San Clemente city news over the course of 2011 was dominated by two major issues: The planned controversial Playa Del Norte retail/restaurant development at North Beach and concern about safety at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in the wake of the Fukushima, Japan, nuclear disaster.

But many of developments in crime, sports, government and business also took center stage over the course of San Clemente's busy 2011 -- not the least of which, San Clemente Patch celebrated its first birthday Dec. 14.

The issue of North Beach is far from resolved, though voters nixed the project in March with their “no” vote on Measure A. City officials, advisory committees and residents are still wrangling over what should go in place of Playa del Norte, while the failed project’s erstwhile developer Shaheen Sadeghi is involved in two lawsuits against the city --  he is still trying to throw out the election results and is claiming millions in damages.

The initial wave of concern over the San Onofre plant waned after the spring when news about Japan's horrible earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster faded from the front pages. A core of a few devoted protesters helped persuade the City Council to pass a resolution about the plant.

That resolution calls for federal and Southern California Edison authorities to remove the radioactive waste from the San Onofre site, and it calls for the council to aggressively pursue money to connect Avenida La Pata with Orange County’s network of arterials, providing another way out of town in case of a disaster.

Development

But these were far from the only important news developments in the bustling coastal town. Big building projects came to fruition all over town, the new Target, perhaps, being the largest. The retailer opened its store in October across from what will be the new La Pata/Vista Hermosa Sports Park.

This park, too, is another major development. Slated for a Jan. 28 opening, the park boasts athletic fields -- including an artificial turf field -- a wave pool, a mini golf course, an Olympic-sized aquatic center and an all-access playground for able-bodied kids and those with disabilities.

Other developments include the completion of the city’s new Senior Center and fire station on Avenida Victoria, which opened in November.

Also, just this December, the city completed its federal Quiet Zone designation for the rail intersections at North Beach, meaning the Amtrak and Metrolink trains that rumble down the coast no longer have to blast their horns. This is a welcome development for those who live near the tracks.

And though the fate of the stymied Marblehead Development remains unclear, the portion next to the freeway where Craig Realty plans an outlet mall seems to be moving ahead; the Newport Beach developer announced this month the names of 21 retailers who have signed leases for the proposed Plaza San Clemente.

(Read background on the development here.)

Other developments have not been so positive, however. Some residents east of the I-5 freeway are furious that they weren’t consulted about a 16-foot granite sound wall they say blocks their ocean views. The City Council has written a formal letter asking the California Department of Transportation to re-open its environmental process.

Crime and Mayhem

Probably the splashiest crime headline in San Clemente this year was September’s bomb scare at San Clemente High School. A Navy corpsman didn’t show up for duty one morning, prompting Camp Pendleton authorities to search his barracks. There, they said they found “writings” that indicated he planned to plant bombs at the SCHS campus.

Bomb squads were called out and students were evacuated to the football field as the helmeted officers and bomb-sniffing dogs combed the campus.

It was a big show, but fortunately there were no explosive devices on campus. The suspect was still in the brig awaiting court martial as of late November.

Other major crime news included two San Clemente youth pastors who were accused and/or convicted in connection with unrelated cases involving child molestation. Also, a San Clemente children’s book author and state contractor who worked with the disabled stands accused of molesting two children; his case is still in the court system.

And, late this year, one of two Marines accused in the 2008 drug-related shooting murder of a fellow Marine was convicted. His sentencing is early in 2012, as will be the trial of the other Marine accused in the crime, which happend within city limits.

The weather and infrastructure problems also caused mayhem in San Clemente in 2012; a January mudslide left several homes on Via Ballena condemned and required emergency installation of drainage pipes to keep the homes from sliding off the bluff. The homeowners have been involved in litigation with the city.

Also, the day after the SCHS bomb scare, technical grid problems engulfed San Clemente and much of San Diego and Arizona in a massive blackout. 

San Clemente Sports

San Clemente’s big sports story this year involved the San Clemente High School football team’s meteoric rise, only to be beaten in the Southern Section Pac-5 Championship game at Angel Stadium by Rancho Santa Margarita in December.

The Tritons, boasting some of the top prospects in prep football, barreled through their season under the direction of the athletic director/coach Jon Hamro. The AD had to take over because of an ongoing coaching scandal that broke over the summer, forcing San Clemente’s veteran football coach into suspension as the district investigates.

The San Clemente boys’ soccer in March toppled Santa Barbara to win its first CIF Championship, while the top-seeded girls lost in the final match to Flintridge.

In San Onofre State Beach’s Nike Lowers Pro surf competition in June, San Clemente’s own Kolohe Andino made history by pulling the first “stale fish” air maneuver in the history of Association of Surfing Professionals tournament surfing.

In the Hurley Pro, the other big San Onofre competition in September that bookends the summer surf season, surf vet Kelly Slater came away with the title—a win leading up to his unprecedented 11th ASP World Championship.

Going Forward

Some projects on the docket going forward include a resolution to the problem of contaminated water at Poche Beach. The water purifiers there were doing little to address the bacteria-laden runoff into the ocean. Poche Beach is consistently rated one of the dirtiest in the state.

The runoff purifiers weren’t working because the water sits stagnant in a pool in the sun before it runs into the ocean. Once the measure is approved by the web of bureaucracies involved, city officials say piping the purified runoff directly into the surf will solve the problem.

Also in 2012, San Clemente will continue to pursue federal funds for the La Pata Connector project, the two-mile extension that will hook up Avenida La Pata with the rest of Orange County’s arterials.

The city will also continue lobbying for the Army Corps of Engineers to replenish the sand along its beaches, which have been hard-hit by erosion. That project is still a couple years away, especially with the climate of economy in Washington, D.C.

Also in 2012, the city is set to perform massive renovations on the Ole Hanson Beach Club; the city has hired a design firm. Officials said they won’t shut down the club until the new aquatic center at La Pata/Vista Hermosa is open, though, so swimmers will have a place to go during construction.

Also on the construction schedule is a new sidewalk and traffic improvements that will encompass Max Berg Plaza Park; the largely Hispanic community there banded together with the help of outside agencies to lobby the City Council for the improvements, a triumph for the Las Palmas neighborhood not known for its community involvement.

Also in 2012, San Clemente's Swift Engineering, a race car and military aerospace design and manufacturing firm, will be doubling its work force and expanding its capacity to meet the huge demand for military reconnaissance drones.