Distinguished Panel Discussion Series to begin Friday

NEWPORT BEACH -- The second annual Distinguished Panel Discussion

Series will get underway at 7 p.m. Friday with “A Tale of Three Cities:

What’s Happening in Orange County Cities That Will Make an Impact in the

New Millennium?” at the Newport Beach Central Library, 1000 Avocado Ave.

Panelists will include Newport Beach Mayor Dennis O’Neil, Santa Ana

Mayor Miguel Pulido and Irvine Mayor Christina Shea. Jim Wood,

co-publisher of Coast Orange County magazine, and library board trustee,

will moderate.

Panelists will discuss growth, traffic and urban revitalization issues

that affect all Orange County cities. Other possible topics include the

Newport Coast annexation and the possibility of an airport at the former

El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

Friday’s event will be the first of the three Distinguished Panel

Discussion Series this fall. Co-sponsored by the Newport Beach Public

Library and the Newport Beach Public Library Foundation, the programs

feature community leaders discussing critical Orange County issues.

The second program titled “Law & Crime in Orange County” will be

presented Oct. 15. The final program, “Eye on Orange County Education,”

will be presented Nov. 19.

Admission to each program is $10 and dessert and coffee will be

provided.

For more information, call (949) 644-3296.

-- Amy R. Spurgeon