NEWPORT BEACH Mormon temple can now...

NEWPORT BEACH

Mormon temple can

now begin construction

After a year of wrangling, the Church of Jesus Christ of

Latter-day Saints got approval to build a temple. In an impressive

feat of consensus building by Councilman Steve Bromberg, residents

fighting the temple and church planners agreed on a compromise: a

90-foot steeple with an 8-foot angel Moroni. The temple could be

built in about two years on the lot adjacent to the existing stake

center on Bonita Canyon Drive.

The Orange County Water District agreed to pay the city $158,000

to cover costs of importing water for four days in January after

1,4-dioxane was found in local wells. The source of the potentially

carcinogenic compound had been found and stopped in just a few days.

Newport Coast’s fire buffer zones haven’t been kept up to safety

standards, a recent survey reveals. More landscaping work on these

open strips of land must be done to keep nearby homes safe.

* June Casagrande covers Newport Beach. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at june.casagrande@latimes.com.

BUSINESS

Five Newport-Mesa eateries fare well on the Zagat list

Newport-Mesa must be the place for four-star French food. In the

latest Zagat Survey, the gold-standard for restaurant guides, four

such eateries made Orange County’s top-10 list.

In all, five local restaurants made the list.

Aubergine, located around the corner from The Cannery, scored

highest, coming in at No. 2. Pinot Provence, in Costa Mesa, was No.

3. Troquet, at No. 6, Pavilion, at No. 9, and Pascal, at No. 10,

rounded out the list.

Pavilion, in the Four Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach, is the only

non-French eatery on the list. The restaurant serves a mixture of

California and Mediterranean cuisine.

In other business news, Canon Inc. nailed down Planning Commission

approval to subdivide its 13-acre property to help sell it off.

The company, via its Canon Business Machines division,

manufactured inkjet printers at the Costa Mesa plant for almost 30

years. By leaving, Canon pulled about 300 jobs out of the city.

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment, business and politics. He

may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

paul.clinton@latimes.com.

COSTA MESA

Foundations discussed for Segerstrom school money

Lines were drawn in the sand last week as parents and educators

argued for direct control of $2 million in educational funds, while

politicians made the case for one general fund for the entire

community.

Council members invited the public to last week’s study session so

they could get a better idea of how to disburse the $2-million

payment from the Segerstroms -- who own the 93-acre Home Ranch

development -- for educational purposes.

Speaker after speaker asked the City Council to consider two

separate foundations: one for Costa Mesa High School and another for

Estancia High and TeWinkle Middle schools. Each would receive $1

million to start their foundations according to an idea presented

during Home Ranch negotiations a year ago.

City leaders stressed the importance of creating a governing

foundation that would have the entire city’s benefit in mind because

the money came at a high price to the residents.

A final decision is expected at the Dec. 2 City Council meeting.

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

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

PUBLIC SAFETY

Newport Beach Police

arrest carjacker

Newport Beach Police arrested a 36-year-old Tennessee man after he

reportedly drove away in a car he stole at knifepoint Wednesday,

officials said.

David Keith White allegedly approached a Costa Mesa man parked

outside the Harbor Justice Center, asked the man to get out, and then

pulled out a 7-inch foldable knife, causing the victim to get out of

the car, police said.

White got away, but only for about 20 minutes. Officers spotted

the car parked on Balboa Boulevard and arrested White as he was

walking toward the vehicle.

On a more positive note, the Orange County Chapter of Mothers

Against Drunk Driving declared Costa Mesa Police Department the “top

DUI arresting police department” in the county. Eight out of 10

officers who received the Century Award from the organization for

making the most DUI arrests in the year 2001 were from Costa Mesa.

In other news, a pretrial hearing was continued from Thursday to

Dec. 13 for a 35-year-old substitute teacher accused of assaulting

several female students.

Todd Jerome Haluch of Huntington Beach faces 17 felony counts of

sexual assault and one count of witness intimidation. He is now in

Orange County jail in lieu of bail. Haluch pleaded not guilty Oct. 16

to all charges.

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.