NEWPORT BEACH Hoag opens new women’s facility...

NEWPORT BEACH

Hoag opens new women’s facility

Special guests and members of the media got a first look at the

new 320,000-square-foot Sue and Bill Gross Women’s Pavilion -- the

newest edition to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian.

The seven-story wing dedicated primarily to women’s health is

scheduled to be open on Oct. 5. There are 130 private rooms, many of

which overlook the Pacific Ocean.

The $129 million new facility will host an open house on Sept. 24.

EDUCATION

Level teaching field in Newport-Mesa district

A statewide study by the Education Trust-West, an Oakland research

group, revealed this week that the Newport-Mesa Unified School

District provides more prestigious teachers to its needy students

than the average California district. The report, released Wednesday,

posted estimated average teacher salaries for every school site in

California.

According to the researchers’ data, teachers at Whittier

Elementary, College Park Elementary and other low-income Newport-Mesa

schools make more on average than many of their counterparts in the

wealthier parts of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. Whittier, which has

99% of its students below the poverty level, has an average teacher

salary of $64,362 -- one of the highest averages in the district.

* John Nicoll, the longest-running superintendent of the

Newport-Mesa Unified School District, died Sept. 10 at the age of 83.

Both admired for his dedication and scorned for his hard-edged

demeanor, Nicoll helmed the district from 1971 to 1993, overseeing new technological breakthroughs in the schools and lobbying for

millions in grant money.

His legacy in Newport-Mesa, however, was a checkered one, as he

resigned in 1993 amid an embezzlement scandal that sent district

finance officer Stephen Wagner to prison. While Nicoll was never

accused of any wrongdoing himself, the incident led many in the

community to question his leadership. In the weeks before he

resigned, more than 400 parents in Newport-Mesa petitioned for his

removal.

Nicoll did leave a lasting mark on the district, however, creating

the John W. Nicoll Scholarship Fund in 1993 to benefit graduating

Newport-Mesa seniors who plan careers in education.

* The campaign to recall Coast Community College District trustee

Armando Ruiz picked up steam last week, as Orange County treasurer

and tax collector John Moorlach officially endorsed the petition

drive. Fellow trustee Jerry Patterson and others are busy gathering

signatures from the community, hoping to place the recall item on the

November ballot.

The petitioners accuse Ruiz of exploiting state funds by retiring

from two jobs on the same day to boost his pension. Last October,

Ruiz ran for reelection to the Board of Trustees as an incumbent

despite having officially retired from the post four days earlier. A

state law at the time allowed him to earn double the pension from his

full-time counseling job in the South Orange County Community College

District.

Ruiz has denied any wrongdoing, noting that his action was legal

at the time.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Corona del Mar woman sentenced to 20 months

A Corona del Mar mother of two was sentenced Friday in Orange

County Superior Court to serve 20 months in state prison for

attempting lewd acts on a teenage girl who was living in her home.

Prosecutors believe Victoria Hawlish, 41, inappropriately touched

a 15-year-old girl on numerous occasions while the girl was living in

Hawlish’s Corona del Mar home.

A jury in March found Hawlish not guilty of five counts of lewd

acts with a minor. They did, however, find her guilty of three counts

of attempted lewd acts with a minor, a felony.

It is likely that Hawlish will serve only six months of her

20-month sentence, because of the number of days she’s already spent

in custody, officials said.

POLITICS

County supervisors look at how to fund Harbor Patrol

Orange County supervisors on Tuesday agreed to look into new ways

of funding the sheriff’s Harbor Patrol, which is headquartered in

Newport Beach and also serves Huntington Beach and Dana Point.

Suggestions include charging cities, which now pay nothing for harbor

patrol services, and adding a fee to boaters’ registration.

The Harbor Patrol provides fire protection, law enforcement and

rescue services along Orange County’s 42 miles of coastline.

Supervisors want to find other funding sources because the patrol’s

funding now comes out of the already strapped harbors, beaches and

parks department. They will likely hear about other funding sources

within the next two months.

BUSINESS

Business ventures have Newport-Mesa in plans

Newport Lexus and Birtcher Development and Investments both showed

some community spirit as they moved forward with plans to bring

separate business ventures to Newport-Mesa Wednesday.

Newport Lexus announced the donation of $100,000 for the Newport

Beach centennial celebration at a ground-breaking ceremony for a

planned Lexus dealership. The MacArthur Boulevard dealership is

expected to open in late 2006. Centennial events are expected to

begin Oct. 2 at city beach party where the Beach Boys are scheduled

to perform.

The same day, Irvine-based Birtcher Development and Investments

announced tenants who have signed on to the planned South Coast Home

Furnishings Centre. The furniture-centered shopping center is

expected to open in early 2007 on the site of the former State Farm

Insurance building near Sunflower and Hyland avenues.

COSTA MESA

One more year until new

arts center theater opens

One year is left until the opening of the Renee and Henry

Segerstrom Concert Hall and Samueli Theater. The Orange County

Performing Arts Center held a one-year-to-go event at the current

facility, and patrons received a tour of the buildings under

construction.

According to Darrell Waters, project manager from Fluor, the

project is 70% complete. The first glass panels have been set into

place, and the roofing is almost entirely finished.

NOTABLE QUOTABLES

o7”We’re seeing exactly what we’d expect to see. There’s very

much a level playing field with our teachers and what we do to

educate our students.”f7

-- Jane Garland, Newport-Mesa Unified School District spokeswoman,

on a report released last week, showing that poor or minority

students in the district have better chances of working under a

highly credentialed teacher than in most districts in the state.

o7”We’re seeing prices we haven’t seen there before.... As the

prices go up, you’re going to find less and less young people being

able to live and party there.” f7

-- Sally Martin, a Realtor, on rising home prices on the Balboa

Peninsula.

o7”The reason I support a measure like that is [that there are]

too many abuses in pension plans. Armando makes himself, in Orange

County, a poster child for why voters need to take a hard look at

what kind of fiscal animal the legislature in Sacramento has

created.”f7

-- John Moorlach, Orange County treasurer and Costa Mesa resident,

on his support for a recall of Coast Community College District

trustee Armando Ruiz.

o7 “We’re in discussions with them, but we are also pursuing our

rights in court through the eviction process. Our goal is to gain

control of the property and move forward with the public’s vision as

soon as possible.”f7

-- Richard Rozzelle, acting superintendent for state parks’ Orange

Coast district, on talks between the state and residents of El Morro

Village mobile-home park.

o7”We rarely, if ever, get federal appropriations for our city,

and I think we need to have people who know how to do that working

for us because it benefits our community. Every day we don’t have

someone working to find us money, it’s costing us money, and we have

to rely on taxpayer dollars.”f7

-- Katrina Foley, Costa Mesa City Councilwoman, who has suggested

the city hire a lobbyist to help gather more federal money.