California state auditor to examine Huntington Beach’s $7M air show settlement

Kevin Elliott, the CEO of Code Four, speaks at a news conference about the Pacific Airshow in 2023. The California Joint Legislative Audit Committee voted Tuesday in Sacramento to examine Huntington Beach’s multimillion-dollar settlement with Pacific Airshow operator Code Four. “Like hundreds of businesses along the Huntington Beach coastline, there is no doubt that the Pacific Airshow lost revenue during the beach closures that followed the 2021 oil spill,” Min said in a statement following the vote. Parra said during his hearing comments that the air show was “vitally important” to the city but that Pacific Airshow operators had made it clear there would be no show in 2023 unless a settlement was reached, which the City Council voted to pursue. “We would just like information to start making that determination ourselves.” State auditor Grant Parks said during the hearing that Clayton-Tarvin’s lawsuit shouldn’t impact the state’s ability to obtain the records it needs, but it could impact the level of specificity that a public audit report could get into.