Huntington Beach Weekly News Headlines

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And we're back with another episode of Unlocking Huntington Beach. What's going on? My name is Lane Stone, and we, of course, have another good one for you today. So let's dive right in. This week, more than 10,000 runners took over PCH for a Huntington Beach tradition celebrating 70 years. The city also earned a California first for accessibility and landed at number 15 in Wallet Hub's ranking for best cities for women. We'll get into what that ranking actually measures. And remember the Newland property that we talked about last week? Well, the city is now considering more than a $600,000 restoration project on the historic house and water tower. And that sent me down another rabbit hole because right behind that house is a connection to actual Civil War veterans gathering here in Huntington Beach. But we'll get into those stories and connect a little bit later. Let's

Surf City 10 Sets 70th Anniversary Record on PCH

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start with the Surf City 10 that just set a record. So if you were anywhere near PCH Sunday morning of September 20th, you probably noticed a lot more runners than usual. The Surf City 10 celebrated its 70th anniversary and more than 10,000 people participated in the 5K, 10K, and 10 mile races. That's a record for the event and more than a 50% increase from last year. What surprised me though was how far back this race actually goes. The 10-mile event is considered the oldest 10-mile race in the country, and it's also the oldest road race of any distance in Orange County. 70 years of history means people have been competing in this event since the 1950s. This year's 10 mile winner was Jonathan Velasco, and he finished in 47 minutes and 59 seconds. Rosie Edwards won the women's race in 58 minutes and 10 seconds. And if you wonder why PCH was completely closed, the Surf City 10 is one of only three events that are granted a full PCH closure here in Huntington Beach. The other two are Surf City Marathon and the Fourth of July Parade, of course. So congratulations to everybody who ran it. 10,000 people for the 70th anniversary is a pretty cool way

HB Earns California's First Sensory Inclusive Certification

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to celebrate. Next up, Huntington Beach recently became the first city in all of California to receive sensory inclusive certification from Culture City. You might be wondering, like I was, what this actually means for our community. So I dug in and here's what I found. For individuals with sensory sensitivities, environments like crowded restaurants, loud events, bright lights, or emergency situations can be overwhelming. A key part of this certification involved training the frontline workers and community members visitors encounter daily. More than 1,500 people receive sensory-inclusive training, including employees at hotels, restaurants, and attractions, along with lifeguards, firefighters, and police officers. There are also 14 partners around the city that have been certified through Culture City and verified by accessible travel platform Wheel the World. And this isn't the only accessibility work that's been happening around Huntington Beach. We now have things like moby mats to make getting across the sand a little bit easier. We also have beach wheelchairs and accessible fire pits. For somebody planning a trip who has a child or a family member with different sensory or mobility needs, knowing these resources exist ahead of time can make the entire experience easier. And Huntington Beach is now the first city in the state to receive this particular certification. So that's really cool for our city.

WalletHub 2026 Best Cities for Women: HB Ranks #15

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Next up, I want to talk about a top 15 for Huntington Beach. Huntington Beach has landed at the number 15 spot of Wallet Hub's 2026 ranking of best cities for women. They compared 182 cities using 15 measures. So I wanted to see what actually went into that ranking. 60% of the score covers economic and social well-being, including women's earnings adjusted for the cost of living, unemployment, poverty, and business ownership. The other 40% covers health care and safety. That includes insurance coverage, preventative screenings, women's hospital quality, life expectancy, and sexual violence. State abortion policies and access also factor in. Each measure gets scored, and those weighted scores determine the overall ranking. Here's where Huntington Beach stood out. We were seventh in healthcare and safety compared with 73rd in economic and social well-being. So healthcare and safety was our strongest category. It's a strong overall showing and it's a comparison of the cities found rather than a guarantee of what every woman's experience here will be. Moving

Newland House & Water Tower Restoration Plan

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on, I want to talk about an update to the Newland House. Now, last week we talked about an old Huntington Beach Halloween tradition at the Newland Barn. Back in the 1990s, local families would come out to the property for Halloween events, including kid-friendly haunted house. Well, funny enough, there's already another reason we're talking about Newland this week. The Newland House dates back to 1898, and the city is currently evaluating major restoration plans for the historic house and its water tower. A recent city council agenda outlined a proposed 628,600 construction contract with new build construction and restoration to preserve the Newland House Museum and Watertower. That includes work on the siding, windows, molding, and other historic exterior features, along with safety dealing with old lead-based paint and asbestos containing materials. Once contingency and supplemental costs are included, the overall project budget is roughly $673,000. One important note city records show this is a proposed contract, so funds have not officially been awarded and is pending final council approval. But it is interesting timing. We were just talking about the Newland property as the site of an old Halloween tradition. And now we're talking about potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars being put toward preserving it. And the more I looked into the property, the more I realized how many pieces of Huntington Beach history overlap right there. Because directly behind the Newland house is Bartlett Park. And that's where a much newer version of a very old Huntington Beach tradition got its start.

Civil War Veterans' Encampments in Huntington Beach

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Which brings us to a Civil War in Huntington Beach. No, there actually wasn't a Civil War battle here. However, Huntington Beach's connection to Civil War veterans stretches back over a century. In the late 1800s, Union veterans were among the early pioneers who settled in the area. And there are a couple of names from that era that you're probably very familiar with: Talbert and Bouchard. Those names didn't start with the streets. In July of 1884, members of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization made up of Union veterans, traveled from Santa Ana and capped along the coast at what then was known as Shell Beach. Over time, these casual gatherings grew into major annual encampments. Beginning in 1905, Huntington Beach became a regular regional gathering place for annual veterans encampments. They met at the Methodist campgrounds in an area nicknamed Tent City. Hundreds of Union veterans gathered to reconnect, advocate for veteran care, and share historical perspectives on preserving the Union. Think about how different this place would have looked. No Pacific City, no resorts, no neighborhoods stretching from miles inland, and hundreds of actual Civil War veterans were setting up tents and gathering here at the beach. Eventually that generation passed away and the accounts disappeared with them. Fast forward almost a century, in 1993, Marine Rivers and Carl Klink started the modern Civil War Days at Bartlett Park, directly behind the Newland House. The first event had fewer than 50 reenactors and one cannon. It eventually moved to Central Park and grew into the Civil War Days event organized by the Huntington Beach Historical Society today. So when you see Civil War reenactors walking around Central Park, there's actually a much older Huntington Beach story behind it. The modern event started in the 90s. The connection to Civil War veterans goes back to the 1800s. And somehow all of this started because last week we were talking about a Halloween event at the Newland Barn. That's why I like digging into stuff like this. You start with one building you've probably driven past a million times, and suddenly you're looking at more than a century of Huntington

Wrap-Up and Next Week on Unlocking HB

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Beach history. So that's it for this week's Unlocking Huntington Beach. From a record turnout on PCH to accessibility improvements and a national ranking, there's a lot happening here in the beautiful city of Huntington Beach, and plenty worth digging into beyond the headlines. We'll keep an eye on the proposed Newland House restoration project as well. And if you've got an old Huntington Beach story that we should be looking into, send it our way. Apparently, one memory about Halloween at the Newland Barn can turn into a whole Civil War history lesson. Again, my name is Lane Stone. Thanks for watching Unlocking Huntington Beach, and I'm going to leave you with what I do each and every week. Do good, Huntington Beach deserves it, and I'll see you on the next one.