Phones out at City Hall

The Costa Mesa City Hall was quieter than usual Thursday, with fewer

people speaking and fewer phones ringing.

The city discovered that several of its phone lines -- at the civic

center and at its satellite offices -- were down at about 7:30 a.m., said

Jerry Verwolf, telecommunications manager for the city.

Pacific Bell refused to discuss the incident, but Verwolf said the

problem was caused by faulty trunk cards.

Trunk cards channel telephone information between switching centers,

which handle the voice and data signals.

Half of the cards needed to be replaced, Verwolf said.

The phones began ringing again immediately after Pacific Bell replaced

the cards at about 12:45 p.m.