EDUCATION A number of honors arrive for...

EDUCATION

A number of honors

arrive for district

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District racked up a number of

honors last week.

On Wednesday, Corona del Mar High School physical education

teacher Ted Williams was named one of Orange County’s five teachers

of the year by the Department of Education. Later that evening,

Newport Harbor High School senior Alyson O’Desky received the Irvine

Company’s student leadership award for $10,000.

* The district named Bob Metz, the principal of Corona del Mar

High, as next year’s interim assistant superintendent of secondary

education. Metz will replace Jaime Castellanos, who is leaving the

district at the end of June.

* A team of UC Irvine researchers at the Reeve-Irvine Research

Center, led by Hans Keirstead and Oswald Steward, published a lengthy

article this week in the Journal of Neuroscience. The paper outlines

a research project that the group has pursued over the past few

years, in which paralyzed rats regained motor skills through human

embryonic stem cell injections.

NEWPORT BEACH

A plan for a new city hall

It may not be time to watch out for the bulldozers yet, but stay

tuned ...

The City Council early Wednesday morning voted to proceed with a

reconstruction of City Hall that would retain only the council

chambers.

Opposition notwithstanding, a 5-2 council OK’d the plan to gather

more detailed blueprints for the renovation. It would replace 90% of

the existing City Hall and build a new fire station, a parking garage

and a community center. The initial cost would be $41.5 million, but 30 years of interest could raise that close to $90 million.

And that was the cheapest option on the table.

Opponents complained about the lack of choices and have vowed to

get the issue to a citywide vote.

* The council also approved an environmental report for a proposed

Lexus dealership on MacArthur Boulevard at Jamboree Road.

The approval came after Councilwoman Leslie Daigle proposed an

amendment requiring city staffers to take a second look at a driveway

that councilmen John Heffernan and Dick Nichols viewed as a potential

traffic risk.

POLITICS

El Toro battle takes

flight again

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday voted 11-0 to ask the

Los Angeles board of airport commissioners to investigate the

possibility of putting an airport at the El Toro Marine air base. The

resolution recommends the board use “any and all means, including

litigation.”

The move was met with cheers by Newport Beach-based Airport

Working Group. The group’s vice president, Richard Taylor, said he’s

glad to hear that Los Angeles is getting involved.

“When Los Angeles speaks -- they have a lot of clout in

Washington. Maybe they’ll sit up and listen,” Taylor said.

Opponents of an airport at El Toro dismissed the chances of Los

Angeles getting its way.

COSTA MESA

Greenlight for red-light fight

The California Supreme Court this week declined to review a

lower-court decision that has blocked Costa Mesa from issuing tickets

to drivers caught on camera running red lights at two intersections.

For now, police are issuing warnings to those snapped on Newport

Boulevard at 19th Street and 17th Street. A lower court ruled that

the city could not have the cameras at Caltrans-operated

intersections. The ruling may make it easier for those who got

tickets to fight them in court.

* Share Our Selves, which provides free food, clothing and

services to those in need, has been recognized for the quality of

healthcare it offers to residents.

CalOptima, the agency that administers Medi-Cal benefits in Orange

County, gave Share Our Selves the Mary K. Dewane Safety Net award on

May 3.

Share Our Selves, founded in 1970, serves about 225,000 Orange

County residents and is one of the county’s largest emergency-relief

organizations.