Not quite top 10, but close

UC Irvine Muslim students stole the day

UC Irvine’s graduation ceremonies was a tense affair this year

when Muslim students chose to wear green stoles with Arabic writing

and symbols on them.

Muslim students said they were an expression of their faith, but

others accused them of aligning themselves with terrorist

organizations like Hamas, who wear the same color and use similar

symbols. University officials allowed the students to wear the

stoles, citing their 1st Amendment rights, despite calls from Jewish

groups to ban them from the graduation.

The dispute followed months of tension, most notably the torching

of a cardboard display built by Arab students on campus.

Assemblyman floats fairly controversial idea

Costa Mesa city officials and residents cried foul in April when

then-Assemblyman John Campbell suggested the state-owned Orange

County Fairgrounds be sold and the fair moved to the planned Great

Park on the closed El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

Some of his constituents worried about what Costa Mesa would lose

in travel and tourism dollars driven by year-round events at the

fairgrounds.

After Costa Mesa’s stiff opposition led Campbell to abandon the

idea, it popped up in a massive report on ways to streamline state

government and cut costs that Gov. Schwarzenegger commissioned. The

report used the fairgrounds as an example of how the state could sell

off “underutilized” properties to bring in cash.

Trustee accused of betraying public trust

Bickering became a biweekly tradition in the Coast Community

College District’s boardroom this fall, when trustee Armando Ruiz

refused to admit his decision to retire from the board and run again

two days later -- as an incumbent.

Trustee Jerry Patterson and teacher’s union president Dean Mancina

demanded answers, while board president George Brown felt that Ruiz

wasn’t legally inclined to speak.

By retiring from the district and from an elected position at

Irvine Valley College on the same day, Ruiz cashed in on a

little-known state loophole that would allow him to double-dip in

both pensions, increasing his annual Coast pension from $5,000 to

$55,000 and his combined annual pension to about $120,000.

Fellow trustee Jerry Patterson called Ruiz out publicly in board

meetings, saying Ruiz was “intentionally misleading the voters with

his campaign designation as the incumbent governing board member.”

Ruiz won reelection Nov. 2 with 40% of the vote.

The story they never wanted you to read

Newport-Mesa and Santa Ana schools never realized the sizable

checks they received came from a Newport couple.

David and Monica Gelbaum sent schools a couple grand here, a

couple million there -- and after 10 years it all amounted to nearly

$20 million. Former Newport-Mesa Principal Scott Paulsen, who headed

five schools over the years, made their generosity known in

September.

The couple had long asked for anonymity -- a request that Paulsen

honored for years. But when he learned the couple’s names would be

printed elsewhere, he wanted the Newport-Mesa community to learn the

news first.

The donations established new jobs and school clubs, paid for

state-of-the-art science and technology centers and bought equipment

and supplies for local schools, teachers said.

Corona del Mar

turns triple digits

Corona del Mar centennial celebration organizers spent all year

coming up with creative ways to mark the area’s 100-year anniversary.

In the end, the concept came to them easily enough -- a three-day

public beach party.

Residents and visitors were welcomed to share in the moment by

indulging in free pancake breakfasts and barbecues, competing in

surfing and sandcastle competitions and listening to live bands.

The Corona del Mar Centennial Foundation also wowed the public

Oct. 16 with a fast-paced fireworks show, shot off from the jetty

over the waterfront.

Foundation members also announced they’d immediately begin

construction on Centennial Plaza, part of the city’s “Vision 2004”

project, expected to open during Newport Beach’s centennial

celebration in 2006.

A time capsule will then be buried under the plaza, which is

expected to feature a 26-foot clock tower surrounded with foliage,

sitting areas and a 3-foot tile wall.

Gropings in broad daylight strike fear

A string of sexual assaults on Victoria Street had many Costa Mesa

residents scared to walk down the street in daylight.

Police recorded 10 similar sexual assaults between November 2003

and April on Victoria Street between Placentia Avenue and Harbor

Boulevard. All the incidents involved one to three men grabbing women

from behind and groping them. In one case, they pulled a woman into

nearby bushes, leaving her 18-month-old son unattended in his

stroller.

Police circulated fliers in the neighborhood and composite

sketches of two possible suspects. The assaults are still under

investigation.