THIRTY dumpsters are being decorated by local artists in an effort to help beautify downtown Huntington Beach (City of HB photo).

It might be difficult to think of dumpsters as being objects of art and beauty, but a project is underway which may change all that. Local artists will be painting 30 such trash receptacles to beautify downtown Huntington Beach and leading toward the “Dumpsters on Parade” event set for Saturday, Oct. 7 when the beautified trash bins will be paraded down Main Street.

On Sunday, Oct. 8, the dumpsters will be on display at the city pier across Pacific Coast Highway, and then by Monday be on duty throughout the downtown area. The bins will be protected with an anti-graffiti sealant and UV protection. It’s all a project of the Huntington Beach Public Art Alliance.

Don’t drink and drive … especially on Aug. 25 and 26

A driver’s license and drunk driving checkpoint is being planned for an undisclosed location on Garden Grove between 9 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 25 and 3 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 26.

The Garden Grove Police Department will be running the checkpoints in coordination with the city’s Accident Reduction Team. Funding is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Students finish real-world internship

Nearly 40 high school students from Garden Grove Unified School District spent six weeks of their summer break gaining 21^st century job skills through a unique Summer Internship Program.

The program is offered through a partnership with the GGUSD Career and Technical Education Department and Orange County United Way’s Youth Career Connections program.

Students earned 10 credits while completing a CTE pathway and were presented with a $450 scholarship at the celebration.  As part of the program, students developed LinkeIn profiles, drafted resumes, and gained real-world experience in a wide range of industries.  Employers entrusted students with important skills, such as developing Excel formulas, designing architecture plans in CAD, customer service and restaurant management, offering insight during office meetings, and contributing to engineering work in the field with experts in paleontology and botany.

Employers included Azteca Mexican Restaurant, Boys and Girls Club of Garden Grove, Carolina’s Italian Restaurant, Cielo, Dr. Forghani inc., First Service Residential, GGUSD Lincoln Education Center, Hills Bros Lock & Safe, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, OC Heat Press, Opus Bank, OC Labor Federation, Orange County United Way, Psomas Engineering, Sasha’s Edible Arrangements, SM&A, Thomas House Family Shelter, Unite Here Local 11, and Ware Malcomb. Employers interested in offering internships to GGUSD students should contact Myra Clarke, Director of Career and Technical Education, at (714) 663-6503.