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PUBLIC SAFETY Arrested substitute teacher makes...

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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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