Briefly in the news

-- Paul Clinton

The state is set to hold its first public workshop tonight about the

future of the Crystal Cove historic district.

Sponsored by the state’s Department of Parks and Recreation, the

meeting is scheduled to be held at 7 p.m. at the Corona del Mar

elementary school where hundreds of locals showed up Jan. 18 to protest

the state’s deal with a developer for a luxury resort in Crystal Cove.

With that deal now dead, the state has restarted the process to

determine what will ultimately be built in the district. State parks

officials are set to listen to public ideas, as well as clarify potential

alternative projects.

It’s still an open question about how many of the 46 cottages -- built

in the 1920s and 1930s -- would be restored. State parks officials have

pledged to preserve and protect the dwellings, which were placed on the

National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

The state bought what is now known as Crystal Cove State Park in 1979

from the Irvine Co. for $32.6 million.

Today’s meeting will take place at Lincoln Elementary School, 3101

Pacific View Drive, Corona del Mar.