Small spill closes dock area in harbor...

Small spill closes dock area in harbor

The Orange County Health Care Agency closed the Newport Harbor

dock water area at 3101 West Coast Highway to swimming and diving

late Monday after a two-gallon sewage spill, the agency said. The

small spill came from a break in a line from a vessel pump-out

station managed by Pacific West Management.

Such spills have become common, with Monday’s spill the second in

several days, said Monica Mazur, the agency’s supervising

environmental health specialist. The sewage pump-out lines have to be

at the end of the dock to be accessible, but they’re also more

vulnerable to breakage there, she said. Water closures usually last

about 72 hours and end when the healthcare agency’s water samples

show bacteria is at acceptable levels.

Phone lines down at Police Department

The nonemergency line for the Newport Beach Police Department will

be down one hour for service Thursday morning.

Emergency calls to 911 will not be affected by the service

disruption, only calls to the department’s nonemergency number, (949)

644-3717. The line will not work from 5 to 6 a.m., Sgt. Steve Shulman

said.

While the lines are down, residents can call (949) 717-0174. If

that line is busy, Shulman said, residents can call 911 with

nonemergency calls for that hour.

Calls made to 911 from cellular phones will go to the California

Highway Patrol and be transferred to Newport Beach Police.

Jaycees will host identity-theft experts

The South Coast Jaycees will discuss at their Aug. 12 meeting ways

to prevent identity theft.

Liam Brannigan of Washington Mutual Bank and Steel Smith III of ID

Safe Inc. will address the fast-growing crime. They will tell people

how to protect their personal information to prevent others from

using it to open illegal accounts or make purchases.

The South Coast Jaycees monthly membership meeting begins at 6:30

p.m. at Round Table Pizza, 1175 Baker St., Suite A, in Costa Mesa.

The public is invited.

For more information, call Rhonda Borth at (949) 400-8369.