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Community Open Houses are back

Community open houses are back for June.

The open houses, which start on Wednesday and go through June 18, are a convenient way for residents to share and hear about what matters most to them.


There are no formal presentations or hard start times to rush to.

Residents can stop by anytime during the two-hour sessions to talk with city leaders and staff, learn about city services and discuss topics important to them.


Each meeting runs from 5 to 7 p.m.


District 1: Wednesday, June 3

Haskett Library, 2650 W. Broadway


District 2: Thursday, June 4

Anaheim Union High School District Office, 501 N. Crescent Way, in the PDC Center


District 3: Wednesday, June 10

Downtown Anaheim Community Center, 250 E. Center St.


District 4: Thursday, June 11

Betsy Ross Park, 1280 W. Santa Ana St.


District 5: Wednesday, June 17

Zion Lutheran Church, 222 N. East St.


District 6: Thursday, June 18

East Anaheim Community Center, 8201 E. Santa Ana Canyon Road


Not sure of your district? Visit Anaheim.net/DistrictMap. For more, visit Anaheim.net/OpenHouse.

Summer reading at Anaheim's libraries

Trade some screen time for story time!

Join your classmates and neighbors this summer in a shared experience as we encourage summer reading and environmental awareness.

Readers of all ages are invited to join us for the free “Plant a Seed, Read! Keep Anaheim Clean!” summer reading program from Anaheim Public Library and Anaheim Public Works.

It's a great way to enrich your summer while encouraging clean neighborhoods and community pride.

Take part by visiting one of our library branches or by taking your reading to the park, beach or your backyard.

You can earn prizes by reading and logging your minutes through the Beanstack reading tracker app.

Readers can also complete fun activity challenges such as writing book reviews, visiting library branches or helping clean up their neighborhoods.

Prizes include restaurant coupons, gift cards, free books and more.

The library will also host live performers and educational programs focused on eco-friendly topics and community care.

Be sure to check out special events featuring our Public Works team.

Families can get an up-close look at the city vehicles that help keep Anaheim clean and beautiful.

From recycling to community beautification, this summer program is bringing all the fun!

For more, visit Anaheim.net/summerreading.

Flag Day for America's 250th

Anaheim's yearly Flag Day Celebration takes on added meaning this year as America marks 250 years since our nation's 1776 founding.

The Flag Day event is always a fun, colorful community gathering with music, a parade, barbecue, family activities and more.

• What: Anaheim Flag Day Celebration
• When: Sunday, June 14
• Time: 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
• Where: Pearson Park, 400 N. Harbor Blvd.
• Cost: free to attend, food for purchase
• More: Anaheim Flag Day on Facebook

Anaheim's Flag Day Celebration is a community-led volunteer event that celebrates the 1777 adoption of the red, white and blue flag of our nation.

Flag Day dates back to the late 1800s and was made an official observance by Congress in 1949.

In Anaheim, it's a yearly kickoff to summer that dates back more than 30 years now.

Fourth of July: what to know

Fourth of July means fun with friends and family.

But the holiday also sees widespread use of illegal fireworks, which brings the threat of injury, fire and added stress for veterans, babies and animals.

This year, we’re addressing illegal fireworks with stepped-up enforcement in all parts of our city.

A city task force is targeting illegal fireworks sales in the weeks leading up to the holiday and illegal fireworks use on and around Fourth of July.

If you’re thinking about doing illegal fireworks, think again.

We’ll have enforcement teams, both marked and undercover, as well as police drones and our police helicopter enforcing Anaheim's ban on illegal fireworks.

We’ll also be enforcing “host liability” — an Anaheim Municipal Code section that can hold property owners and operators responsible for illegal fireworks use on their property.

Fines start at $1,000 and go as high as $3,000.

Here’s what to know:

• Safe and Sane fireworks are allowed in Anaheim only on July 4 from 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
• Illegal fireworks, including bottle rockets, mortars and others, are never allowed anywhere, anytime in Anaheim
• Safe and Sane fireworks are allowed only in neighborhoods and cannot be used in parks, parking lots, major streets and other areas
• No fireworks of any kind are allowed in east Anaheim due to wildfire risk

If you see someone doing illegal fireworks, call Anaheim Police at (714) 765-1900 with a location, description and other useful details.

If you are only hearing fireworks and not seeing who’s doing them, use our online fireworks reporting at Anaheim.net/fireworks to help us target our enforcement efforts.

If you do plan do use Safe and Sane fireworks on the Fourth of July, buy from one of 16 stands around Anaheim and open from June 28-July 4.

They're run by schools and nonprofits and raise money for our community.

West Anaheim charm: Cinderella homes

The pain and disruption of the west Anaheim evacuation during late May's Garden Grove incident served as a reminder: There's no place like home.

For many in west Anaheim, home is a distinct style of mid-century modern house known as a Cinderella home.

They date back to the early 1950s and draw inspiration from the 1950 Disney animated classic “Cinderella.”

Many predate Disneyland’s 1955 opening, though the park went on to boost their appeal.

Cinderella homes stand out with steep, swooping gables, shake roofs, diamond-paned windows and other bright, storybook touches.

A 1950s postwar boom saw plain, boxy houses go up quickly across Anaheim and beyond.

To stand out, builder Jean Vandruff added storybook charm to his houses while still keeping them in reach for families.

They were an instant hit. Anaheim’s own Austin Butler even grew up in a west Anaheim Cinderella home!

You can find Cinderella homes across Anaheim and Southern California.

But west Anaheim is really where it all started. The first one-off is in Downey, while we are home to the first tracts.

Photos shown here are in and around Dale Avenue, which saw evacuation during the Garden Grove incident.

Our thoughts go out to all impacted in west Anaheim with this celebration of something that makes the area special.

Sustainable landscape workshop

Giving your yard a makeover with water-efficient landscaping can bring utility-bill savings while transforming the look of your home.

All across Anaheim, homes have traded water-hungry grass for colorful plants, decorative rocks, granite pathways and other creative designs that bring added curb appeal with eye-catching landscapes.

Anaheim Public Utilities is here to help.

We're hosting a sustainable landscape workshop this Saturday, June 6, from 9:30 a.m.-noon at our Sustainability Education Center at 888 S. Rose Place.

Registration for this free event is strongly encouraged as space is limited. Register here.

This workshop is set to cover the benefits of water-efficient landscaping, evaluating and laying out your space, removing existing landscaping, adding efficient drip watering and more.

The goal is to promote water conservation, help residents save money on water bills and to encourage beautiful, water-efficient yards.

A grass yard can use 50,000 or more gallons of water a year.

A water-efficient yard can use 50%-70% less water, saving you money on your bills.

While Anaheim Public Utilities is our not-for-profit utility and provides cost-effective water, our bills are based on how much water we use.

So the less you use, the more you save.

And water-efficient yards can look great! Learn more at our workshop or Anaheim.net/savewater.