Concert will benefit young Costa Mesan...

Concert will benefit young Costa Mesan

Caddy Wampuss, an alternative rock band from Southern California,

will head up a benefit concert at 9 p.m. Aug. 23 at Hard Rock Cafe in

Newport Beach.

The event will raise money for Leilani Gutierrez, a 4-year-old

Costa Mesa girl who became a quadriplegic after a car collision

caused injuries to her head and chest.

“Our goal is to generate enough buzz for this event so that we can

provide the family with a very helpful donation,” said Toad, a singer

with the band, in a press release. “We are musicians, but more

importantly, we’re human beings that need to help.”

All proceeds of the event will go to the Leilani benefit.

Tickets for the event are $10 at the door and $5 with a flier from

the band’s Web site www.caddywampuss.com.

Newport Beach event will host candidates

The first candidates forum for the upcoming Newport Beach City

Council election will be presented by the Little Balboa Island

Property Owners Assn. on Saturday in the side yard of a private home

at 106 Crystal Ave. on the little island. The event will begin with

coffee and socializing at 9:30 a.m., followed by a formal program at

10 a.m. The event will be the first of up to 20 candidates forums to

take place throughout the city in anticipation of the November City

Council elections. Information:

www.city.newport-beach.ca.us/home.htm.

Conference and visitors bureau earns award

The Newport Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau has won the Gold

Service Award of the Meetings & Conventions Magazine for the second

year in a row. Every year, the magazine selects 80 conference and

visitors bureaus from throughout the world for service as measured by

professionalism, transportation planning assistance, local attraction

knowledge, support for hotel site inspections and interacting with

area vendors and services. Information: (800) 942-6278 or

www.newportbeach-cvb.com.

Brain protein missing in schizophrenia patients

Patients with schizophrenia have been found to have lower levels

of a pivotal brain protein in a study completed by scientists at UC

Irvine and several other universities.

The protein DARPP-32, which regulates key neurotransmitters in an

area of the brain linked to the mental illness, was the centerpiece

of the study released Wednesday.

William Bunney, the Della Martin professor of psychiatry at UCI,

participated in the study with peers from the Weill Cornell Medical

College and Rockefeller University.

Paul Greengard, a professor of neuroscience at Rockefeller, won

the Nobel Prize for medicine in 2000 for his research into DARPP-32.

In the study, the researchers studied the brains of 14 deceased

people who had been victims of schizophrenia.

Grant will aid city disaster preparedness

The Newport Beach chapter of the National Charity League Inc. has

given Costa Mesa a $1,000 grant for disaster relief.

The group’s donation was handed to the Costa Mesa Community

Foundation and the Costa Mesa Fire Department to work jointly to buy

supplies needed to conduct programs for the city’s emergency response

team.

They will also buy items needed in the event of a disaster.

The grant will also be used to provide training to men and women

in the Fire Department on how to act when a disaster strikes.

Arson truck offered to city’s Fire Department

The Costa Mesa Fire Department was recently awarded an arson

vehicle from the Automobile Club of Southern California.

The new truck will be used to investigate arson, haul equipment,

enforce city codes and train employees in fire prevention.

Officials say it will allow the Fire Department the flexibility to

transport various equipment, tools and personnel for various response

and activities.

Arson investigators are actively pursuing tools to fight fires.

The truck donation from the Auto Club, comes on the heels of another

grant for a special camera to be used during investigations. Costa

Mesa firefighters received both grants because of continued efforts

to lower incidents of arson, improve the quality of investigations

and promote increased collaboration between fire investigations and

the Police Department.

Information or to make a vehicle donation: (714) 754-5062.

30-year reunion will feature Hawaiian theme

Newport Harbor High School’s class of 1972 will have reunion luaus

today and Saturday.

Today’s festivities will run from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Newport

Aquatic Center at 1 Whitecliffs Drive, Newport Beach. Hawaiian music

will play, foods, including pupus, will be served, and visitors can

visit a no-host bar. The cost is $20 a person or $30 at the door.

Saturday’s Poolside Dance Party will run from 6 p.m. to midnight

at the Newport Beach Tennis Club, 2501 Eastbluff Drive, Newport

Beach. Musical bands Honk and Blues Racquet will perform.

Recommended attire for both events is casual. $65 per person, or

$75 at the door.

Information: (909) 307-9187.

Designer’s work will commemorate Diana

A designer whose touch helped beautify South Coast Plaza two years

ago has been tapped for a royal task.

Kathryn Gustafson, who designed the Bridge of Gardens at the

plaza, was selected by the Royal Parks to help commemorate Diana,

Princess of Wales, in the form of a memorial fountain in Hyde Park in

London. Gustafson will design the fountain.

More than 55 other bidders were considered for the task before

Gustafson was chosen. The fountain will honor the late princess’ life

through water accompanied by trees. The piece will be called

“Reaching Out -- Letting In.”

The designer’s work at South Coast Plaza is a 600-foot-long

skywalk bridging the plaza and the Garden Terrace. It made its debut

in September 2000.

Information: (800) 782-8888.