Dubious Distinctions

JANUARY

Costa Mesa is the first city to have a library with no books. The

Orange County Public Library opened its pilot technological branch in

a small city shopping center just blocks away from South Coast Plaza.

The small venue lacks aisles of bookshelves. Instead, it has tables

full of computers.

Newport Beach’s most wanted: They are legged and dangerous -- to

paved surfaces, planters, benches and railings. Their weapon of

choice is a piece of timber fixed firmly on four wheels. The Newport

Beach City Council has launched a battle to save the city from these

outlaws and the damage they bring. Council members voted to further

restrict skateboarding from city parks, saying the popular sport was

destructive and attracted miscreants.

It’s bad enough that residents have to pay for TV reception that

is supposed to be free, but when they can’t get through to cable

representatives about poor reception, it adds insult to injury. AT&T;

Broadband came under increased scrutiny when Costa Mesa officials

gave them an ultimatum: provide some customer service or start

looking for another contract.

Corona del Mar claimed the title of booby headquarters, but not

for the reasons one might suppose. A rare bird from the Galapagos

Island, the masked booby, limped onto the Corona del Mar coast with a

fishing hook in her stomach. The blue-footed booby enjoys long

plunges from 40 feet and is fond of flying fish and small squid.

FEBRUARY

Controversial teaching methods brought Orange Coast College

political science professor Ken Hearlson back in the limelight after

a colleague nominated him for teacher of the year. Hearlson had

survived the flurry of media scrutiny surrounding his alleged

harassment of Muslim students after the infamous Sept. 11 attacks,

only to have the controversy revived by being named a nominee for

Faculty Member of the Year Award. Fellow professor Susan Smith said

she suggested Hearlson for the award because it brought the issue of

academic freedom to the forefront.

Newport Beach officials were harder on themselves than

environmental regulators when they realized the city sewage treatment

practices were out of step with federal law. City officials

apologized profusely and worried that the 12-year impropriety of

sending sewage to local landfills without testing for heavy metals

would tarnish their otherwise spectacular environmental record. Local

environmentalists were forgiving and said the city’s prompt action to

correct its mistake fell in line with the city’s environment-friendly

reputation.

Give him fat cats or give him death. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher voted

against campaign finance reform to ban soft money, saying that is how

he -- and many of his party colleagues -- gain much of their support.

Soft money consists of contributions made outside the federal limits,

including large contributions from individuals or political action

committees. While the bill was co-sponsored by a Republican and had

the support of 41 House Republicans, Rohrabacher called the

legislation a fraud designed to give liberal labor unions leverage.

Imagine that, blue-collar working stiffs getting political leverage.

What a hoax, indeed.

MARCH

Corona del Mar High School teacher John Ronald Evans was arrested

on suspicion of having sexual relations with a student. Evans, 32,

was first suspected of inappropriate behavior when his teaching

colleagues expressed their concerns to police. He was a popular math

teacher and soccer coach, whom students interviewed called “the ideal

teacher.”

Costa Mesa planners proved to have special powers when they

appraised the Orange Coast College Swap meet on a day that mere

mortals would only see an empty parking lot. According to city

documents, Senior Planner Willa Bowens-Killeen visited and evaluated

the weekend swap meet on a Tuesday, reporting back to her higher-ups

that everything with the colleges permit was working smoothly. Of

course, she did not see the overcrowded venue, the traffic congestion

and litter, which later prompted a more thorough review, because

vendors would not be there to sell their wares for another four days.

What is in a name? Would a city with any other name still be by

the sea? Costa Mesa has the dubious distinction of being one of the

only cities without an inch of beachfront property that still wants

to claim a coastal descriptor. Leaders of Citizens for the

Improvement of Costa Mesa seemed to think the city would progress if

only those who didn’t know any better thought it to be a beachside

haven. The activists sent a letter to the Costa Mesa City Council

officially requesting it add a by-the-sea moniker to city name to

emphasize its coastal location. The item never made it to a council

agenda for a vote.

Surviving weeks of eating next to nothing and a romantic kiss from

fellow castaway Rob, ousted reality show contender Sarah Jones

returned to the comforts of Newport Beach to find herself in the

middle of a flag furlough. The pretty 24-year-old, who was publicly

chastised while on the show for being “too fake,” became the center

of yet more finger pointing after TV executives aired footage of her

sitting on the American flag. Jones said show producers told her to

sit on Old Glory and that she didn’t mean any disrespect. Jones has

the dubious distinction of surviving not only substandard living

conditions but trumped-up controversy to boost ratings.

Newport-Mesa earned the fitting title of a hot spot when a string

of unrelated fires plagued area residents. Costa Mesa residents were

rocked from their slumber by a horrific explosion that killed a man.

Two days later, residents of the same townhome complex comforted

another neighbor who lost pets from an unrelated electrical fire.

Within days, there was news of a fire at a Costa Mesa cleaners, a

business office and two Newport Beach homes.

Who would argue that a man who molested three young children

should be sparred the rest of his life in prison? No one but defense

attorney Fay Arfa, who claimed a 15-year prison sentence for his

client, Thomas Michael Murphy, was cruel and unusual punishment. Arfa

said molesting young children was not violent and that Murphy did not

deserve to be locked up with murders and violent criminals. Word on

the street has it that violent criminals take offense at being placed

in the same camp as child offenders and make their disapproval of

such conduct known inside prison walls.

APRIL

What is worse than swimming in contaminated water? Paying for the

studies that determined it was contaminated and then not being told

about the results. The Orange County Sanitation District was

admonished in a grand jury report that said sanitation district

leaders had not “disclosed the existence of all publicly funded

studies.” The district conveniently buried studies that showed a

plume of waste water traveling along the ocean floor toward the

beach.

Newport Beach recreation leader Trenton Michael Veches reached a

new low this year by allegedly sucking the toes of his young victims.

Veches worked as a recreational coordinator and supervised several

after-school and summer programs in which more than 600 children

participated in the past year. Investigators claimed Veches

“inappropriately touched” at least two children.

Newport Harbor High School officials had plenty to cheer about

when the Newport Mesa Unified School District cleared them of any

wrongdoing surrounding a rah-rah-ruckus on the pep squad. The report

responded to a grievance filed against the high school that claimed

Principal Michael Vossen and other school officials handled the

selection of cheerleaders incorrectly.

Father Jerome Henson was removed from his active role as priest at

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Costa Mesa after allegations

surfaced that he molested a boy from a former church more than 20

years ago. The Diocese of Orange County said the allegations had not

been proven, but removed Henson according to policy. Parishioners

were shocked by the announcement and said they would keep their

leader in their prayers.

There was not a frown to be found at the inaugural Botox bash in

Newport Beach. While partygoers were undoubtedly having a blast, the

age-defying chemicals that were injected into their skin by a Newport

Beach doctor made it virtually impossible for them to form grumpy

puckered brows. Several Newport Beach women gathered at a local

doctor’s office for champagne, hors d’oeuvres and wrinkle-preventing

Botox treatments.

Glamour girl and ‘80s icon Tawny Kitaen was arrested after beating

her husband, former Angel pitcher Chuck Finley, during a domestic

dispute. Three days later, after Kitaen was charged with two counts

of domestic violence, Finley filed for divorce.

MAY

It has the location, it has the look, and it had the anchor

tenants, yet Triangle Square in Costa Mesa has been a business

property with some serious problems. For 10 years, it has seen high

tenant turnover and numerous complaints about bad management. The

retail center took another step into the muck when General Manager

Tom Estes announced he would leave.

Longtime lead man of the Newport Beach Conference and Visitors

Bureau John Cassady disappeared from the city scene almost overnight.

The bureau executive director resigned without giving two weeks’

notice and left no forwarding address, no phone number and no

motivation among his former employers to comment on his departure.

Sometimes, passersby couldn’t resist yelling “freaks” out their

car windows. That’s because a cluster of overly enthusiastic “Star

Wars” fans began camping out a full 10 days before the movie opened

at Edwards Big Newport Theater at Fashion Island. Their primary

concern: making sure they scored the best possible seats for the

opening of “Episode II: Attack of the Clones.”

JUNE

Sure, lots of us have done it, but Andersen Elementary School

Principal Mary Manos made the front page when she kissed a pig.

Luckily for Manos, she had a plausible excuse for going lip-to-lip

with a live porker. The principal took on the pig to poke fun at

herself as a way to reward her students for raising more than $3,000

for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

In a surprising late-night announcement on April 24, Newport Beach

City Councilman John Heffernan had said he would resign from the

council, just two years into his four-year term. He was somewhat mum

on his reasons, citing family among them. But some seemed to think

that he was inspired in part by the unfriendly relationship he, the

sole Greenlight council member, had with colleagues. Whatever his

reasons, within two days they must have seemed much less pressing. On

April 26, Heffernan announced he was seriously reconsidering. Then,

in June, came the last word on the subject: Heffernan was still

thinking about stepping down, a subject he did not bring up again

until long after everyone had figured out he wasn’t going anywhere.

“I am not scapegoating immigrants!” Costa Mesa City Councilman

Chris Steel said loudly and repeatedly, at times pounding the table,

while speaking at a public forum at Vanguard University that had

nothing to do with immigration. The refrain nicely punctuated his

speech, in which he went on and on about what a serious problem

immigrants pose. At least he didn’t discriminate: His comments were

almost as offensive to legal immigrants as to undocumented ones.

JULY

Costa Mesa Councilman Chris Steel with two horns and a swastika?

That’s how the Orange County Residents Council, a group relatively

new to the city’s political radar, depicted Steel in a flier it

distributed at the Orange Coast College swap meet. The flier stated

that Steel was “on a crusade against swap meets and people of color

in the name of property values” and listed some of the councilman’s

quotes about illegal immigrants. It was illustrated with a picture of

Steel -- with horns from his head -- and a speech bubble from his

mouth that read, “Costa Mesa should be for rich people only.”

Swastikas and icons of angry mobs also appeared on the leaflet. Steel

called the flier ridiculous and unfounded. “Who are they kidding?”

Steel fumed. “What’s wrong with these people? Why would they attack

me like this? If these people were sincere and mature, it would be

different, but they are not. They are hateful.”

As if the Back Bay doesn’t have enough problems of its own,

coyotes included, Newport Beach police arrested a transient who they

believed started a brush fire that burned through part of the area.

Fire officials said the blaze did not threaten any homes as it burned

near the 300 block of Vista Madera in Newport Beach. Firefighters had

it under control in about a half an hour. Residents living nearby

said they could smell the smoke and that it was the first fire they

had seen in the area so close to homes.

What’s the Fourth of July in West Newport without “an incident” or

two? Fireworks allegedly provoked a 27-year-old man to draw a handgun

and assault a neighbor last Fourth of July. Michael Woodward was

arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after the

alleged confrontation with Florian Saylor, 22, police said. Shortly

after the fight was reported at 1:46 a.m., police arrived in the 200

block of Lugonia only to learn that Woodward had already fled the

scene. Officers found him a few blocks away in the 6700 block of

Coast Highway not long after and arrested him without incident.

Police found a loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic Gloch hand gun.

Apparently, the confrontation began after fireworks were launched

into Woodward’s patio from somewhere across the street near Saylor’s

residence. Woodward ran over to Saylor’s house and the confrontation

began. During the fight, Woodward allegedly pulled out the concealed

handgun, which he and Saylor then fought over, causing it to fire. No

one was shot, though the bullet was not found.

AUGUST

Orange County’s first ever Dyke March and Rally happened right

here in Costa Mesa’s Lion’s Park. There was a little controversy

about the parade route and whether organizers of the march should pay

city fees. City officials originally suggested the participants march

only in residential areas and on sidewalks, but, in the end,

organizers gained their desired route -- one that would provide them

more visibility. They did, however, end up paying the fees.

The Orange County Coroner ruled that 54-year-old Gary Holdren did

not die because he was hit by paintballs believed to be fired from

the bluffs when he was inline skating down Back Bay Drive. Holdren

died after spending several days on life support. He was injured when

he fell on his back and hurt the back of his head. Witnesses told

police they saw three “youthful males” with paintball guns in the

area about the time the man was found injured. Many believed that

Holdren fell after he was hit by a barrage of paintballs. Local media

converged on the spot and found paint ball marks on the street and

the stop sign. But the coroner ruled that Holdren’s death was not

caused by his being hit by paintballs. Officials said they are not

sure what caused the man to lose his balance and fall down.

SEPTEMBER

A local teenager escaped without injuries after jumping into the

water off the Arches bridge. Police initially responded to the

incident thinking he was a jumper, but later realized that he was

only “goofing off.” Police said “it happens all the time.” Kids often

fool around on the bridge and someone ends up falling in the water.

A panel of Superior Court judges ruled that the city has the right

to ticket dog owners who let animals off the leash while swimming in

the ocean. The issue was brought up by Corona del Mar residents Lynn

and Philip Butterfield, who got ticketed more than a few times by

Newport Beach Animal Control officers for letting their golden

retriever Red Baron swim in the ocean without holding on to his

leash. Baron enjoyed a game of fetch with his masters. They would

throw a toy in the water and he would run and fetch it. That fun game

became a distant dream for Red Baron after this landmark verdict.

Pandemonium hit the ferry landing on Labor Day when 87-year-old

Mary Nash drove her 1997 burgundy Volvo onto a crowded sidewalk,

injuring 13 people. Newspaper racks flew and pedestrians fell after

they were hit by Nash, who lost control of her four-door sedan as she

drove toward the Balboa Island ferry. The Newport Beach resident told

police the car lurched when she started the engine to drive onto the

ferry. Injuries in the accident ranged from serious to moderate.

Victims were taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana and Hoag

Hospital. Alcohol and medication were ruled out as possible causes

for the crash. Investigators surmised Nash may have hit the wrong

pedal in a moment of confusion.

OCTOBER

Chris Steel earned the dubious distinction of being the only one

on the Costa Mesa City Council with a misdemeanor. Steel plead guilty

to a misdemeanor charge of submitting false election nomination

papers. But he retained his seat because the law requires that only

convicted felons be removed from office. Steel paid about $1,000 in

fines.

The county comes up short in many areas and would be grounded if

it were a student, according to a report card issued this month. The

report card, released by UC Irvine Civil and Environmental

Engineering Affiliates, gave the county as a whole a C, aviation a C+

and urban runoff/flood control a D.

Getting to see an academic counselor at Newport Harbor High School

was as challenging as getting a parking space at the school this

month as five counselors had the daunting task of dealing with 2,270

students. Principal Michael Vossen said the situation would get

better after all the students’ scheduling changes were worked out.

NOVEMBER

Playing dirty in politics? What a surprise. But it took Newport

Beach campaign consultant Dave Ellis two denials before he finally

copped to creating a phony phone message that he claimed accidentally

got sent out just before the November election. The message touted

Ron Winship as Greenlight candidate, although Rick Taylor was the

only candidate in that district endorsed by Greenlight.

A lone burrowing owl may only call Fairview Park home for three

months out of the year, but its part-time presence certainly proved

powerful in Costa Mesa’s decision to scuttle a dog park, botanical

garden and pond from the Fairview Park Master Plan. Although it is

not considered rare, the burrowing owl could become endangered

because of its preference for uncultivated land.

A 36-year-old Tennessee man must have known he’d have bad car-ma

when he carjacked a vehicle at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport

Beach. Police quickly put out a bulletin to other local law

enforcement agencies and the suspect was nabbed on the Balboa

Peninsula.

DECEMBER

Bridge of betrayal: Fountain Valley earned the wrath of Costa Mesa

when it requested $500,000 from the Orange County Transportation

Authority for a preliminary study of a bridge that would link the two

cities. Costa Mesa opposed the bridge for fear of creating a

cut-through for drivers looking for a shortcut to the Costa Mesa

Freeway. The two cities had worked together in the past to come up

with other solutions to traffic problems.

An Estancia High School parent showed an example of how not to act

at a basketball game when she assaulted the coach of the girls’

basketball team because her daughter did not play in the game. Lynn

Brady shoved her shoulder into coach Tamette Rappa’s chest to show

her disapproval. Brady’s daughter was removed from the team the next

day for missing more than three practices without a justifiable

excuse.

The board of trustees at the Coast Community College District

narrowly averted a case of really bad timing when it pulled a

proposal to give seven top administrators a 14% raise shortly after

Gov. Gray Davis declared a $21-billion state deficit. The trustees

pulled the proposal after intense pressure from the teachers’ union.

-- Compiled by Deepa Bharath, June Casagrande, Lolita Harper and

Deirdre Newman