WEEK IN REVIEW

Dennis Rodman’s surprise appearance at last week’s City Council

meeting certainly caused some excitement.

But the ex-basketball star’s plea to halt plans for a more stringent

noise ordinance didn’t convince council members. In a 6 to 1 vote, with

Councilman John Heffernan the lone dissenter, they tentatively approved

the law change. A second hearing is due June 12.

Once the revised ordinance takes effect, city officials hope that it

will be easier to file criminal charges against noise offenders. So far,

the district attorney’s office has hesitated to prosecute troublemakers,

saying Newport Beach’s existing law didn’t help to prove the willful

intent of a person to make noise.

Folks down at City Hall have been saying that the change was long

overdue and will be applied to all residents who don’t keep the noise

down. But they also readily admit that Rodman’s May 12 birthday bash,

which was broken up by 20 police officers at his West Newport Beach

oceanfront home, helped speed up the process.

But the Worm’s already said that he won’t change his lifestyle as a

result, and his lawyer said it’s likely Rodman will make his views heard

more frequently at council meetings.

-- Mathis Winkler covers Newport Beach. He may be reached at (949)

574-4232 or by e-mail at mathis.winkler@latimes.com.

Conflicting reports muddle case

Man shoots man in public -- almost execution-style. It happened May 18

in the parking lot of a Jack In The Box restaurant at the corner of 17th

Street and Tustin Avenue.

Ramadan Dokovic, 42, of Downey allegedly pulled out a long-barelled

gun and shot 48-year-old Newport Beach resident Miroslav Maric several

times in front of at least a dozen witnesses.

Police still don’t know the motive behind the bizarre shooting. But

that is not where the strange aspect of the case stopped. On Monday,

Costa Mesa Police announced Maric died after he was taken off life

support. But they acknowledged their mistake Tuesday saying that Maric

was still on life support Monday.

As it stands, hospital officials say he died Tuesday afternoon while

the Orange County coroner maintains Maric died Monday morning. Dokovic

will be arraigned June 1. The District Attorney will most likely charge

him with murder instead of attempted murder.

Heavy surf on Monday caused a near drowning in Newport Beach when two

children -- a 12-year-old boy and 10-year-old girl -- were swept off

their boards by a big wave. Officials said the girl was doing better but

that the boy was still in critical condition. He was first taken to Hoag

Hospital and later transferred to Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

Officials said waves that day were three to five feet with occasional

six-foot sets coming through.

-- Deepa Bharath covers cops and courts. She may be reached at (949)

574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.

Another plan for El Toro

Shunned by the political establishment, Newport Beach resident Charles

Griffin is taking his idea for an airport at the closed El Toro Marine

Corps Air Station to the public.

Griffin, who has floated a proposal to realign the base’s two runways

from a cross to a “V” shape, announced his intention to circulate a

petition to place the concept on the county’s March ballot.

After analyzing the V-Plan, as it has become known, the county shelved

it. Newport Beach officials warned Griffin that his possible initiative

could jeopardize the county’s airport plan.

Other objections have come from a pilots’ group, who said the plan’s

tight departure slope and other elements gives it “serious and specific

limitation.” Also, the Federal Aviation Administration has refused to

consider it.

South County spokesman Meg Waters summed it up when she said: “It’s

got something for everybody to hate.”

-- Paul Clinton covers the environment and John Wayne Airport. He may

be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at paul.clinton@latimes.com.

Celebrations and awards

In preparation of the long weekend, schools tried to tire everyone out

last week. There were open houses, parties celebrating principals and

book donations. There were flag raising ceremonies, jog-a-thons and

surf-side Olympics.

The hoopla started bright and early Monday morning when two schools

celebrated being named National Blue Ribbon Schools.

Harbor View Elementary School in Corona del Mar became the eighth

school in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District to capture the honor,

while Our Lady Queen of Angels School, also in Corona del Mar, became the

first Catholic elementary school in Orange County to earn the

prestigiousaward.

Another huge honor for Newport-Mesa was announced Tuesday when Costa

Mesa High School’s Jon Lindfors was named one of Orange County’s four

Teachers of the Year.

-- Danette Goulet covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at danette.goulet@latimes.com.

A garden to savor

After months of delay, the City Council finally reached an agreement

last week with Commonwealth Partners to preserve the California Scenario.

The 50-year deal came after a series of bitter discussions that nearly

sidelined Commonwealth’s part of the Town Center project.

Commonwealth, along with South Coast Partners and the Orange County

Performing Arts Center, is working to build a pedestrian-oriented

cultural arts district at Town Center, an area bordered by Bristol

Street, Sunflower Avenue, Avenue of the Arts and the San Diego Freeway.

The city readily approved the other parts of the project proposed by

South Coast Partners, which owns South Coast Plaza, and the Center.

The council still must approve the rest of its agreement with

Commonwealth.

-- Jennifer Kho covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at jennifer.kho@latimes.com.