WEEK IN REVIEW

NEWPORT BEACH

Finding the beauty in everyday momentsFollowing Tuesday’s artist reception, a collection of photographs from Newport Beach resident Lauri Mendenhall’s “Oddly Ordinary” series will remain on display at the Newport Beach Central Library through the end of April.

Each of Mendenhall’s large, brightly-colored photographs aims to capture the eccentricities within everyday moments, details people often miss in their hectic lives.

“I love it when I’ll just be going along and see something and think, ‘Oh my God, that’s just incredible,’ ” she said. “It happens randomly and I think that’s half the fun of it.”

The City Council voted Tuesday to halt plans for Newport Center Park and send them back to the parks and recreation commission for a 60-day review.

The decision came after the council learned parks commissioner Debra Allen, who helped plan the park, could have a conflict of interest.

City officials said their maps show Allen lives within 500 feet of the park property, which could be a conflict under state law.

The council rescinded its Feb. 27 decision to begin building the Avocado Avenue park to avoid any appearance of a conflict.

Council members stressed that the decision does not reopen consideration of the park site as a city hall location.

Allen defended herself, saying an appraisal showed she has no conflict, and she criticized the council for sending information about the potential conflict to the media before hearing her side of the story.

Two Newport Beach waterways should be added to a list of those that are polluted and need to be cleaned up, according to a study by water quality advocacy group Orange County Coastkeeper.

The group recommended in February that water authorities put Morning Canyon and the Delhi Channel on the list of polluted waterways, a Coastkeeper spokesman said last week.

When a waterway is on the list, it gives local officials notice that they must address the pollution. The State Water Resources Control Board will make the final decision this fall on which waterways will be added to the polluted list.

COSTA MESA

Talks don’t bring much progress for future planningThe council and parks commission held a joint study session Tuesday to talk about future planning for parks and sports fields, but few ideas were generated. Staff members had suggested reviewing the master parks plan to make sure potential new developments are accounted for, but some council members said that won’t be necessary.

Parks commissioner Mark Harris proposed redesigning the model train route at the east end of Fairview Park to make room for sports fields, but it’s not clear if council members would support that.

BUSINESS

Three honored at Hall of Fame AwardsThe Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce and the South Coast Metro Alliance on Friday awarded three community business leaders — Sandy Segerstrom Daniels, Jim Carnett and Tom Schriber’s company Donahue Scriber — at its annual Hall of Fame Awards.

Jim Carnett was “overwhelmed” with the Lifetime Achievement Award presented to him Friday afternoon, honoring his 36-year career at Orange Coast College.

Sandy Segerstrom Daniels was honored with the organizations’ Community Spirit Award for her philanthropic work helping children in the county and the nation, as she announced her Festival of Children would be going national this year.

Tom Schriber accepted the award on behalf of the Donahue Schriber, the company he founded with Dan Donahue. The company was recognized for its 100% participation in its “give back” program, which benefits local charities, including the Orangewood Children’s Foundation.

A new business organization has formed in Costa Mesa, set to put Westside Costa Mesa on the map.

The Westside Business Culture was the brainchild of Steve Jones and Pete Zehnder, who developed a 12-unit condominium project on the city’s Westside.

The group hopes to bring together like-minded, creative thinking businessmen and women while encouraging people to live, work and play in the area through its promotions, including a planned map pointing out “hip” businesses in the area.

And the founding members definitely know what is cool.

They represent surf companies, a magazine, residents and business owners, including Joe McElroy of Hurley, Shima Soffer, longtime Westside resident, business owner and daughter of maverick restaurateur Sid Soffer and Lemonade Magazine editor-in-chief Luann Petix.

The group plans to have an inaugural event this month, but hasn’t nailed down a date.

For more information visit www.bettershelter.com.

EDUCATION

Teachers voice concerns about their salariesHundreds of teachers in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District picketed outside Tuesday’s school board meeting at the district headquarters, waving signs calling for higher salaries and getting generous honks from motorists.

The teachers union has been negotiating with the district for several months now, with a report in January showing that Newport-Mesa pays the lowest teacher salaries of any unified district in Orange County.

A number of teachers claimed that the district had offered them an additional 1% increase for this year, after the 2% raise they received already. Assistant Supt. of Human Resources Elizabeth Novack declined to say whether the numbers were accurate.

“To be sure, a 1% salary increase won’t cover the 2% increase in my property taxes,” Wilson Elementary School teacher Cara Boyd told the board.

Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard said afterward that he hoped the district and union would reach an agreement soon.