Join us at City Hall for an Earth Day Festival this Saturday, April 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a day of fun activities and sustainable education. Visitors will be treated to the following:

• Free healthy and locally sourced food
• Free compost (while supplies last)
• Learn about Fairview Park’s plant and animal species
• Take part in kids games and activities – including how to recycle and compost
• Free T-shirts
• Enjoy the work of Costa Mesa artists 
• Plant trees and participate in planter improvements at City Hall
• Visit our health and wellness area and participate in a yoga class
• Compost demonstration for small spaces (vermicompost)
• Raffle Prizes

Click here to watch a Costa Mesa Minute video on Earth Day.

City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison has named Payroll Supervisor Anna Dowleski as the recipient of the latest City Manager Leadership Award.

“As a full-service City, Payroll in Costa Mesa can be a very complex operation,” City Manager Farrell Harrison said. “But with Anna in charge, I have complete confidence that everything will run smoothly. She is such a valuable member of our team and I’m honored to present her with this award.”

As Earth Day approaches, let's do what we can to protect our beautiful planet.

Sort your organic waste into your green cart to ensure that food and yard waste is recycled instead of added to a landfill, where it releases harmful methane gas emissions.

When you put your organic waste in your green cart instead of your trash, it is recycled into compost that feeds our soil and helps keep the environment healthy.

Join the Costa Mesa community at our annual Earth Day Festival to celebrate sustainability and enjoy a variety of fun activities! 

Where: City Hall Lawn, 77 Fair Drive

When: April 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Learn more about SB 1383 in Costa Mesa at the link below:

The Costa Mesa Police Department (CMPD) is proud to announce the promotion of its first female police captain in the history of the department to the newly created position of deputy police chief.

Deputy Chief Joyce LaPointe, a 26-year veteran of CMPD, is now second in command and will oversee both divisions of Patrol Operations and Support Services as well as the Professional Standards Bureau.

“Deputy Chief LaPointe’s well-deserved promotion is a proud moment for our police department,” said Chief Lawrence. “Deputy Police Chief LaPointe will ensure our key philosophies of customer service and professional responsiveness to our community, businesses, and City officials. I am confident that she will work hard in this new role to secure the success of this department. One of my main duties is succession planning and I am reassured that she has the qualifications and drive to take on this role.”

This week, the Costa Mesa Police Department held an Employee Recognition Luncheon at the Norma Hertzog Community Center.

The Department would like to congratulate the Employees of the Year, volunteers and partners of 2022! The awardees below were nominated and chosen by their Costa Mesa Police Department peers for their exemplary work and personable skills.

• Officer Hans Guenther, Officer of the Year 
• Lieutenant Scott Stafford, Police Supervisor of the Year
• Custody Supervisor Francisco Diaz, Professional Supervisor of the Year
• Range Master Vince Legaspi, Professional Employee of the Year
• Glen Vauthrin, Volunteer of the Year
• Christopher Rivera, Explorer of the Year
• Nauti-Gals of Newport Harbor Elks Yacht Club, Community Partner of the Year

Congratulations to Officer Christopher Jones and Officer Michael Luu, who received the Lifesaving Award for working as a team to save a child who was choking while suffering a seizure. 

They worked well as a team in assisting the child and reassuring both parents that everything was going to work out well. Their performance under stress was exemplary and an excellent representation of the department.

Congratulations to the 52 CMPD team members who received a Commendation from Chief Lawrence. Their exceptional teamwork, expertise, and dedication to public safety while safely apprehending a violent barricaded suspect is a testament to the values of CMPD. 

A special shout out and thank you to Stan Berry for the CMPD Memorabilia Wall and the AOCDS Pipe Band for assisting out Honor Guard in Presenting of Colors. 

On April 13, Officer Jacob Sieder and Officer Patricia Valdenor graduated from the basic academy after 26 weeks of intensive instruction.

The new officers were part of Class 253 of the Orange County Sheriff Regional Training Academy, one of the most challenging academies in the nation.

Officer Sieder was raised in Torrance and graduated from South Torrance High School. He graduated from CSU Bakersfield with his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration before he was hired by the City of Costa Mesa.

 Officer Valdenor was born in Manila, Philippines, and moved to the United States with her family. She was raised in the Norwalk and La Mirada area and graduated from Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton.

She graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from CSU Long Beach. She was previously employed as a Police Cadet with Fullerton Police Department before she was hired by the City of Costa Mesa.

 The Costa Mesa Police Department warmly welcomes Officer Sieder and Officer Valdenor to the team as they start their Field Training Program.

National Drug Take Back Day is fast approaching. It’s time to go through your home and collect all your expired, unused, and unwanted medications.

Accepted: prescriptions, over the counter medicine, vitamins, supplements, pet medicine, and liquid medicine.

Not accepted: needles and sharps, inhalers, illicit drugs, chemotherapy medication, mercury thermometers, bulk pharmaceutical waste. 

On Saturday, April 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., bring us your expired, unused, unwanted medications and we’ll take them off your hands so they don’t fall into the wrong hands at home.

Stop by Costa Mesa PD at 99 Fair Drive to dispose of the drugs. This is a national event so other nearby police departments will also be participating.

If you can’t make it on that Saturday, the Walgreens on Superior has a drop box where you can dispose of non-controlled medications year round during business hours.

Volunteer Appreciation Week is a national observance celebrating and recognizing the contributions of volunteers.

Not just this week, but every day, we want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our amazing CMPD volunteers who choose to lend their time and talent to help our department and community. It is through their dedication and hard work that make us a better department.

Volunteering is one of the most meaningful experiences a person can have and a great way to feel connected to the community. 

If you are looking to get involved and explore the possibilities of joining our amazing group of volunteers, please contact CMPD’s Volunteer Program at cp@costamesaca.gov for more details. 

Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue (CMFR) staff all gathered recently at Fire Station No. 1 for the department-wide photo, which also included a number of CMFR’s retirees going back to the department’s earliest days. 

The group photo is an event that takes place every four to five years to capture a snapshot of CMFR. During the shoot, fire crews from neighboring cities helped provide support coverage for the City of Costa Mesa so that all CMFR personnel both off shift and on could gather for full department representation. 

Immediately following the department-wide photo of current personnel, the large group of CMFR retirees gathered to join in for a special joint group picture of the Costa Mesa Fire Family, a great representation of past and present, a true snapshot of CMFR’s storied honor and excellence!

Costa Mesa Fire Chief Dan Stefano and Division Chief Jason Pyle recently attended the League of California Cities (Cal Cities) Annual City Leaders Conference in Sacramento.

The conference allowed them the opportunity to engage with city leaders, elected officials and community advocates from throughout the state to discuss statewide issues that have direct impacts to cities, specifically public safety, fiscal sustainability, homelessness and housing.  

During the week, in addition to education and training sessions, Chief Stefano and Chief Pyle met with members of the state legislature to advocate for the City of Costa Mesa and the Orange County region, as well as Cal Cities.

At the conclusion of the conference, the Cal Cities Board of Directors held its quarterly meeting and adopted positions on housing and homelessness bills.

The board also took a deep dive into the state’s fentanyl crisis and a strong push for the Governor and the Legislature to take immediate stronger actions to address crime, including more meaningful reforms to Proposition 47, among other areas.  

Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue (CMFR) personnel recently participated in the 2023 Imaginology event, held at the OC Fair Grounds on April 15 and 16. 

Community Risk Reduction staff, including Acting Assistant Fire Marshal Ben Castillo, Office Specialist II Amy Ellard, Fire Protection Specialist Ryan Meadors, Intern Luke Senger and Acting Emergency Manager Brenda Emrick, participated in the event while engaging with visitors of the Community Risk Reduction booth.

Staff visited with families and engaged in discussions on home escape plans and creating plans to show two separate ways out of each room using supersized graphics and activities.  

Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue personnel recently flew to the Pierce Main Manufacturing Facility in Appleton Wisconsin for the final progress check and inspection of the department's newest fire truck apparatus build. 

Apparatus Committee Members, including Division Chief Jason Pyle (Command Staff Liaison), Captain Brent Turner (Apparatus Committee Chair), Captain Steve Cathey, Fire Engineer Harrison Schwab and Fleet Manager Ian Carter met with the facility staff to view the progression of the build and be a part of the final inspection of the 2023 vehicle. 

Final inspection included approval of build, apparatus systems, ladder functions and operations, pump testing, drive test, emergency systems/operations, a manufacture’s demonstration and education of all systems and construction, service and maintenance and, finally, acceptance of the vehicle. 

The new apparatus is slated for delivery to California the beginning of May. 

The Storm Drain Master Plan Community Outreach Meeting No. 2 will be held via Zoom at 6 p.m. on April 26, 2023.

The meeting will give an overview of the proposed future storm drain improvements throughout the City.

Residents and business owners will have an opportunity to provide feedback.

Please click this Zoom link for the webinar: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87333365372  

Arbor Day is a day of observance that celebrates the planting, maintenance and preservation of trees. Cities and local communities around the world have been gathering for centuries to plant trees in honor of this day. Here in America, the first Arbor Day was originated by J. Sterling Morton. 

On April 10, 1872, he organized the planting of approximately 1 million trees in his home state of Nebraska. 

The City of Costa Mesa continues its efforts to be honored as a Tree City USA by holding its Annual Arbor Day tree planting event at TeWinkle Park at 9 a.m. on Friday, April 28.

The goal for this year is to plant over 30 trees throughout the park. These trees will provide shade, and vital habitat for birds as well as remove carbon from the air for generations to come.  

City contractors will be planting 10-15 additional trees throughout the City to mark this day of observance.

The Public Works Department hosted a public outreach meeting via Zoom on Wednesday, April 19, at 6 p.m. 

This was the second public outreach meeting of the implementation phase of the revised Residential Permit Parking (RPP) Program to begin the renewal process for the three phases of the updated RPP program. 

More than 60 members of the community participated in the public outreach meeting.

In July 2022, Costa Mesa City Council adopted revised Residential Permit Parking (RPP) Program Guidelines and Municipal Code changes.

The goal of the RPP is to implement equitable, sustainable, and efficient parking management strategies. The updated RPP program is being rolled out in three phases:

• Phase 1: Existing RPP zones with external parking impacts and commercial parking impacts will be re-evaluated (now through July 2023).

• Phase 2: Existing RPP zones with only residential parking demand (without external impacts) will be re-evaluated (April through September 2023).  

• Phase 3: New RPP zone applications accepted and evaluated (beginning in July 2023).

Each phase will include community outreach and notices will be mailed to impacted residents.  

For additional information, please visit: www.costamesaca.gov/parking and/or email inquiries to parkingstudy@costamesaca.gov. 

Enjoy an exciting afternoon with your family at the Spring Bark Bash on Saturday, April 29, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Pets will be available for adoption from local pet rescues during the event. Come on down and meet your new best friend.

There will be a variety of services and activities offered, including FREE microchips for Costa Mesa Residents with a current pet license (Must show proof of current pet license to receive a free microchip. Pet license registration will be available at the event.)

Children ages 3-12 will be able to adopt their own stuffed puppy or kitten and take home an adoption certificate.

Donate clean blankets and towels at the City Booth to receive a raffle ticket and win a prize for your pet. Enjoy food trucks, demonstrations, arts and crafts, caricature artists, airbrush tattoos, take a photo with Gus the Bulldog and much more.

For more information, please call 714-754-4918 | 714-754-5128.

*Pets are welcome to attend the event. Dogs must be on a non-retractable 5 foot or less leash within the event area.