BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS

No student walkout at Newport-Mesa schools

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District braced itself for a possible student walkout Friday, as rumors spread around California that students might leave campus to protest immigration issues the day before César Chávez’s birthday.

In the end, though, it was all quiet on the Westside front.

According to administrative services coordinator Laura Boss, not one Newport-Mesa student walked out on Friday. The district sent an administrator to each secondary campus in the morning in case problems arose, but it ended up being unnecessary.

“We were prepared if it did occur, and we’re just grateful the students were in class and continuing with their education,” Boss said.

State Supt. Jack O’Connell had sent an e-mail to county and district superintendents asking them to urge students to remain in class on Friday. He recommended that schools hold class discussions on Chávez if they felt that students wanted to walk out in his honor.

Newport-Mesa last experienced a major walkout in March 2006, when around 100 students walked out to protest a federal bill that sought to tighten laws against illegal immigration.

E-waste recycling event in Costa Mesa

The Earth Resource Foundation will host a free electronics-waste recycling event from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today in a parking lot at Santa Ana Avenue and 17th Street.

People who want to discard their “e-waste” should come to the event, in the Ross and Daily Pilot satellite office parking lot, with their electrical or electronic equipment that has a cord or circuit board.

According to the Earth Resource Foundation, electronic trash is one of the fastest-growing parts of the country’s waste and only 10% to 15% is being properly thrown away.

Items that will be accepted include computers, computer chips, hubs and routers, mice, keyboards, televisions, computer monitors, video cards, power supplies, mobile and landline phones, printers, fax machines, copiers, scanners, VCRs, CD or DVD players, radios and toner cartridges.

For more information about what will and will not be accepted, contact the Earth Resources Foundation at (949) 645-5163, visit www.earthresource.org or e-mail info@earthresource.org .

Ellis appointed to O.C. Fair boardNewport Beach political consultant David Ellis has been appointed to the board of directors of the Orange County Fair, Gov. Schwarzenegger’s office announced Friday.

Ellis, 48, has been president of Delta Partners, a government affairs firm, since 1986. He helped elect several of Newport Beach’s sitting council members, including Leslie Daigle and Keith Curry. The fair board position does not require Senate confirmation and carries no salary.