EDUCATION Sale of public station still on...

EDUCATION

Sale of public station

still on the docket

The future of KOCE-TV remains up in the air, even after the start

of a court case to determine its fate.

Daystar Television Network is asking a judge to declare it, not

the KOCE-TV Foundation, as the highest responsible bidder. The judge

worried that the Coast Community College District may not have given

proper notice of the sale, which would open the door to restart the

bidding process. An attorney said he believes they did give notice

and will present evidence when they return to court Monday.

* The Commodore’s Club from the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce

honored 15 graduating seniors at a breakfast ceremony Thursday.

The 43rd annual Scholarship Awards breakfast honors 15 of the

highest-achieving seniors from Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar high

schools.

-- Marisa O’Neil

COSTA MESA

City Council looks for

ways to save money

City Council members agreed to look more closely at four

possibilities to increase city revenues and a slate of 23 city

programs and services that could be modified or cut to save the city

money. City staff members will gather information on the programs and

revenue options and report to the council at a date yet to be

determined.

Among the options to bring in more money to city coffers are

increasing the business license tax or the transient occupancy tax,

both of which would require voter approval, and creating new

sanitation franchise fees or fire/medical subscription fees, which

are at the discretion of the council. Council members chose not to

explore increasing the city’s sales tax, a move that could have

brought in nearly $9.4 million per year with a quarter of a percent

raise.

-- Alicia Robinson

POLITICS

Hurried workers’ comp

bill draws skepticism

State lawmakers rushed to vote on legislation overhauling the

state’s workers’ compensation system, which has employers paying

among the highest rates in the nation while the level of benefits for

injured workers is among the lowest. A compromise bill will not

regulate insurance rates and will make injured employees see a doctor

from a pool of their employers’ choosing.

Local observers aren’t yet sure how the legislation will affect

them but they expressed skepticism that it will go far enough in

bringing down employer costs or ensuring workers’ benefits.

-- Alicia Robinson

PUBLIC SAFETY AND COURTS

Police release sketches of Westside assault suspects

Costa Mesa police released composite drawings of two men who they

believe were responsible for attacking several women along a stretch

of Victoria Street.

The assaults, almost all of which targeted women walking alone on

the street, have plagued the Westside since January. Three of those

incidents have happened in broad daylight.

Costa Mesa police are still looking for four men suspected of

grabbing and inappropriately touching three women on separate

occasions on the same stretch of Victoria Street in early January.

All of those incidents happened between the 500 and 600 blocks of

Victoria Street, police said.

The most recent incident happened on April 9 near the intersection

of Victoria and Miner streets when a man grabbed the victim from

behind and touched her inappropriately.

* A Superior Court judge in a high-profile rape case on Monday

decided to allow a 20-minute videotape that purportedly captured the

incident. Attorneys for Gregory Haidl, Kyle Nachreiner and Keith

Spann said the tape was incomplete and had been edited by San

Bernardino County Sheriff’s officials.

The three teens are accused of raping an unconscious 16-year-old

girl in the Corona del Mar home of Orange County Asst. Sheriff, Don

Haidl, Gregory Haidl’s father.

The judge also admitted into evidence information about the

victim’s past sexual relations with the three defendants. Jury

selection is scheduled to begin on Monday and a trial date has been

set for May 3.

-- Deepa Bharath