Week in Review

COSTA MESA

$10,000 reward offered in search for drive-by shooters

This week, the council approved offering the rewards.

The shootings occurred about two weeks apart, within a half a mile of each other.

On Aug. 2, Israel Maciel, 23, was gunned down in an alley in the 1300 block of West Baker Street. Four others were injured in the drive-by shooting.

In the second incident on Aug. 17, two men were shot behind an apartment complex in the 2900 block of Mendoza Drive.

Police Chief Steven Staveley told the council Tuesday that he believes the two shootings were not related.

City Councilwoman Katrina Foley, who was the dissenting vote, proposed that rather than offer rewards, the council leave such action to the police chief’s discretion when and if he needed it for the investigations of the shootings.

The program would include helping people send letters and packages to service members, and the city could collect donations to send to soldiers.

This week, the City Council denied a request to hold a second public hearing to decide whether the aging but renovated structure should stay on a residential street.

Councilwoman Katrina Foley and the couple requested that the council rehear the issue.

To appease neighbors who consider the mobile home an eyesore, the couple submitted a design to alter the structure to make it look more like a house. The couple, who is deciding what to do next, have 120 days to move the mobile home.

EDUCATION

Students welcomed by new surroundings at local schoolsThe Newport-Mesa Unified School District opened for the 2006-07 school year on Tuesday, featuring a new campus for the first time since 2001. Early College High School, sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and formed in conjunction with Coastline Community College, had opened in August on Costa Mesa’s Eastside.

A number of campuses had undergone Measure A work over the summer, with some — including Corona del Mar High School — still under construction when school resumed. Newport Heights Elementary School sported a new computer lab. Davis, Harbor View and Paularino elementary schools had new principals.

PUBLIC SAFETY

District attorney to seek death penalty in Hawks caseThe Orange County district attorney will seek the death penalty against two Long Beach men charged with killing a Newport Beach couple. Skylar Deleon, 27, and John F. Kennedy, 41, are accused of killing Tom and Jackie Hawks during a sea-trial on the couple’s 55-foot yacht. Prosecutors say the Hawks were tied together and thrown overboard alive somewhere between Catalina Island and Newport Beach.

Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas announced his decision to seek the death penalty against Deleon and Kennedy at a press conference Wednesday. Their trial is scheduled to begin in January 2007. Also charged in the Hawks case are Deleon’s 25-year-old wife, Jennifer Henderson-Deleon, Pico Rivera resident Alonzo Machain, 23, and Long Beach resident Myron Gardner, 43.

Officials would not comment on what penalty will be sought for Machain and Gardner but said they will go for life in prison without parole for Henderson-Deleon.

BUSINESS

$32 million, 8 months later, Fairmont opening is grandThe Fairmont Newport Beach held its grand opening celebration Thursday night to introduce the newly renovated hotel to the community.

Although the hotel, which is located near John Wayne Airport on MacArthur Boulevard, has been open during the majority of its $32-million renovation, the evening served to show people the upgrades its made since it was the Sutton Place Hotel.

All-new rooms, a new ballroom, restaurant, bar and outdoor bamboo garden greeted guests as feasts of shrimp, falafel, clams, mussels and oysters tempted every palate.

Folino, who is known for his philanthropic work in the community and his support of the Republican party, will remain active in his many organizations and even said he has thought about joining others.

NEWPORT BEACH

Bold, beautiful dock in Newport Harbor for 28th annual Lido Yacht Expo

The Lido Yacht Expo shoved off this weekend with a bay full of pricey yachts made for all different types of mariners.

The 28th annual on-the-water boat show is held to introduce boaters to what’s new on the market and tempt those thinking of making a purchase.

The show also serves as a community event, with everyone invited to cruise the temporary docks and check out the interiors of multimillion-dollar vessels.

Earthrace, a 74-foot trimaran from New Zealand, pulled into the harbor Thursday. The boat runs completely off biodiesel fuel. In March, the boat will embark on an around-the-world journey to try to break the world record, which is 75 days. The Kiwi crew hopes to make it in under 65.

City Council candidates faced off for the first time at a forum Thursday on the Balboa Peninsula, where they talked about whether to relocate City Hall, about drug rehabilitation homes and about permit parking near the beach. All but one of the 13 candidates for six seats showed up, and the one who was absent could afford it — Mayor Don Webb is uncontested in his reelection bid.

Most of the candidates said city hall should be moved to Newport Center, and several said they would support resident-only permit parking in the Peninsula Point area.

“This couple literally watched their dreams float away as they were drowning to death. This was a clear case.”

— Tony Rackauckas, Orange County district attorney, on the decision to seek the death penalty for two Long Beach men who prosecutors say hand-cuffed a retired Newport Beach couple to the anchor of their yacht and threw them overboard, killing them

“Number one, it’s just like other auto or car or home shows — we’re here to sell boats. Number two, shows like this are a great American tradition…. It’s a lifestyle and an outing. It’s not just going to the boat show; people make a whole day of it.”

— Don Franken, spokesman for the Lido Yacht Expo, on the 28th annual on-the-water boat show this weekend

“I want three more months. But it’s kind of nice because you get to be back with your friends.”

— Brendan Fisher, a sixth-grader at Eastbluff Elementary in Corona del Mar, on returning to school

“I would just like to see us help make their lives more comfortable while they’re there [in Iraq] and let them know we care about them.”

— Katrina Foley, Costa Mesa city councilwoman, on a proposed program to send letters and packages to service members, generate donations for needed supplies and generally support those in the military with Costa Mesa connections

“I like this place because it’s intact, and it’s defying the trend to turn everything into boutiques and bistros. It’s like a low-budget cross between Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and Pirates of the Caribbean.”

— Todd Ramsay, a 45-year-old Laguna Beach resident, on the Balboa Fun Zone and its soon-to-be-eliminated Scary Dark Ride

“What we’re really trying to do now is have a product worthy of the Fairmont name. This event is necessary to reintroduce the hotel — everybody knows that something’s been going on — and we’re ready to take the wraps off and show it off.”

— Gary Stougaard, chief investment officer and executive vice president for Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc., on the grand opening gala for the newly renovated Fairmont Newport Beach hotel