NEWPORT BEACH Senior housing project wins Coastal...

NEWPORT BEACH

Senior housing project wins Coastal Commission support

The Lower Bayview Landing senior affordable housing project has

been approved and is expected to be built by mid-2005. The California

Coastal Commission approved the project Wednesday after the city and

environmentalists reached a compromise on several environmental

issues.

* A residential drug and alcohol treatment center on Balboa

Peninsula has come under fire as neighbors report a number of noise

problems at the site. The City Council will look at its options for

assuring that the business complies with noise and zoning codes.

* The Airport Working Group scored a win in the form of a

settlement with the Navy over environmental issues at the closed El

Toro Marine Air Base. The Navy has agreed to conduct expanded

environmental studies of the site before it is parceled out and sold

to developers and for parkland.

* Safety at John Wayne Airport is at a high after federal

authorities reported that air traffic controllers there had guided a

million flights without a single controller error. A controller error

occurs whenever an air traffic controller guides a plane to someplace

it shouldn’t be, usually near other planes.

* 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.

COSTA MESA

Police working toward community involvement

City leaders last week heartily embraced Police Chief John

Hensley’s desire to implement a comprehensive community policing

style. The City Council voted unanimously to adopt a resolution

supporting community policing -- a partnership between the police

department and other city departments to tackle any number of

problems. The plan should be in place early next year.

* During a Planning Commission study session, Deputy City Atty.

Marianne Milligan suggested the city enter into a binding legal

agreement with Joe Brown, owner of Snug Harbor and El Nido, instead

of pursuing an interim ordinance the commission was already

considering. The agreement would serve the same purpose as the

interim ordinance -- to set a procedure for closing a mobile home

park -- and define exactly what kind of parks Snug Harbor and El Nido

are, Milligan said. The commission will consider the agreement option

Monday.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa and may be reached at (949)

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

EDUCATION

Special ed students protest

classroom conditions at CdM

Fourteen of 16 special education students at Corona del Mar High

School stayed home this week as part of a walkout parents staged to

bring attention to what one parent called the “controlled chaos” of

too few teacher aides and a classroom infested with rats and

cockroaches.

A district spokesperson said that the carpets would be cleaned

Friday and they would tell janitors about the rodent issue.

* Corona del Mar senior Matthew Ramirez, 17, died Oct. 31 while

riding an all-terrain vehicle in the Glamis desert after an Arizona

man in a dune buggy struck his vehicle from behind. Ramirez was

thrown from the vehicle and died of a broken neck. Harry Lane Foster,

53, fled the scene after the accident, but turned himself in the next

morning and faces felony hit-and-run charges. A memorial service will

be held in Ramirez’s honor 7 p.m. Monday at the school.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers education and may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.

POLITICS

Candidates for local races set, ready for March

No more wondering if a last-minute entry alter the state political

races, which are set for March primaries. Last week was the deadline.

The fields are set.

In the 68th Assembly district, which includes Costa Mesa, the

candidates are self-described businessmen Larry D. Allison, a

Libertarian; Al Snook, a Democrat; and Van Tran, a Garden Grove city

councilman and a Republican. Also running is Republican Mark Leyes,

who is also on the Garden Grove City Council.

In the 70th Assembly district, six Republicans, one Democrat and

one Libertarian are trying to get on the November ballot. The

Republican candidates are Cristi Cristich; businessman and Army Major

Chuck DeVore; Chonchol D. Gupta; engineer and businessman Long K.

Pham, South Orange Community College District Trustee Donald P.

Wagner; and Marianne Zippi. Libertarian and voice systems specialist

Mark Baldwin and Democrat Carl L. Mariz are also seeking the seat.

The 35th Senate district will be the battle between two who have

proven they can win: John Campbell and Ken Maddox, Republicans who

now hold the 70th and 68th Assembly district seats, respectively.

Others seeking the senate seat are businessman Timothy Johnson, a

Libertarian; legal secretary Rita Siebert, a Democrat; and retired

U.S. Marine Col. Joe Snyder, a Republican.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers business, politics and the environment.

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

alicia.robinson@latimes.com.