EDUCATION Group looks to recall college district...

EDUCATION

Group looks to recall college district trustee

The dispute over Coast Community College District trustee Armando

Ruiz continued last week, as 20 people -- including Ruiz’s board

colleague, Jerry Patterson -- started a petition movement to have him

recalled. Many accused Ruiz of double-dipping into his state pension

fund in November when he ran for reelection as an incumbent shortly

after resigning from the board. On Wednesday, Patterson and others

filed a notice of intention to circulate a recall petition with the

county Registrar of Voters.

* UC Irvine learned the identity of its next chancellor on

Thursday morning. The University of California Board of Regents

appointed Michael V. Drake, currently the university system’s vice

president for health affairs, to replace Ralph Cicerone in July.

Drake, a practicing ophthalmologist, has been in the UC system as a

professor and an administrator for nearly 30 years.

* The week ended on a high note for Orange Coast College, as 1,965

students graduated Thursday evening.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Former Raiders quarterback is back in the courtroom

Former USC and Raiders quarterback Todd Marinovich appeared in

court twice last week, once for alleged probation violations and

again on charges that he fled from police.

Newport Beach police spotted Marinovich, 35, on May 20 with

apparent drug paraphernalia, but he fled the scene. He was later

arrested, and officers discovered a no-bail warrant had been issued

for Marinovich.

Marinovich has faced numerous drug charges since playing football

at USC, including convictions for marijuana, heroin and, last year in

Newport Beach, methamphetamine possession.

* A 2-year-old boy drowned May 22 in a Costa Mesa apartment

complex pool, the second such death in Newport-Mesa this month.

Christian Diaz, 2, was found at the bottom of a swimming pool in

the 300 block of West Wilson Street after he apparently got out of

his house while his mother was sleeping. Taylor Ackroyd, 3, drowned

May 5 in a poolside spa in Newport Beach after he was left alone for

less than three minutes, police said.

Fire officials are reminding parents to constantly supervise

children near water and to provide safeguards whenever children have

access to a swimming pool or spa.

* A high-speed police pursuit that crossed through six cities

nearly ended with a shooting after the driver crashed his car in

Costa Mesa early Thursday morning.

The chase started after a man reported he was carjacked at

gunpoint in Santa Ana. The alleged carjacker crashed the car about an

hour later in Costa Mesa, got out of the car holding a gun and

attempted to run, police said.

Just as officers readied to shoot the man, he fell, dropping the

gun, and was taken into custody, authorities said. Police arrested

Jose Morales, 22, of Santa Ana and booked him on weapons and

carjacking charges.

NEWPORT BEACH

Park’s cost could go from $1.35 million to $18 million

The city’s plan to create a park at West Coast Highway and

Superior Avenue got a price hike Monday, when state legislators

passed a bill allowing the state to charge fair market value for the

proposed parkland and other pieces of surplus property it owns.

City officials in 2001 got the state to agree on a price of $1.35

million, the property’s original purchase price. The roughly 18-acre

parcel would have been transferred from Caltrans to the state Parks

Department and then leased to the city. The new legislation means the

cost to Newport Beach could reach $18 million. City officials are

still discussing a deal with the state for the land.

* Anyone looking to open a dispensary for medical marijuana

shouldn’t bother looking in Newport Beach, at least for now. Because

of two inquiries from prospective dispensers, the City Council on

Tuesday put a 45-day moratorium on establishment of medical marijuana

facilities to give the city time to figure out how such facilities

should be regulated.

Use of marijuana for medical reasons was approved by California

voters in 1996, but it’s unclear whether federal drug laws override

that initiative. Costa Mesa is likely to address the same issue soon;

the city’s Planning Commission on Monday voted to recommend a

moratorium on marijuana dispensaries while regulations are written to

govern them.

* The Newport Beach City Council will appoint someone to replace

Mayor Steve Bromberg, who will leave the council June 17 to become an

Orange County Superior Court judge. The appointment will be the third

on the council in the last three years, prompting some residents to

call for an election to fill the vacant seat.

City officials have maintained that the city charter requires an

appointment, and an election is only a backup procedure if council

members can’t agree on a candidate. The council will accept

applications through June 10 and plans to appoint a new member June

21.