GOVERNMENT Support getting bigger for scaled-back rail...

GOVERNMENT

Support getting bigger for scaled-back rail line

CenterLine’s support is growing, as evidenced by a recently

released survey showing 69% of county residents said they would

probably or definitely vote in favor of the proposed light rail

system, which will run through Costa Mesa. Only 51% of respondents

said they would probably or definitely vote for a light rail system

last year. The survey was sponsored by the Orange County Business

Council, which is neutral on CenterLine, and Cal State Fullerton

Center for Public Policy.

* Newport Shores homeowners, who want a canal near their homes

dredged to get rid of the sediment they say is damaging the water

quality and health of the marshlands, are banding together and

forming a committee in the hopes of getting some results. But the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the channel, says its first

priority is dredging the Santa Ana River. And funding is hard to come

by for other projects, project manager Ken Morris said.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Surprise shot hits Newport Harbor High student

A 17-year-old Newport Harbor High School senior was shot in the

face with a pellet as he rode his bicycle near Cliff Drive Park the

evening of Aug. 27.

The pellet pierced the boy’s skin and lodged itself about an inch

in front of his left ear, but he is recovering from the injury.

Police are looking for whoever shot him.

* Police arrested two Los Angeles County women for prostitution

last week at a local massage parlor.

Officers received an anonymous tip that New Oriental Mass. was

operating, unlicensed, in a medical building at the corner of Harbor

Boulevard and Fair Drive, said Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Marty Carver.

Alhambra resident Yanling Sun, 39, and Hacienda Heights resident

Chunyan Li, 31, were both arrested for prostitution and booked into

the Costa Mesa Police Department’s jail. They were released on a

written notice to appear in court, Carver said.

The parlor had placed ads in local newspapers, but did not have a

massage license, as required in the city, he said. Officers shut the

business down.

EDUCATION

OCC enrollment climbing despite price hike

Enrollment at Orange Coast College is up and so are the number of

classes being offered and student fees.

State budget cuts forced community colleges to raise their

per-unit fee from $18 to $26. OCC is offering about 5% more classes

than last fall, but enrollment is up nearly as much, meaning many

students are still not getting some classes they need to take.

Students, parents and police are gearing up for the start of

school next week.

* A controversial loop road at Newport Coast Elementary School

should ease some of the traffic troubles at that site, officials

said. Davis Education Center and Harbor View Elementary School have

new bus loading and unloading zones that will help keep bus traffic

and parent traffic separate.

NEWPORT BEACH

St. James Church stays its conservative course

Three churches, including one on Via Lido, refused to cease

operations at the demand of an Episcopal bishop from whose diocese

they seceded during the last two weeks.

St. James Church in Newport Beach, All Saints’ in Long Beach and

most recently St. David’s in North Hollywood, broke away from the

Diocese of Los Angeles, citing the Episcopal Church’s liberal views

on the supremacy of Jesus Christ, the Bible and homosexuality as

reasons.

The three churches have placed themselves under the Diocese of

Luweero in the Anglican Province of Uganda, Africa. Observers say the

issue is headed to the courts for a long-drawn legal battle.

Bishop J. Jon Bruno has maintained that all churches and

surrounding land belong to the diocese, but St. James administrators

say the building and property belongs to St. James, a nonprofit

organization and that the bishop has no authority over it. Bruno sent

letters to the churches Friday informing them their leaders had been

fired and new priests would continue the work of the Episcopal

diocese in the respective areas.

Bruno through his attorney had asked the three churches to stop

services and business operations by Monday morning, but the churches,

through their attorney, refused to do so.