Newport, Ky., we ain’t

Alicia Robinson

The city of Newport Beach is nothing like Newport, Ky., and now you

can check online to prove it.

Upgrades to the city’s website were launched Tuesday. The new look

will set the city apart from a similarly named Kentucky city with a

website that apparently cribbed heavily from Newport Beach’s.

Webmaster Paul Malkemus said he noticed the Newport, Ky., site

used the same basic design and, in fact, the front page looked almost

exactly the same.

He said he was already working on upgrades to his site, which

includes photos of surfers, sunsets, and city buildings and piers,

all taken by city employees. Compliments have already started to roll

in, Malkemus said.

While the similar site in Kentucky wasn’t the impetus for the

change, it may have hastened things a little.

“Primarily, it’s designed with the thought that it needs to be

easier for the public to access,” Malkemus said.

The city’s Web address is https://www.city.newport -beach.ca.us.

ZIPPI BACK IN THE POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT

She may not speak for the trees, but former state Assembly

candidate Marianne Zippi will represent city residents on the

Environmental Quality Affairs Citizens Advisory Committee, a group

that reviews environmental aspects of city development projects.

Zippi was named to the committee Tuesday by the City Council.

Her last public foray was in 2004, when she ran as one of six GOP

candidates in a March primary for the 70th Assembly District seat,

which represents Newport Beach. The environmental committee will be

another link in her chain of civic involvement, she said.

“I think that the environment is what drives people to Newport

Beach,” Zippi said. “It’s a delicate balance to make sure we preserve

what we have and at the same time make it possible for other people

to enjoy it as well.”

COX BILL WOULD ELIMINATE shady TOWing

The practice of towing cars from private property without notice

-- known as predatory towing -- could come to an end, now that

Newport Beach Rep. Chris Cox has successfully pushed an amendment to

federal law through the House. California already has a law in place

to prevent predatory towing, but it’s been invalidated by a federal

appeals court decision, according to Cox.

With Cox’s bill, California law will again take precedence,

requiring that a tow truck operator get permission of a lot owner

before towing a vehicle from the lot and an agent of the lot be

present for the towing.

SCHAFER CLEANS UP WITH HER ‘TRASH-Y’ REPUTATION

Being in charge of waste doesn’t sound glamorous, but sometimes it

gets you recognized. Costa Mesa community activist and former Mayor

Arlene Schafer on Wednesday was named the 2005 woman of the year for

the 68th Assembly District, in part for her work on the board of the

Costa Mesa Sanitary District.

“I’m the first and only woman on it, which is different, and we

kind of kid and call me queen of the trash,” Schafer said.

She’s served three terms on the sanitary board, but her resume

goes on much longer. At present, she belongs to 22 boards, and she

just got awards from the Lions Club and the Orange County

Transportation Authority for her service to them.

Assemblyman Van Tran, who represents Costa Mesa, picked Schafer as

woman of the year because her community service “goes far beyond the

norm,” Tran said in a statement. Schafer will be one of a number of

women of the year honored on the Assembly floor in Sacramento on

Monday.

For Schafer, it was strange that the awards recently started

pouring in. It takes a lot of time, but she just volunteers for

things because she likes to help.

“You do it not meaning to get paid for it; you care abut people,

you care about the community,” she said. “I guess I’m a workaholic.”

MOORLACH MAKING THE LUNCH ROUNDS

The Newport Harbor Republican Women will host a luncheon featuring

Orange County Treasurer John Moorlach on March 17 at the Pacific

Club, 4110 MacArthur Blvd., Newport Beach. Moorlach has been

treasurer for eight years, after predicting the troubles that led to

the county’s 2004 bankruptcy.

The social hour begins at 11:30 a.m. with lunch at noon. For

information or reservations, call Donna Shockley at (949) 675-1904.