PUBLIC SAFETY Arrested substitute teacher makes...
PUBLIC SAFETY
Arrested substitute teacher makes $250,000 bail
A 35-year-old Huntington Beach man arrested on suspicion of
sexually assaulting several girls, allegedly using his position as a
substitute teacher, made a $250,000 bail last week.
Todd Jerome Haluch, who had worked as a substitute teacher in
Newport-Mesa, Huntington Beach, Garden Grove and Los Alamitos school
districts over the last several years, was arrested on suspicion of
13 counts of felony sexual assault.
The alleged crimes were discovered after a therapist treating a
victim reported the incident to the police. Detectives who
investigated the case determined that the alleged assaults did take
place and that there were more victims, police said. Haluch’s
arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 25.
In other news, the state Attorney General’s office released hate
crime statistics for the year 2001 that showed a steep increase in
the total number of crimes in that category largely attributed to the
aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Local communities were no exception to this nationwide trend.
Newport Beach reported six hate crime-related offenses that occurred
in the city, six offenses, seven victims and seven known suspects,
the report said. Costa Mesa reported three events, three offenses,
three victims and no known suspects while UC Irvine reported one
event, one offense, one victim and one known suspect.
* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be
reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.
POLITICS
Rohrabacher teams
with unlikely ally
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher partnered with an unlikely political ally
this week as he joined Rep. Barney Frank in pushing for a rule change
in the House.
Rohrabacher, a staunch conservative, and Frank, a liberal Democrat
from Massachusetts who supports Rohrabacher’s November opponent,
announced a bid to overturn a rule barring House members from
criticizing the Senate.
The rule, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1801 and included in the
Jefferson Manual, prohibits House members from “describing and
characterizing” almost any Senate action. By contrast, Senators
aren’t tied down by a similar rule.
Ironically enough, Jefferson wrote the rule when he was Vice
President presiding over the Senate.
* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment and politics. He may be
reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at paul.clinton@latimes.com.
COSTA MESA
City Council looks
to target slumlords
Absentee landlords beware, the city is hot on your trail.
City Council members last week approved a slight change to city
codes that is designed to bring about significant changes in rental
housing. The council voted to change code enforcement priorities from
targeting peeling paint and unsightly landscaping to leaking
plumbing, broken heaters and “furry little animals scurying across
the floor.”
Council members said it was time to change the focus from the
exterior of buildings to the interior cancer that causes some
residents to live in unhealthy and undesirable conditions.
In an unrelated action, the City Council also voted to reinstate
Asst. City Atty. Tom Wood, whom they had put an paid administrative
leave a week earlier for undisclosed reasons.
* LOLITA HARPER covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)
574-4275 or by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.
EDUCATION
Costa Mesa High will work with students on woes
The two new principals at Costa Mesa High School say they will
work with students who have raised questions and concerns about some
of the school’s new policies. Fred Navarro, who oversees the high
school, and John Garcia, who is in charge of the middle school, have
been meeting with students through open forums where students have
complained about the locking of the student parking lot, new criteria
for lunch passes and senior projects.
Orange Coast College is cutting $500,000 from its classroom
instruction budget, which will result in about 20% fewer sections in
the spring semester. The cuts are because of financial
miscalculations by the administration and a lean year for the state.
* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers education. She may be reached at (949)
574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.
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