Hello Back Bay Benizens, happy Friday!

They are shoring up the berms at the pier in preparation for high swells from hurricane Marie, and an even higher swell of last minute tourists in town for the long weekend. At least its not 80 degrees and 90% humidity anymore. The school drop-off was getting downright embarrassing.

To our new readers—welcome! The Back Bay Buzz delivers just the right amount of news and events for locals in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. No crime, no politics, no spam—just the good stuff. We scan newspapers, blogs, social media, business journals, and Google alerts so you don’t have to.

In today’s Buzz:

— Jon Dougher, Publisher, Back Bay Buzz

An Eastside staple is preparing to pass the torch: the Jack in the Box at 385 E. 17th Street—a drive-thru fixture that’s anchored the corner since 1966—is winding down operations after roughly six decades in business. In its place, San Diego-born Better Buzz Coffee Roasters is set to take over the parcel, bringing their signature house-roasted espresso, matcha, açai bowls, and fresh breakfast bites to a redesigned drive-thru café. While Better Buzz may not serve signature post-Wild Goose bender gut spackle (like the two tacos, JBC and curly fries trifecta), we can all agree that 17th street certainly does not have enough coffee shops.

When Newport-Mesa Unified enacted its policy barring middle and elementary schoolers from riding or parking e-bikes on campus this fall, the district framed it as an open-and-shut safety win. Proponents cheered the prospect of calmer school zones, while skeptics argued that simply banning e-bikes from the racks wouldn’t stop kids from riding—it would just push the logistics off school grounds.

Those predictions took about forty-eight hours to pan out. Rather than returning to standard pedals or piling into the morning car line, students are riding to school anyway, stopping a yards to a few blocks shy of campus, and chaining their bikes to each other (or not at all). The result is an unintentional game of hot potato: the district solved its campus headache, but the surrounding streets—where homeowners pay a dear premium for quiet, privacy, and prime coastal living—have effectively been turned into a massive, overflow bike corral. While the bikes may be a short-term eye-sore, it is worth noting that as long as the bikes do not impede traffic, sidewalks or driveways and are not chained to public infrastructure (street signs, telephone poles etc), parking bikes on the street is entirely legal. NBPD has stated it will impound any e-bikes violating any of the above stipulations.

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🌊 Water temp = 75º
Suit Rec: Spring suit 3/2

Thanks! Please ignore any typos, our editor is in a two taco, JBC and curly fry trifecta food coma.

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