Costa Mesa gets share of area security funds

Alicia Robinson

Costa Mesa will get a share of $19.8 million in homeland-security

funding Orange County is slated to receive, Rep. Chris Cox announced

last week. The grant will pay for counterterrorism planning,

equipment and training in 14 cities that also include Irvine, Santa

Ana and Fullerton.

“Orange County is an enormous urban area, not only in terms of

population, but also our economy,” Cox said in a written statement.

“This funding will help protect our communities from terrorist

threats and protect our continued economic growth at the same time.”

With the new funding, California has netted more than $280 million

in counterterrorism dollars.

Reservist gives thanks

after receiving support

A harpist, hors d’oeuvres and members of the U.S. Marine Corps

were on hand last week when a local attorney thanked his law firm for

its financial support while he served in the military earlier this

year.

Joseph Preis, 32, a business lawyer at Newport Beach firm Stephan,

Oringher, Richman & Theodora, was on active duty in the Marines from

1990 to 1994. He joined the Marine Corps Reserve after the Sept. 11,

2001 terrorist attacks.

He was activated in January and served in the Judge Advocate

General office of the 1st Marine Division. When Preis phoned law firm

partner Todd Theodora to say he’d been called up, he was pleasantly

surprised at the response.

“I heard from him 20 minutes later -- ‘Joe, don’t worry about a

thing,’” Preis said. “That was such an amazing answer.... I was

activated with many people whose employers did not take care of them,

and the results were really dramatic.”

The firm supplemented Preis’s military pay so he was earning the

same amount as he did at the firm, and attorneys called him regularly

to see if he or his family needed anything.

“We love Joe, and we supported fully the cause,” Theodora said.

“We wanted him to have a peace of mind that only comes from being

taken care of financially in a difficult time.”

Several Orange County Marines and local officials, including

Orange County Supervisor Jim Silva, turned out for a reception

Thursday honoring the firm’s patriotism.

Group makes affordable bid

for closed Marine air station

An Orange County group that supports those serving in the military

and their families made a $255 million bid to the U.S. Navy this week

on housing, a commissary and other facilities at the closed El Toro

Marine Corps Air Station.

Ocmil.com, an Irvine-based military support group, worked with

Tustin-based Affordable Housing Resources to put together the bid,

which includes money to renovate the commissary and give military

personnel a discount on the MetroLink train. If the bid is accepted,

the group asserts it will make more affordable housing available to

military service people and their families.

Swearing-in announcement

not spelling bee material

Nine new state Assembly members were sworn in and welcomed to the

Assembly Republican Caucus this week, but they apparently plan to

improve conditions in some other locale. A press release on the new

members said they’ll “begin work on Califonria’s future.”

New GOP legislators include Chuck DeVore, who represents Newport

Beach, and Van Tran, who represents Costa Mesa. State Sen. John

Campbell, a former assemblyman, also was sworn into his new post and

was pleased with how smoothly it went.

“It went like many things in the Senate do instead of the Assembly

-- it started on time, and it finished early,” he said.

Intelligence reform bill includes Cox provisions

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday passed a massive intelligence reform

bill that included provisions pushed by the House Homeland Security

Committee, which Newport Beach Rep. Chris Cox chairs.

The House passed the legislation Tuesday night. The bill overhauls

the nation’s intelligence agency structure and creates a new director

of national intelligence. Among the provisions Cox wanted are more

training and technology for border, immigration and consular

officials; increasing the number of detention beds for illegal

immigrants waiting to be deported; and improving the communications

systems between different emergency response agencies.