Week in Review

BRAND NEW OPENINGS

This year’s first day of school was a real first at Eastbluff Elementary

-- the first day for all its students and staff.

The best news was how smoothly everything went, both at Eastbluff and

throughout the district as the school year began. Although the district

faces a number of issues -- from refurbishing campuses to the district’s

zero-tolerance policy -- it was a good first sign that the district’s

most important job of teaching our children got off to a solid start.

BREAKING GROUND

Hot on the heels of Eastbluff Elementary, the district held a

groundbreaking for Newport Coast Elementary, which is set to open

sometime next year. The district promises the school will be state of the

art, and much of the money will come from the Irvine Co. The search for a

principal could begin as early as January -- plenty of time to make sure

the school is ready to go when its doors finally open.

GETTING PAST WORDS

The war of words between radio personality Dr. Laura Schlessinger and

Beach Access owner Thomas Moore continues. After Schlessinger filed suit

against the South Coast Plaza shop owner, the root cause of the ruckus --

Hustler publisher Larry Flynt -- stepped into the fray, promising to help

Moore in any legal fight against Schlessinger.

NO MORE PARKING PANDEMONIUM

It’ll be none too soon when the Newport Beach City Council makes changes

to ease parking congestion on the Balboa Peninsula -- a nightmare every

sunny weekend. The council got a first look at the Balboa Peninsula

parking management plan this week and are expected to vote on the

specifics sometime in November.

Imagine, the summer of 2000. It’s warm. The water’s clean. And instead

of crawling around for 15 minutes or half an hour looking for parking,

you find a spot in five minutes or less. Maybe it won’t happen quite that

quickly, but some improvements need to be made, and it’s good to see the

council getting ready to do so.