Week in review

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District trustees responded to the

county’s endorsement of a modest expansion of John Wayne Airport by

vowing to fight for the reduction or elimination of adverse effects such

as increased pollution and noise.

District officials also said they expected to see an increase in

campus crime from statistics released by the state Thursday. Although

most categories experienced a slight increase, Supt. Rob Barbot said it

was expected because the district is going to great lengths to identify,

report and resolve various crimes.

Controversy continues to dog Orange Coast College political science

professor Kenneth Hearlson, who was recently nominated as Faculty Member

of the Year. Some professors are taking issue with seeing Hearlson

glorified as a poster boy for academic freedom.

And, no, it’s not the new fashion trend -- sixth-graders from

Eastbluff Elementary School donned togas and sandals on Tuesday to take a

walk through the ancient world. The students dressed as early Greeks,

Romans and Egyptians, and put their knowledge of ancient history to the

test.

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

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

Fire rips through townhomes

A fire rocked a townhouse complex with explosions early Thursday

morning, leaving one man dead as it burned through his garage, shattered

neighbors’ windows and sent people scurrying from their homes.

The fire that erupted in the garage of a home in the Monticello Town

Homes Complex about 3:30 a.m. destroyed one home, severely damaged

another and caused minor damages to several other units.

It took 50 firefighters about 40 minutes to get the fire under

control, Steward said. The Orange County coroner was unable to identify

the victims’s body because “it was burned beyond recognition,” said

Investigator Rod Thomas.

He said the investigation to pin down the victim’s identity could

involve fingerprinting, trying to locate his family, dental charts or

even determining if he has had any surgeries in the past.

Several neighbors panicked when they heard the explosions and ran out

of their homes in their pajamas. Neighbors said they believed the victim

often did welding work in his garage and had paint cans and other

chemicals stored there.

Officials initially suspected there could have been another fatality

in the explosion because of witnesses’ reports that the victim went back

into the house. But officials said they did not find anyone else after

investigating the home.

* 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 .

A shocking dome development

Officials at Calvary Church of Newport Mesa were shocked last week to

learn that plans for a temporary house of worship on their Newport

Boulevard construction site were not supported by the Planning

Commission.

Planning commissioners narrowly denied a request to house a 36-foot,

dome-shaped “tent,” where church officials proposed to hold services for

three to five years until their sanctuary is complete.

Calvary Church long outgrew its current digs on Orange Avenue and

recently started construction of a new facility on Newport Boulevard.

Phase one of the project, which includes a parking structure and

multipurpose room, is nearly complete. But the sanctuary, part of phase

two, still lacks funding.

Pastor Tim Celek asked the commission to approve the large temporary

structure -- he doesn’t like to call it a tent -- so the church can

accommodate its congregation while waiting until the market is ripe to

sell their Orange Avenue property.

Planning Commissioner Chairwoman Katrina Foley and Commissioners Bruce

Garlich and Eleanor Egan said it was not their place to make approvals so

the church could play the real estate market.* Lolita Harper covers Costa

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

lolita.harper@latimes.comf7 .

Newport Beach flying high

In the most anticipated vote so far this year, the Board of

Supervisors unanimously locked arms with Newport Beach by approving the

extension of the flight limits at John Wayne Airport.

The board picked the city’s Scenario 1 and certified the environmental

review at its Tuesday meeting.

Under that program, airport managers could add four more flight gates,

1.4 million annual passengers, 12 more of the noisiest flights per day

and two more cargo flights. The new ceilings will go into place on Jan.

1, 2005.

The deal replaces the 1985 settlement agreement, which was set to

expire at the end of 2005.

City and county officials are hammering out the details of the

agreement and will return to the board in about three months for a final

approval.

The Airport Working Group and Stop Polluting Our Newport have also

said they support the deal. They must also sign on to extend it.

Officials working on the project may not be out of the woods yet. Some

expect the airlines or the Federal Aviation Administration to challenge

it.

* 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 .

A committee from the contenders

Emerging from more than 250 contenders, 38 residents have been chosen

to serve on the city’s General Plan Advisory Committee. Their first

meeting is scheduled for March 11, when they’ll begin their consideration

of how the city’s general plan should be updated.

The Girl Scout House on Balboa Peninsula got a one-year extension on

its lease with the city to use the property for $1 a year. But a proposal

to extend the lease of mobile home park residents of Marinapark hit a

snag. City officials have said that the residents agreed in their 1985

lease to eventually leave the land, but residents say the city isn’t

living up to its side of the agreement. Council members will get to

review the documented facts at an upcoming meeting that could help

council members decide whether to move ahead with a plan to substantially

increase their rents.

A contract with Waste Management Services of Orange County to pick up

trash in Newport Coast was approved amid considerable debate over whether

the city should be paying for trash collection for the newly annexed

residents.

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

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