Around Town: Free parking for downtown customers this weekend

Customers at businesses in downtown Huntington Beach can get a Valentine’s gift from the city this weekend — two hours of free parking.

The offer is good Friday through Monday at the Main Promenade structure with a minimum $10 purchase and in the Strand garage with a $20 minimum purchase.

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Wine-tasting to aid youth shelter

Community Service Programs will present its fifth annual “Love Grows by Giving” wine-tasting fundraiser Friday to benefit the Santa Ana-based nonprofit’s Huntington Beach Youth Shelter, a haven for homeless, runaway, abused and at-risk youths.

The event will feature wines from Main Street Wine Co. and J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, food pairings from local restaurants, beer samples, live music, live and silent auctions and more.

It will be held from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at Mariners Hall at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa, 21500 Pacific Coast Hwy. Tickets are $50 or $90 per couple.

Last year’s fundraiser collected $75,000 for the youth shelter, according to Community Service Programs.

For more information, visit https://www.cspinc.org.

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Marina High teacher up for statewide award

Sean Fortner, a social-science teacher at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, was honored recently as the Region 11 Educator of the Year by the California League of High Schools.

He will compete for the organization’s Educator of the Year award at its state conference at the end this month.

Fortner, a U.S. government teacher who has worked at Marina for 13 years, was named the school’s New Teacher of the Year in 2003, was nominated for the Disney Teacher of the Year Award in 2005 and has been named three times as the District Educators Assn.’s Outstanding Member of the Year.

“I have always shown great enthusiasm in the classroom while always looking for ways for students to learn and have fun at the same time,” Fortner said in a statement released by the school.

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Ex-Golden West president releases book

Judith Valles, who as president of Golden West College in Huntington Beach from 1988 to 1995 was the first Latina president of a California community college, has written “As My Mother Would Say,” a book that recounts Spanish sayings her mother used to tell her as a child.

Valles, who served two terms as mayor of San Bernardino from 1998 to 2006 as the first Latina elected mayor of a U.S. city with a population of more than 100,000, said she hopes the book will be a tool in developing leadership skills for readers from all walks of life. She said it also encourages preserving Spanish culture.

“This is a reminder of what we as Latinos must not lose, and at the same time a hope that those who are not Latino may develop a better understanding of us,” Valles said in a statement.

The book, published by iUniverse, is available at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

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Company’s H.B. office looks back to ‘60s

Crown World Mobility, an international company with 265 locations providing transportation, relocation and other mobility services, is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and staff at the Huntington Beach office marked the occasion Feb. 4 by dressing in 1960s-inspired outfits.

Jim Thompson started the company in 1965 in Yokohama, Japan.

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Hoag health fair set in Huntington Beach

In honor of Heart Awareness Month, Hoag Health Center Huntington Beach will host Heart Healthy Huntington Beach, a community health fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 21.

Guests of all ages are invited to hear presentations from physicians and participate in free health screenings and other activities.

The health center is at 19582 Beach Blvd. For more information, call (800) 400-HOAG (4624) or visit hoag.org/hb-heart.

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Local Boys & Girls Club gets 3 new directors

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley recently welcomed Huntington Beach Mayor Pro Tem Jim Katapodis, Orange County Water District Vice President and former Huntington Beach Mayor Cathy Green and retired Boeing Co. executive John Bishop to its board of directors.

The club serves 9,500 children at six locations in Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley.