Briefly in the news

An empty briefcase leaning against a building caused quite a stir on

Balboa Island early Monday when officials treated it as a potential bomb

and called the Orange County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad to inspect

it.

A passing man called Newport Beach police about 8 a.m. when he saw the

briefcase propped up alone at the corner of Main Street and East Bay

Avenue, Sgt. Ron Rodgers said.

“It was just an old, rectangular, hard leather case,” he said. “But it

was unclaimed, nobody was around it or took responsibility for it. That’s

why it was suspicious.”

The bomb squad inspected the piece of luggage and found it to be

empty, Rodgers said.