EDUCATION KOCE staying in the family instead...

EDUCATION

KOCE staying in the family

instead of going to Daystar

Orange County’s only public broadcasting station came one step

closer last week to ensuring its format will stay intact.

A superior court judge threw out a request by religious

broadcaster Daystar Television Network to halt the sale of KOCE-TV by

Coast Community College District to the station’s fundraising wing.

Daystar is promising to appeal the ruling, but foundation and

district officials expect Federal Communications Commission approval

of the transfer in the next 60 to 90 days.

* More than 40 people are coming from all over the country to

celebrate the 82nd birthday of their former elementary school

teacher.

Fifth- and sixth-grade teacher Garlan Wetzel left such an

impression on his students with field trips and a caring attitude

that most of his class from 1957-1958 jumped at the chance to

celebrate with him again. Wetzel, a former advertising salesman for

the Daily Pilot when it was known as the Globe-Herald and Pilot,

taught at the now-closed Lindbergh School and other Newport-Mesa

schools for 30 years.

* More than 100 Ensign Intermediate School students this week

received recognition for outstanding character.

Teachers, parents and coaches nominated students they felt best

demonstrated good character, which is part of the district’s

education program. The awards were presented by the school and the

Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce.

-- Marisa O’Neil

PUBLIC SAFETY

More victims come forward

in Westside assaults case

Police said last week they believe three victims who came forward

on Monday with assault allegations were attacked by the same group of

men responsible for five other assaults in the Westside since

December.

Most of the women were walking alone and all but two of the eight

reported assaults happened in broad daylight, Costa Mesa Police Lt.

John FitzPatrick said. All of the women were reportedly grabbed as

they were walking on Victoria Street, then touched inappropriately.

* An 82-year-old woman, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease

a year and a half ago, went missing for about a day but was found

Thursday night and returned home.

-- Deepa Bharath

COSTA MESA

Fewer sparklers in the city,

council tells residents

Costa Mesa is still a fireworks-friendly city, but the selection

to choose from may be slimmer in the future.

On Monday the City Council agreed in principle to Councilman Mike

Scheafer’s ideas to tighten the handling of firework sales by

essentially reducing the number of fireworks stands and the type of

fireworks that can be sold. Scheafer’s ideas still need to be written

into an ordinance that will go through the normal public hearing

process.

* The Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall impressed city

leaders Monday and it hasn’t even been built yet.

The council members were awed enough by the prestige the hall will

bring that the majority of them agreed to waive a traffic fee of

about $660,000 that would have been paid by the Orange County

Performing Arts Center. In exchange, the gift will be prominently

featured on a wall of honor or its equivalent in the hall. The waiver

means that the city is now more than $1 million short on a major

freeway access project.

-- Deirdre Newman

POLITICS AND ENVIRONMENT

A new Grand Old head honcho for Orange County

Orange County Republicans named Scott Baugh the new GOP chairman

at a meeting of the party central committee Monday. Baugh, an

attorney and former assemblyman, replaces Tom Fuentes, who retired

after chairing the county GOP for 20 years. Before electing Baugh,

Republicans honored Fuentes at a reception at the Westin South Coast

Plaza hotel.

Baugh quickly named a 23-member transition committee to forge a

political plan for the party to boost membership and get Republicans

elected. The team has six Newport-Mesa residents as well as members

of the New Majority and Lincoln Club, powerful fundraising groups

some said were alienated by Fuentes.

* Environment California, a research and policy group, held a

slimly attended rally in front of Newport Beach City Hall on

Wednesday to release a report critical of the Bush administration’s

environmental policies. The report claims the administration plans to

allow states to delay cleaning up polluted waters and has already

made changes that weaken enforcement of the Clean Water Act, among

other criticisms.

Event organizers said they had been hoping for a better turnout,

but only a couple of residents who happened to be passing by stopped

for the rally.

-- Alicia Robinson