a Junior Lifeguard instructor, seeing former JGs become lifeguards serving the community. Last year he became a Paramedic after completing his paramedic internship with NBFD and hopes to continue his career of helping others as a Firefighter Paramedic, hopefully in Newport, where he appreciates that residents are always so supportive of the Fire, Police, and Lifeguard departments.

“It’s so rewarding to be a part of developing the next generation of Newport Beach lifeguards and it’s more rewarding to see them thrive in their new roles.”

Safety Spotlight: NBPD Officer Jose Heredia

Officer Jose Heredia joined the Newport Beach Police Department two years ago. He has been a traffic, safety officer, DUI officer, and part of Orange County‘s street racing task force for ten years.

He is passionate about keeping our roads safe and have three mothers against drunk driving awards, one of them being a century award for 100 DUI arrests in a year. He was also named top Drug Recognition Officer in his DRE course and has been recognized by the US Congress House of Representatives for his efforts. In his free time, he coaches Little League baseball, travels with his wife and four kids, and tries to squeeze in a tee time where he can.

“I just want to say thank you so much to the residents of Newport Beach for the never-ending support. This career can be difficult at times, but your overwhelming support and gratitude let us know how much you care and that our hard work never goes unnoticed.”

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