BUSINESS At what point does it reach...

BUSINESS

At what point does it reach the top?

It was a record-breaking year for home sales in Newport-Mesa.

Median home prices in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa climbed 58% and

12% respectively in November, compared with the same month in 2002,

data from the Orange Coast Assn. of Realtors showed.

In Newport Beach the median single family home price was $1.9

million, jumping from $1.2 million in November 2002, said Diane Ward,

who manages the multiple listing service for the Orange Coast Assn.

of Realtors.

Costa Mesa median prices also rose since last year, up from

$500,000 in November 2002 to $560,000 in the same month this year,

she said.

-- Alicia Robinson

COSTA MESA

Fair looking to make concerts a success

Orange County Fair officials announced plans to break even at the

Pacific Amphitheatre next summer.

With last summer’s experience under their belts, they are focusing

on spending money more efficiently and increasing ticket sales, said

Steve Beazley, the fair’s chief operating officer.

For the 2003 fair, officials spent $5 million for talent and

$800,000 for production. For the next fair, the board of directors

has approved $3.675 million for the performers for the 21 concerts,

Beazley said. * Tony Morrell, a 9-year-old Costa Mesa boy who is

fighting a brain tumor, returned from treatment in Texas. But his

hardships weren’t over: He faced a bout of pneumonia and was

hospitalized after his return.

Still, he was focused on being home for Christmas.

Tony received an outpouring of support from the community after

his story ran in the Daily Pilot in November. His grandparents have

collected more than $15,000 in donations for his treatment so far,

Betty Dugan said.

* Local residents, organizations and businesses adopted more than

1,000 families for Christmas through Costa Mesa’s Share Our Selves

annual event.

People dropped off clothes, toys and food by the truckload at the

Orange County Fairgrounds on Tuesday to benefit families with

children at Costa Mesa and Santa Ana schools.

POLITICS

Occupational titles can be misleading to some

A minor change is coming to the 70th Assembly District race.

Chuck DeVore, a Republican candidate for the 70th Assembly

District seat being vacated by Assemblyman John Campbell, listed

himself in candidate filings as a businessman/Army major. That

prompted Secretary of State Kevin Shelley’s office to investigate

whether the latter designation can be appropriately claimed by

DeVore, who is a major in the U.S. Army National Guard.

Since receiving a letter from Shelley’s office about the issue

earlier this month, DeVore has been fighting to keep his original

designation, but he said last week that he’ll be listed as

businessman/military officer.

“We finally gave up in our fight with the Secretary of State’s

office because they basically ran the clock out on us,” he said.

* Costa Mesa’s firefighters were recognized for their efforts

during the fall wildfires last week by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, who

thanked them during a special ceremony at the Vanguard Fire Station.

He presented each of the engines’ three captains with a U.S. flag

that had flown over the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

“When it comes to our cities and communities, the police officers

and firefighters are our first line of defense,” Rohrabacher said.

“These firefighters and many others did a great job.”

-- Alicia Robinson

PUBLIC SAFETY

AND COURTS

Outage happens at Fashion Island

An underground transformer on Newport Center Drive exploded Monday

night injuring a 33-year-old woman who was passing by and forcing the

center to shut down for the night on one of the busiest shopping days

of the year.

The injured woman, who was burned on her hands, ankles, waist and

face, was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana where she

remains in stable condition.

The shopping center initially lost power on the east side, causing

most of the stores there to close early. At about 9 p.m., the rest of

the center became dark. Southern California Edison was able to

restore power to the entire mall at about 9:15 p.m.

* Burglars got away with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of

jewelry early Sunday morning after they pried open a door to a

department store, smashed display cases and stole expensive rings,

necklaces and bracelets, Newport Beach police said.

The burglars, who escaped with $500,000 to $600,000 worth of fine

jewelry, were caught on the store’s surveillance videotape. They

smashed several jewelry cases but couldn’t break them because the

glass was resistant. The burglars, however, were able to remove the

jewelry by prying open the back of the cases, police said. * Masked

gunmen, who robbed two local motels on Sunday night, are believed to

have been responsible for three similar heists in Orange County.

The two robberies in Costa Mesa occurred within 20 minutes of each

other, one at the Holiday Inn Express in the 2000 block of Newport

Boulevard and the second one at the Country Inn in the 300 block of

South East Bristol Street. Officials reported two similar incidents

in Santa Ana and one in Irvine.

-- Deepa Bharath