Briefly in the news

Paul Clinton

An Orange County Superior Court judge is set to hear a local group’s

challenge today against California State Parks to return the former

residents to Crystal Cove.

Superior Court Judge Francisco Firmat will hear arguments and is

expected to issue a tentative ruling on the validity of the claim.

The Crystal Cove Community Trust sued the state after it evicted the

former residents of the 46 beachfront cottages on July 8.

The trust is alleging the state mishandled the evictions and didn’t

perform adequate environmental analysis to justify the action.

Firmat set the hearing for 3:30 p.m. today in Department C25 at the

Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.