WEEK IN REVIEW

Orange Coast College political science professor Kenneth Hearlson has

been cleared by college administrators of the majority of charges that he

harassed Muslim students.

A report released by college administrators Tuesday found that most of

the accusations against him were “unsubstantiated”.

However, Hearlson received a letter from college president Margaret

Gratton that he believes is a reprimand.

The teacher’s union will be filing three grievances on Hearlson’s

behalf -- one against the so-called reprimand, one over the issue of

academic freedom and one blaming the administration for interfering with

Hearlson’s classroom management.

As of yet, no action has been taken against the Muslim students for

making “unsubstantiated” charges.

In other news, the Newport-Mesa school board approved a two-year

salary raise for teachers -- 6% for this year and 3% for next year.

On Friday, Andersen School celebrated the receipt of its Golden Bell

Award for its outstanding technology program.

* Deirdre Newman covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at o7 deirdre.newman@latimes.comf7 .

Council browned out

Costa Mesa officials are out from under the Brown Act microscope after

the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced last week it had

dropped an investigation into a possible violation of the state’s open

meeting laws.

The city’s saving grace, however, was not that its actions were all

above board, but that officials immediately stopped questionable actions

once they were aware of public concern.

The district attorney’s office said the main reason the investigation

was halted was because Costa Mesa officials decided among themselves to

stop closed-door negotiations with C.J. Segerstrom & Sons regarding the

Home Ranch development in June.

“Whether or not the [subcommittee designed to negotiate the agreement]

actually violated the Brown Act is an open legal question,’ Deputy Dist.

Atty. Pete Pierce said. ‘Since the Costa Mesa City Council decided to

scrap the committee, the issue became moot.”

Pierce launched a preliminary investigation in October after his

office received a letter from Costa Mesa resident Paul Flanagan, who

claimed the city violated the Brown Act during early subcommittee

negotiations on the development agreement for the Home Ranch project.

Flanagan is the president of Costa Mesa Citizens for Responsible Growth

and a vocal opponent of the development.

The Brown Act -- the state law that governs public meetings -- allows

for government officials to “cure” any possible violations by simply

stopping the problematic behavior, or going back and doing everything in

the open, Pierce said. The fact that Costa Mesa officials abandoned the

subcommittee negotiations was the main reason the district attorney’s

office decided not to pursue it, he said.* Lolita Harper covers Costa

Mesa. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275 or by e-mail at o7

lolita.harper@latimes.comf7 .

Former officer convicted

A jury on Tuesday convicted a former Long Beach police officer of 11

charges of molesting a 14-year-old boy he met in an Internet chat room

and then lured to his Costa Mesa apartment. The jury deliberated for less

than two hours before finding Michael McDonald, 61, guilty of three

counts of oral copulation, two counts of sodomy and three counts of child

abduction.

He was also convicted of one count of showing child pornography to a

minor with the intent of seducing him, possessing child pornography with

the intent of distributing it to young people, and one misdemeanor count

of possessing child pornography.

The former police officer, who left Long Beach Police Department in

1972, was arrested by Costa Mesa Police officers in his apartment Jan.

12. The boy was with him at the time.McDonald faces more than 43 years in

prison and is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 8, said Deputy Dist. Atty.

Jana Hoffmann, who prosecuted the case. McDonald reportedly met the boy,

a resident of Garden Valley in Northern California, via the Internet and

convinced him to come down to Costa Mesa three times between October 2000

and January 2001.

* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 deepa.bharath@latimes.comf7 .

Leading changes in City Hall

Newport Beach has a new mayor. City Councilman Tod Ridgeway was

selected for the job by fellow council members at their Tuesday meeting.

To fill Ridgeway’s post as vice mayor, they selected Councilman Steve

Bromberg. The new leaders took over the jobs on the spot.

The city is now just one step away from adopting a law against feeding

ducks. If the law gets approved at the Jan. 8 council meeting, it will

make it illegal to set out containers of food and water for ducks.

Throwing pieces of bread to ducks and other animals, however, will

continue to be legal unless Councilwoman Norma Glover can follow through

on her plan to toughen the law.

A mass mailing to more than 45,000 Newport Beach voters regarding

annexing Newport Coast produced some disappointing results for annexation

opponent Allan Beek, who conducted the informal mail survey. Only about

1,500 people responded to the fliers and, of those who did, about half

supported annexation.

* June Casagrande covers Newport Beach. She may be reached at (949)

574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 june.casagrande@latimes.comf7 .

Ready for a Cox fight

A field of challengers emerged for elected offices representing

Newport-Mesa, as the Dec. 7 filing deadline came and went.

No eye-popping surprises were found on the candidate roles. Few

county, state or federal incumbents will even face a challenge during the

March 5 primary.

However, two brave Republicans will try to unseat Rep. Chris Cox, the

fifth-highest ranking member of the House of Representatives who has held

his seat since 1988.

David Cobert, a building manager at an architectural firm, and Dave

Forman, a television producer, entered the ring. Cobert lives in Laguna

Niguel. Forman resides in San Clemente.

John Graham, a UC Irvine professor, filed as the Democratic challenger

for the November general election.

Gerrie Schipske, a nurse practitioner, attorney and teacher from Long

Beach, filed as a Democratic challenger for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher’s seat.

Rohrabacher represents Costa Mesa. Cox represents Newport Beach.

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

be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail ato7

paul.clinton@latimes.comf7 .