NBindy_12.22.23 | Page 9

City Manager
newportbeachindy . com DECEMBER 22 , 2023 9

City Manager

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December 25 , December 26 , December 31 and January 1 . Library facilities will have limited operating hours ( 9 a . m . to 6 p . m .) on Wednesday , December 27 through Saturday , December 30 .
Residential Trash and Recycling Collection : The Christmas and New Year ’ s Day holidays fall on Mondays , therefore , collection for the remainder of each week will be postponed by one day . For example : If your trash is normally collected on Thursdays , it will be picked up Friday .
Street Sweeping : There will be no street sweeping service on Friday , December 22 , Monday , December 25 , Friday , December 29 and Monday , January 1 .
Christmas Tree Recycling Collection : Christmas trees can be placed next to your waste carts for recycling pickup on any scheduled collection days between December 26 and January 15 at no additional cost . Please remove lights and ornaments . Trees should be no more than 6-ft . tall , which may require you to cut your tree . The City ’ s contractor , CR & R , will be using a separate truck to collect trees from December 26 until January 15 . Residents may also cut down their trees into smaller pieces to place into the green organic recycling cart . Please note , flocked trees ( fake snow ) must be placed in the black-top trash cart or treated as a bulky-item pickup . These trees cannot
be recycled because of chemicals used in flocking .
Once again , best wishes to you and your families this holiday season !
O ’ Neill Selected Mayor for 2024 Term ; Stapleton to Serve as Pro Tem
In the City Council ’ s annual reorganization on Tuesday , December 12 , council members selected Will O ’ Neill to serve as Newport Beach ’ s mayor for 2024 , and Joe Stapleton to serve as mayor pro tem . Outgoing 2023 Mayor Noah Blom was recognized for his year of service .
O ’ Neill , who was elected to the Council in 2016 and re-elected in 2020 to represent District 7 , served as mayor in 2020 and mayor pro tem in 2018 , 2019 and 2023 . Stapleton , who represents District 1 , was first elected to the council in 2022 . In his initial remarks on December 12 , O ’ Neill said he plans to recognize and celebrate residents and stakeholders who contribute to the Newport Beach community throughout the coming year . He began by presenting a ceremonial “ key to the city ” plaque to restauranteur Mario Marovic in recognition of his community service .
City , Balboa Island Continue Christmas Tree Tradition
City and contract crews recently assisted the Balboa Island Improvement Association ( BIIA ) with trimming and installation of the traditional Balboa Island Christmas Tree at Fire Station # 4 .
The placing of a Christmas tree has been a fixture on the corner of Park and Marine avenues since the 1940s . The tradition began with business owners Tony and Mina Hershey , who began placing a Christmas tree at the corner of their gas station during the holiday season .
This tradition continued through the 1960s and was sporadically observed until the site was converted into Fire Station # 4 in the 1990s . The annual tree lighting ceremony has been a staple every year since then .
Check It Out : Public Library ’ s Top Titles of 2023
Newport Beach Public Library patrons checked out a whopping 1,161,231 items so far in 2023 ! Here are the top book titles checked out during the year :
Nonfiction : 1 . “ Spare , by Prince Harry ” Duke of Sussex 2 . “ I ’ m Glad My Mom Died ” by
Jennette McCurdy
3 . “ Friends , Lovers , and the Big Terrible Thing : A Memoir ” by Matthew Perry
4 . “ Killers of the Flower Moon :
The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI ” by David Grann
5 . “ The Light We Carry : Overcoming in Uncertain Times ” by Michelle Obama
6 . “ Atomic Habits : Tiny Changes , Remarkable Results ” by James Clear
7 . “ Crying in H Mart : A Memoir ” by Michelle Zauner
8 . “ An Immense World : How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us ” by Ed Yong
9 . “ Outlive : The Science and Art of Longevity , by Peter Attia
10 . “ The Wager : A Tale of Shipwreck , Mutiny and Murder ” by David Grann
Fiction : 1 . “ Lessons in Chemistry ” by
Bonnie Garmus 2 . “ Tomorrow , and Tomorrow , and Tomorrow ” by Gabrielle Zevin 3 . “ Demon Copperhead ” by
Barbara Kingsolver 4 . “ Mad Honey ” by Jodi Picoult 5 . “ Someone Else ’ s Shoes ” by Jojo
Moyes 6 . “ Pineapple Street ” by Jenny
Jackson 7 . “ Desert Star ” by Michael
Connelly 8 . “ Happy Place ” by Emily Henry 9 . “ The Boys from Biloxi ” by John
Grisham 10 . “ Our Missing Hearts ” by
Celeste Ng
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STEPPING OUT

At Laguna Playhouse ‘ Cinderella Christmas ’ is as Good as Panto Gets

By Eric Marchese | Special to the NB Indy
This December is the eighth time Lythgoe Family Productions has brought one of its pantos to Laguna Playhouse , and “ A Cinderella Christmas ” that runs through December 29 is as good as it gets , typifying what the Lythgoes skillfully bring to Orange County with each new show .
The professionalism starts with Bonnie Lythgoe ’ s expert direction and savvy casting , the lineup headed by Veronica Dunne as Cinderella , Joely Fisher as her exploitative stepmother , and Mark Gagliardi and Jeff Sumner ( disguised as women !) as her cruel stepsisters .
Buttons ( Ben Giroux ), the heroine ’ s BFF , addresses the Laguna crowd directly , interacting with us while instructing us to boo Fisher and cheer for Dunne , all while delivering one-liners that are deliberately stale ( and not all of which are necessarily meant for kids ).
His running patter includes the aside “ Try being a SAG actor !” and at least one Taylor Swift joke .
That Kris Lythgoe ’ s script delivers multiple reliable laughs per minute is also a hallmark of the Lythgoe family pantos : When Fisher ’ s Baroness spells out the word “ respect ,” her airhead daughter asks “ Is that a naughty word ? Is that why you spelled it ?” Even old vaudeville jokes that never grow stale are worked in : “ I didn ’ t come here to be insulted .” “ Oh really ? Where do you usually go ?”
Topical laughs refer to Prince Charming ( Patrick Ortiz ) as “ the greatest huntsman in all of Laguna .” While Laguna is glorified , Costa Mesa receives potshots . And other laugh lines are cynically bitter , as when the Baroness notes that “ dreams are for those who can afford them .”
Depicting Cinderella ’ s stepsisters as drag queens , and calling them Hollywood and Vine , is truly inspired , generating some of the evening ’ s biggest chuckles . Sumner ’ s Hollywood and Gagliardi ’ s Vine are booed heavily as they make their entrance via the aisles and come up onto the stage , tossing epithets
Marcello Salvatierra , Veronica Dunne and Alex Tho star in “ A Cinderella Christmas .” Photo Credit : Jason Niedle / Tethos .
at us and their nemesis , Cinderella ( eg . “ Swiffer-ella ”).
The laugh , though , is on these two , so butt-ugly that a ghost aiming to scare them runs screaming in terror .
Dunne ’ s Cinderella is infinitely appealing by projecting vulnerability and humility – often touchingly so , yet without veering into overt sentiment . She ’ s neither the plucky , defiant heroine nor the whining , downtrodden victim , but a
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