STARLIGHT 4 STAR CINEMA on Valley View Street will eventually have 12 screens, if approved by the City of Garden Grove. Illustration above does not include latest proposed additions.

One of the items mentioned but sort of lost in the many details of Garden Grove Mayor Steve Jones’ recent “State of the City” address was that the Starlight 4 Star Cinema on Valley View Street was going to roughly triple in size.

The four auditoriums currently in place will grow to 12, according to the mayor. Earlier, plans were announced to expand the complex to five or six theaters, but it now looks like enough property has been acquired – we know the new property owner was in escrow to purchase the closed bowling alley building – to make a proper expansion.

If it comes to pass as announced, that will give Garden Grove a total of 28 movie screens. Old-timers can remember when there were only two, or none.

Go ahead, take more time …

The public comment period for the proposed controversial Magnolia Tank Farm in Huntington Beach project has been extended for 30 days until March 18 at 5 p.m.

Specifically, the public comments must refer to the environmental impact report for the planned development, which could lead to a large mixed use project composed of a 175-room lodge, 40 “family/group” overnight accommodations, retail and dining along with nearly six acres open space.

The alternate scenario calls for up to 250 homes and the same amount of open space.

What’s really interesting is the lodge and “overnight accommodations.” That’s a departure from the typical hotel style and it would move the city’s tourism away from just the strip along the beach.

Moving Tet Festival symbolizes other moves

The annual Tet Festival used to be located in Garden Grove Park, next to Bolsa Grande High School and almost right on the border between Garden Grove and Westminster.

Now it’s moved down to Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley, Friday through Sunday.  It’s not just a shift to a bigger location. It marks a population shift as well.  The Little Saigon areas of Vietnamese-American residents have long been concentrated in those two cities, but now we’re seeing a migration into Fountain Valley, especially in the northern part. That city now has one councilman – Michael Vo – and two other Vietnamese candidates ran unsuccessfully in 2018.

Usually Reliable Sources appears on alternate weeks.