EDUCATION Newport-Mesa students have the knowledge to...

EDUCATION

Newport-Mesa students have the knowledge to graduate

Newport-Mesa Unified School District high schools performed better

than the state and county average on this year’s exit exam. But

results on other standardized test reports released Monday ran the

gamut.

Districtwide, 85% of students passed the 2004 California High

School Exit Examination’s math and English language arts sections.

And though scores in some sections of the Standardized Testing and

Reporting program showed significant improvement, they also made some

large drops -- particularly for the district’s second-grade students

and Corona del Mar High School algebra students.

* Few local students opt to take the American College Testing

Program, known as the ACT, but those who did this year beat national

averages.

In testing data released this week, this year’s graduating seniors

in Newport-Mesa Unified School District earned an average composite

score of 23.2 out of 36 points. Only 228 Newport-Mesa students took

the test, placing far behind the Scholastic Aptitude Test in

popularity.

COSTA MESA

Community backs Market Place operators

Residents packed a public meeting Monday to talk about seeking

bidders to run the Orange County Market Place, the long-running swap

meet held at the Orange County Fairgrounds. Many of those who came

spoke in support Bob and Jeff Teller, who founded and still operate

the market.

This is the second attempt by the fair’s directors to seek bidders

interested in operating the market. Last year, controversy erupted

over the bidding process and it was terminated. Another public

hearing will be held Thursday on the tentative request for bids to

run the market.

* The City Council decided Tuesday to solve residential parking

problems and complaints by giving staff members 60 days to research

them and suggest solutions rather than automatically granting parking

restrictions that residents request. The issue came up when a group

of College Park homeowners asked the council to stop residents of

nearby apartments, condominiums and mobile homes from parking on

their streets.

Council members opted for the new strategy because they feared

parking restrictions would merely shift parking problems to a new

neighborhood.

NEWPORT BEACH

Church secedes from Episcopal Diocese

St. James Church on Via Lido and All Saints Church in Long Beach

announced their secession from the Episcopal Church on Tuesday,

saying that the diocese’s liberal philosophy doesn’t match their own

orthodox view of the Bible.

St. James members on Monday voted 280 to 12 in favor of the

secession with one member abstaining.

The Episcopal Church’s ambiguous views on whether Jesus Christ is

the only Lord and Savior who offers salvation to believers don’t

match those of St. James’ members, church officials said.

The 1,200-strong church will now come under the Diocese of Luwero

in the Anglican Province of Uganda, Africa. The Rt. Rev. Evans

Kisekka will be the church’s bishop. In addition, a bishop in Texas

will serve as the “on-site bishop” to offer pastoral guidance to the

church.

The Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles,

said he has sent out “a letter of protest” to the bishop in Luwero.

Bruno said he does not intend to release the two parishes and that

they rightfully belong to the Episcopal Church.

He also sent out a letter to be read during service on Sunday at

all churches under the diocese saying that he opposes the churches’

move to break away.

But St. James officials released a statement in response to the

Bishop’s saying that the church owns the building and the surrounding

property on Via Lido and that the diocese has no claim against it.

* City officials promised Wednesday to work with the U.S. Army

Corps of Engineers to prevent the spreading of sand dredged from the

Santa Ana River on the beach in West Newport. The corps is heading a

$4.5 million, largely federally-funded project to dredge 400,000

cubic yards of sediment from the river to prevent flooding and

deposit the sand along the shore in Newport Beach.

A crowd of residents turned out to protest the project at an

informational meeting and ask that the sand be pumped offshore, which

was an option given to contractors bidding on the project but was not

selected due to cost.

* The City Council is likely to formally accept the resignation of

Councilman Gary Adams on Tuesday, after Adams last week submitted a

letter resigning from the council as of Sept. 1. Now serving his

second term, Adams announced in July that he planned to resign to

take a job promotion in Washington, D.C.

If council members agree Tuesday on the appointment process to

replace Adams, they could take applications through Sept. 9 and hold

a public hearing to interview candidates on Sept. 14.