Week in review

EDUCATION

Radio personality donates 58-foot sailboat to OCCWhat do Walt Disney’s nephew, the former president of Yugoslavia and one of America’s most popular radio personalities have in common? As of last week, they’ve all donated boats to the Orange Coast College School of Sailing and Seamanship — with Laura Schlessinger, known to radio listeners as “Dr. Laura,” becoming the latest donor.

Schlessinger donated her cruising sailboat, which she named On the Air, to the sailing school on Feb. 23, and the school announced her gift on Wednesday. The author and talk show host said she had commissioned the boat in 2004 but had grown more interested in racing than cruising by the time it was finished.

Sailing school director Brad Avery, who rechristened the boat Bluefin, said it would be used for offshore sailing and other courses beginning this summer. He estimated the vessel’s worth at around $2.3 million.

“We’re very grateful to Dr. Laura for a magnificent gift for our program,” Avery said.

“On the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance,” which features historical chapters by Obstfeld and personal memories from Abdul-Jabbar, came out at the start of February from Simon and Schuster. A crowd of hundreds packed the theater and lined up at microphones to ask questions of the authors.

BUSINESS

Newport company sponsors Toshiba Classic ‘greening’A Newport Beach-based company is sponsoring the Toshiba Classic to help it be more eco-friendly — just one aspect of its mission to make the world greener.

FirmGreen Energy Inc. uses technology that converts hydrocarbons into renewable electricity and bio-fuels for power. The first project president Steven Wilburn is undertaking is at an Ohio landfill, where the company will convert gases and solid waste into renewable resources.

For the Toshiba Classic golf tournament, FirmGreen will donate green credits to the Newport Beach event in order to offset the negative environmental effects of cars, planes, trash and power used in conjunction with the tournament.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Man arrested after jump from Coast Highway bridgeA Nevada man who apparently tried to evade police by jumping off the Coast Highway bridge Wednesday night, was released from Newport Beach Jail on Thursday morning, Police Sgt. Evan Sailor said.

Robert Cummings, 19, was walking down the highway wearing a black backpack when police stopped to contact him, Sgt. Thomas Fischbacher said at the scene late Wednesday.

Cummings looked at police, said nothing and jumped, Fischbacher said. The backpack sunk by the time Harbor Patrol deputies were able to pull Cummings out of the water and take him to a dock.

Cummings was not hurt.

Officials did not recover the bag, Sailor said Friday.

The house, which had clutter stacked from floor to ceiling in some places, was fully engulfed when fire officials arrived shortly before 10:30 a.m. Saturday, officials said.

It took 47 firefighters from four cities two hours to get the fire under control, Jones said.

Jones estimated the fire caused about $850,000 in damage. No one was injured.

Neighbors were thankful that the Fire Department was able to put out the fire before it severely damaged their homes, although next door neighbor Joe Coons’ said some of his patio and the side of his house was damaged by the fire.

ENVIRONMENT

UCI opens fueling station for hydrogen-powered carsFor $5 a kilogram, drivers of hydrogen-fueled cars can fill up at UC Irvine as of Tuesday, when the campus celebrated the grand opening of the first hydrogen fueling station in the state capable of dispensing the fuel at twice the standard pressure.

A collaboration of UC Irvine’s National Fuel Cell Research Center and Air Products, the station — at the corner of Jamboree Road and Campus Drive — is an important move toward a hydrogen economy, though the nationwide infrastructure does not yet exist to support the modern technology, organizers said.

Though not yet available to consumers, hydrogen vehicles, which produce zero to very low emissions of water vapor, are expected to hit the market on a modest scale in the next few years.

WEEK OUT

NEWPORT BEACH

Crystal Cove renovations estimated at $19.2 millionNew estimates show it will cost $19.2 million and take up to five years to finish refurbishing the historic district at Crystal Cove State Park. The second and third phases of the project will include 17 overnight cottages, an educational commons and park service maintenance facilities.

The first phase of the project renovated 13 historic cottages and created a restaurant and other visitor-serving facilities. That cost $14.3 million and was opened to the public in June. Since then, 14,200 overnight stays have been booked at the park.

Finishing the work will cost nearly 60% more than estimated in 2005. Officials attributed the increase to the difficulty in estimating historic renovation costs and steadily climbing construction costs.

The Argus left for Wilmington, Calif., where it will be restored.