Coastline foundation will host fund-raiser The...

Coastline foundation will host fund-raiser

The Coastline Community College Foundation and its Acquired Brain

Injury Program staff will hold their second annual fund-raiser to

benefit brain injured students in Newport Beach on Oct. 19.

Since more than 700,000 Americans are affected by brain injuries

of both traumatic and non-traumatic natures per year, Coastline has

established a two-year program to retrain those individuals and

provide them with the skills they’ll need to become more independent.

The program has a specialized curriculum that emphasizes cognitive

retraining, socialization and career development to promote

individual responsibility and independence.

The event will include dinner, swing dancing to a live band, a

silent auction and a presentation by Shalini Malhota, a student in

the program, about her experiences.

Tickets are $80 per person and the event will be at the Radisson

Hotel, 4545 MacArthur Blvd. For more information, call (714)

241-6214.

Hoag Hospital earns consumers’ award

Hoag Hospital has received the Consumers’ Choice Award for the

seventh year in a row, the company announced Friday.

The award is granted each year by the National Research Corp., an

independent organization that measures health-care provider

performance. Hoag was ranked by the organization as Orange County’s

most preferred hospital based on overall quality of care. Nationwide,

151 hospitals received the honor this year. Hoag was the only one in

Orange County.

Newport Coast group will meet Tuesday

The Newport Coast Advisory Committee will hold its next meeting

from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Newport Coast Elementary School

Multi-Purpose Room, 6655 Ridge Park Road. The public is welcome to

attend and participate.

Items for discussion on Tuesday’s agenda include the installation

of a traffic signal at Newport Coast Drive opposite Sage Hill School,

speed control on Newport Coast roads and rules governing installation

of cellular antennas on homeowner associations’ land. For more

information, call the Newport Beach City Manager’s office at (949)

644-3000.

UC Irvine welcomes memory expert

Elizabeth Loftus, a forensic memory expert ranked among the 100

most eminent psychologists of the 20th century, has joined the UC

Irvine faculty as a Distinguished Professor in the School of Social

Ecology.

The Distinguished Professor title is the highest campus-level

distinction and is reserved for senior faculty members who have

achieved the highest levels of scholarship over the course of their

careers.

Loftus comes to UCI from the University of Washington in Seattle

where she spent 29 years.

Considered a pioneer in false memory research, Loftus has helped

to prove that, in some cases, people believe they experienced events

that never occurred. Her research also showed that eyewitness

accounts, notably those given in court, often are inaccurate.

At UCI, Loftus says she looks forward to establishing new

collaborative projects with the faculty in the departments of

psychology and social behavior; and criminology, law and society,

where she will hold a joint appointment.

“I’m excited to come to Irvine and join the outstanding group of

scholars working at the intersection of psychology and law -- some of

the most distinguished psychologists in the world,” Loftus said in a

press release.

Loftus has served as an expert witness or consultant in some of

the nation’s most high-profile trials, including the McMartin

Preschool molestation case, the “Hillside Strangler” case, the

Michael Jackson case and the trials of Oliver North, the Menendez

brothers and the police officers involved in the Rodney King beating.

Boy Scout Sea Base will break ground

A Friday groundbreaking ceremony will kick off the $5.2-million

renovation of the Boy Scout Sea Base in Newport Beach.

The base, established in 1937, provides maritime recreational and

educational activities on behalf of the Orange County Council of the

Boy Scouts of America. For more information, call (714) 546-4990.

Costa Mesa offers free landscaping trees

Costa Mesa officials are offering free trees to those who would

like to beautify the front of their homes and help the environment at

the same time.

Residents of Costa Mesa can help improve their neighborhoods and

reduce air pollution and heat by taking advantage of the city’s Free

Parkway Tree Program, officials said. The city will plant a parkway

tree in public land in front of any residential property, as long as

space permits, for free.

Several varieties of trees are available depending on the size of

the planting area and all the city asks in return is that residents

agree to water it on a regular basis. Watering instructions are

provided with each tree.

To request that a tree to be planted in front of your home, call

the city of Costa Mesa’s Maintenance Services Division at (714)

754-5123.