ENVIRONMENT Back bay dredging plan gets the...

ENVIRONMENT

Back bay dredging plan gets the go-ahead

The Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a

dredging plan for Upper Newport Bay on Tuesday.

Officials have decided that dredging is needed to prevent

sediments carried by San Diego Creek from filling the bay. Dredging

is expected to be a three-year project. The Army Corps of Engineers

could hire a contractor by next month.

The projected cost for the project is $39.2 million, and county

officials are counting on the federal government to pay two-thirds of

the tab.

So far, $1 million has been allocated for dredging through the

Corps of Engineers. Congress could pass a budget outlining an amount

between $2 million and $7 million when lawmakers go back to work in

September.

After the supervisors’ vote, Orange County Watershed and Coastal

Resources Division manager Larry McKenney said the county will need

to lobby Washington for about $20 million to complete the project.

COSTA MESA

Skate park has its official opening ceremony

Unofficially open for two months, the Volcom Skate Park of Costa

Mesa received its official blessing by city officials Tuesday.

Mayor Allan Mansoor hopped on a skateboard and rode across the

flat parts of the 15,000-square-foot park. Young riders from across

Orange County strutted their stuff at the ceremony, which included

representatives from Volcom, the Costa Mesa-based company that is

sponsoring the park.

* The Orange County Fair board approved a contract with event

promotion company Richard Goodwin Presents to hold a New Year’s Eve

party at the fairgrounds this year.

Promoter Rich Goodwin said the deal clears the way for his company

to finish party plans and sign performers. Tickets will likely go on

sale Oct. 1.

NEWPORT BEACH

Construction company holds blood, marrow drive

Employees at McCarthy Building Companies in Newport Beach were

tested to be bone marrow donors in an attempt to find a match for two

friends of the corporation.

Drew Spaeth, a friend of McCarthy preconstruction director Brent

Newby, and Lisa Vega, the sister-in-law of employee Ed Vega, are in

need of a marrow transplant.

This was the first time the construction company has held a bone

marrow drive. A blood drive occurred simultaneously.

* The City Council on Tuesday voted to add 4,000 square feet to a

conceptual design for a new city hall and to upgrade the building’s

appearance, bringing the projected cost of a redone civic center to

$46.3 million. The council hasn’t yet officially voted to build the

project, but it agreed the have consultants bring back more detailed

designs and cost information.

The ultimate cost of the project, which includes a fire station

and a parking garage as well as the city hall, is likely to be

between $80 million and $100 million after the city pays back

borrowed money and interest, City Manager Homer Bludau said.

The council will hear about the proposed financing method Sept.

13, and a final vote on the project is set for Oct. 11.

POLITICS

Seventeen candidate names will be listed on ballot

The race to fill the 48th District Congressional seat will be a

battle royal, with 17 candidates from various parties qualifying for

the Oct. 4 primary election ballot on Monday. Three would-be

candidates didn’t get enough signatures to make the ballot, and one

candidate, D. Bruce Smith of Seal Beach, wants to be a write-in and

won’t be listed on the ballot.

The official candidate list includes 10 Republicans, four

Democrats, and three members of other parties. In the special open

primary, voters can cross party lines to pick a candidate, and if no

candidate gets more than 50% of the votes, each party’s top

vote-taker will vie for the House seat in a Nov. 6 general election.

EDUCATION

School district shows its newest teachers the ropes

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District held new teacher

orientations this week, with nearly 200 faculty members coming in for

the fall. The new instructors spent three days at the district office

participating in workshops and seminars, and also took bus tours of

school sites Friday.

* Tuesday, school district officials announced that they will

likely not end up shifting attendance areas in the Corona del Mar

zone next year. The district had made plans to move some students

from Newport Coast Elementary School to Lincoln Elementary School in

fall 2006, and to move others from Lincoln to Eastbluff Elementary

School and Harbor View Elementary School, due to a perceived

overcrowding at Newport Coast. However, after checking the residences

of Newport Coast Elementary School students, administrators found 56

children who lived outside the school’s attendance area and moved

them to their neighborhood sites.

* Orange Coast College announced three new inductees to its Alumni

Hall of Fame: Zambian ambassador Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika, former

major league baseball player Brent Mayne, and designer Paul Frank.

The three will be inducted at a ceremony on campus Sept. 29.

NOTABLE QUOTABLES

o7”After we cut three of the cables, SBC showed up and said,

‘Don’t cut any more.’”

f7 -- Rick Norquist, the GKK Works superintendent overseeing

construction near Hoag Hospital, where phone lines were accidentally

cut last week, leaving hundreds without service

o7”The folks who were doing the cutting were clearly informed as

to where the lines were, and the markings are still on the ground as

we speak.”

f7 -- Steven Smith, an SBC spokesman, claiming that workers knew

not to cut the lines; workers dispute his position.

o7”Yeah, we could have a bigger empty room, but what’s the point?

As the costs continue to escalate, I think we need to look hard at

the numbers because this is not an unlimited budget.”

f7 -- Steve Rosansky, Newport Beach City Councilman, reacting to

council plans to add 4,000 square feet to the proposed new city hall;

the cost of the building over 30 years is expected to be between $80

million and $100 million.

o7”Every year, I guess the consumer wants to get started

earlier.” f7

-- Shaun Duncan, Michaels Arts & Crafts store manager, on the

always-earlier holiday decorations in stores

o7”I was pretty happy. It was a really long week, and to be able

to do that after that week, I couldn’t ask for more.”f7

-- Hayley Peirsol, the younger sister of world-record holder Aaron

Peirsol, on a breakout summer of swimming she has had

o7”It’s not surprising because once you get past four people in

the race, you might as well run, because there’s some chance that you

could do something. The good news is that it’s not a coronation, and

frankly, whoever does win, it helps legitimize the outcome.”f7

-- Mark Petracca, UC Irvine political scientist, on the 17 people

running to replace former Rep. Chris Cox