Toilet arson suspect arrested Saturday

Fire investigators nabbed a suspect early Saturday morning for

allegedly setting fire to a portable toilet at Costa Mesa High School.

Peter Dale Garrett, 42, of Costa Mesa was apprehended by investigators

conducting surveillance at the school because of a series of arson fires

on the campus over the past week. The latest blaze ripped through a

special education classroom on Thursday night. Police are investigating

whether Garrett had any connection to that fire.

Investigators observed Garrett around 4:30 a.m. Saturday on the school

grounds standing next to a portable toilet. As the investigators watched,

the portable toilet burst into flames. Garrett ran from the fire carrying

a gasoline can, said Costa Mesa Police Dept. Sgt. Mike Ginther.

The arson investigators chased Garrett, taking him into custody on the

school grounds. Responding fire crews extinguished the blaze.

The fire caused an estimated $1,000 in damage, bringing the total

damage caused by the series of arson fires to approximately $85,000,

Ginther said.

Garrett is being held in Costa Mesa City Jail with a bail of $50,000.

South Coast Plaza’s Escher gets tourism award

Move over Southern California beaches. Take a back seat, amusement

parks. As a tourist destination, South Coast Plaza is a force to be

reckoned with.

It’s mainly due to the efforts of Werner Escher, executive director of

domestic and international markets for the plaza, who is the recipient of

the first-ever Shopping Tourism Leader of the Year award.

The award, selected through nominations by the Shop America Advisory

Board, recognizes and honors Escher’s leadership in the tourism industry

and his long-term vision and commitment to developing shopping and

tourism.

“Werner recognized that motivation for many consumers to travel was

retail shopping and South Coast Plaza could lure the visitor just as well

as beaches, theme parks, night life or climate,” said Henry Segerstrom,

managing partner of the Costa Mesa plaza, in a written statement.

Escher has been tooting the plaza’s horn for the past 34 years.

UCI breakthrough may help kidney failure patients

Researchers at UC Irvine have identified key cellular interactions

that cause cardiovascular problems in kidney failure, which could lead to

treatments for complications found in nearly all kidney disease victims.

The discovery made by Dr. Nick Vaziri, professor of medicine and chief

of nephrology at UCI Medical Center, and his team may lead to effective

treatment for the heart and blood vessel disease that accompanies kidney

failure.

More than 300,000 people are treated for kidney failure in the U.S.

every year, a number that has doubled in the past 15 years, according to

the U.S. Public Health Service.

Bayside fund-raiser to help Sea Kings

Bayside Restaurant in Newport Beach has launched a six-month

fund-raiser to benefit the students at Corona del Mar High School.

Parents of the school’s 1,890 students who dine at the restaurant on

Monday nights from January to June will raise funds for their children’s

enrichment. Ten percent of the parents’ total food and beverage bill will

be donated to the school’s activities department. Further information on

the fund-raiser is available through Bayside Restaurant at (949) 721-1222

or Corona del Mar High School at (949) 515-6000.