COSTA MESA City Hall retrofit set...

COSTA MESA

City Hall retrofit

set to be finished

City Hall’s makeover will finally be completed, city officials

announced last week after reaching an agreement with the bonding

company responsible for picking up the slack of a contractor that

initially walked off the seismic retrofitting project.

A work crew will resume work on the $2.8-million project Monday

and officials hope the work will be complete by the end of the year.

Bonding company Developers Surety & Indemnity Co. of Irvine, which

was hired by original contractor Anderson White to ensure the project

was complete, agreed to finish the botched project for the same

amount as originally budgeted.

Anderson White walked off the project July 1, leaving the city’s

headquarters with unsightly scaffolding, a patched paint job and no

access to the front door. Council members have been adamant that the

project finally be completed and commended staffers for negotiating

the new building agreement.

* LOLITA HARPER covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.

NEWPORT BEACH

Candidate accuses Greenlight of endorsement contract

At a candidate forum last week, City Council candidate Bernie

Svalstad said that Greenlight leaders had asked him to sign a

contract to gain their endorsement and support -- an allegation that

was refuted by Greenlight Committee members and candidates alike.

City Councilman John Heffernan has called for a special study

session to prevent conflicts of interest in city business. He said

the move was inspired by recent revelations that the campaign manager

for some council members benefited, albeit legally, from city-issued

grant for airport education.

A yearlong “visioning process” to update the city’s general plan

will come to an end next month. A Nov. 16 summit will be the last

chance for residents to register their feelings on the city’s future

before the general plan update process moves into its next phase.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.

EDUCATION

County gets a C on

UC Irvine report card

The county’s infrastructure did not score very well on a report

card released by the UC Irvine Civil and Environmental Engineering

Affiliates. The report, released Thursday, was the culmination of a

five-month study examining eight aspects of the county’s

infrastructure.

The county as a whole was slapped with a “C.” The highest grade

went to solid waste with a “B” while the lowest went to urban

runoff/flood control with a “D.”

The next step for the report card analysis members is a six-month

public outreach campaign.

In other news, UCI received a five-year, $2.9-million grant for

cancer research. The Department of Health and Human Services awarded

the grant, which will be used to develop a miniature device to detect

lesions and tumors in internal organs.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers education. She may be reached at (949)

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

POLITICS

Crowd watching debate

roots Bill Simon on

A partisan crowd cheered on Republican gubernatorial candidate

Bill Simon on Monday during a luncheon to watch a televised debate

with Gov. Gray Davis.

Buck Johns, the Republican donor who hosted the event at his

top-floor Koll Center office, lauded Simon’s performance during the

event, saying he reminded him of “a young [John] Kennedy.”

Local political observers weren’t as glowing in their praise of

Simon. But that wasn’t because they were critiquing his performance.

Two pundits said they hadn’t even watched the event. Reflecting the

general lack of interest in the race, one local political consultant

said Simon’s performance at the forum, sponsored by the Los Angeles

Times, wouldn’t help him.

“Nobody cares about debates but the press,” Eileen Padberg said.

Also this week, the Daily Pilot completed a review of the voting

records of the 11 Newport Beach City Council candidates that showed

two of the slow-growth, Greenlight-sponsored candidates didn’t vote

on the 2001 Koll Center expansion measure, the first test of the

Greenlight law. The Koll Center’s bid to expand was quashed by

voters.

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment and politics. He may be

reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at paul.clinton@latimes.com.