Briefly in the news

-- June Casagrande

Sunset Ridge Park will become a real park at last.

On Friday, Gov. Gray Davis signed Senate Bill 124, which will allow

the City of Newport Beach to buy a 15-acre parcel of land from the

California Department of Transportation for $1.3 million -- the same

price Caltrans paid in 1966. The land near West Coast Highway and

Superior Avenue was appraised for $4.1 million in 1999.

“This is one of the last remaining open space parcels within the

Coastal Zone in Newport Beach and, unfortunately, has been sitting idle

and growing weeds for the past 35 years,” said State Sen. Ross Johnson,

who introduced the bill, in a written statement.

In the last few weeks, the city has been rallying the support of

environmental groups to encourage the governor to sign the bill.

Caltrans bought the land to build a freeway, but community opposition

stopped that plan in the 1970s. The land has been vacant ever since.

City officials will now move ahead with purchasing and fixing up the

property, which is likely to include playing fields and a lot of open

space.