NEWPORT BEACH ‘Friends’ finale party goes to...

NEWPORT BEACH

‘Friends’ finale party goes to the monkeys (and ducks)

A monkey made some friends in Newport Beach at a Star 98.7 FM

screening party for the “Friends” series finale. The monkey who

played Marcel on the long-running sitcom, along with one of the ducks

that appeared on the show, were the official hosts of the party at

Diedrich Coffee on Jamboree Road.

* Not long ago, city officials dreamed of taking over the

day-to-day operations of John Wayne Airport, virtually ensuring that

the airport won’t expand out of control after the settlement

agreement limiting expansion expires in 2015. After two meetings with

county supervisors, city officials had all but abandoned that hope

until county Supervisor Charles Smith, out of left field, asked

county staff members to pursue the idea of selling the airport to pay

off some debt.

* Corona del Mar architect Andrew Goetz has been charged with 26

felony counts of filing false plans with the city and those charges

could carry a sentence of up to 11 years in prison. A number of homes

designed by Goetz now exceed height limits for the city and one was

ordered partially torn down.

-- June Casagrande

EDUCATION

A heavenly appeal for

public television station

As promised, Daystar Television Network filed an appeal last week

to a judge’s ruling that the KOCE-TV Foundation, not Daystar, can buy

the PBS channel.

Dallas-based Daystar, a religious broadcaster, had asked the judge

to rule that Coast Community College District had broken state law

when it selected the foundation as the highest bidder for the

station. If the courts accept the appeal and a motion to stop the

sale, it could hold the process up for a year or more.

* Newport-Mesa schools last week kicked off a month of

appreciation for teachers.

What started off as Teacher Appreciation Week has grown into a

month-long celebration at all district schools. School board members

will visit each site throughout the month and every school has a plan

for taking care of teachers, from luncheons to gifts.

* The Coast Community College District board of trustees named

Kenneth Yglesias the new chancellor for the district.

Yglesias now serves as president of Golden West College in

Huntington Beach. He will take over the chancellor’s position when

Bill Vega retires in June.

The new chancellor, as well as vice chancellors and college

presidents, for Coast Community College District will receive

substantial raises, despite tight budgets.

District trustees approved a raise from $186,608 to $190,000 plus

$10,000 for travel and mileage expenses for chancellor. Salaries for

vice chancellors and college presidents will go from the current

range of $129,631 up to $145,000 as high as $160,000.

-- Marisa O’Neil

POLITICS

Loving the Green at

Orange Coast College

Green Party activist Peter Camejo got a standing ovation from an

auditorium full of students Friday at Orange Coast College, where he

spoke as part of a visiting scholars program that also included panel

discussions of social responsibility and activism with school

faculty.

Camejo opined on the inequalities of the U.S. tax system and

ideological problems with the war in Iraq, and he advised students to

get active in whatever causes matter to them and to vote for the

party that represents their beliefs even if it’s a third party.

-- Alicia Robinson

COSTA MESA

Former Costa Mesa resident dies serving his country

Friends and family mourned longtime Costa Mesa resident Trevor

Win’E, 22, an Army petroleum supply specialist who died in Iraq May 1

after a bomb exploded near the truck he was driving. Former neighbors

of the family, who recently moved to Orange, said Win’E was a

friendly person, and his teachers at Calvary Chapel High School

remembered him as always smiling and encouraging fellow students.

Services will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at Calvary Chapel, 3800 S.

Fairview Road, Santa Ana, followed by graveside services at Fairhaven

Memorial Park, 1702 Fairhaven Ave., Santa Ana.

* The City Council approved an ordinance and council policy

restricting the sale of fireworks based on changes suggested by

Councilman Mike Scheafer. The changes include reducing the type of

fireworks that can be sold and the number of stands.

* City Manager Allan Roeder is following up on a suggestion from

Councilwoman Libby Cowan to examine publicly owned property in the

city, such as the fairgrounds, to make sure it gets zoned in ways

that reflect the city’s goals.

* The Huscroft House is on its way to being fully restored. John

Morehart, who moved the historic early Craftsman-style house to a

property he owns on the Westside will spend more than $100,000 to

make sure the house is restored as authentically as possible.

-- Deirdre Newman