WEEK IN REVIEW

PUBLIC SAFETY

Seven suspects were arrested after they approached a rival gang member and got into a fight, police said. The rival, a 17-year-old who was later arrested at his Newport Beach home, pulled out a handgun and fired several shots at the group approaching him, police said.

Also honored were retired helicopter pilot John Susman, Costa Mesa Officer Frank Christian, Park Ranger Matt Pallo and Gang Officers Scott Stafford and Robert Hanson.

Man sentenced for incident that caused brain damageCosta Mesa resident Morteza Bakhtiari, 27, was sentenced to 15 years in prison Monday for a road rage incident that left a father of three with permanent brain damage.

In April, he was convicted of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, felony hit and run with injury, hit and run with property damage and falsely reporting a crime. After hearing emotional pleas from both sides, Superior Court Judge Francisco Briseno sentenced Bakhtiari to the maximum time for his crimes.

The victim spent months in a coma from his head injuries and has sustained brain damage.

EDUCATIONLocal students graduate, celebrate commencementThe Newport-Mesa Unified School District capped its 2006-07 school year on Thursday when all five of its comprehensive high schools — Corona del Mar, Costa Mesa, Estancia, Newport Harbor and the Back Bay-Monte Vista alternative site — held their commencements.

On the first day of summer, without a cloud in the sky, students gathered at Orange Coast College, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church and the Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar campuses to turn their tassels around. The ceremonies marked the end of a year in which the district started construction on the Measure F school bond, opened its first new school in five years — Early College High School — and scored an all-time high on the state Academic Performance Index.

Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard, who took office in July, got to enjoy his first full day of high school graduations. Earlier in the month, he had observed commencement at Orange Coast Middle College High School.

“It’s a strong reminder of why we do what we do in these schools,” he said at OCC’s LeBard Stadium during Estancia’s graduation. “It’s the culmination of our work. So it’s a very exciting time.”

Newport Harbor student speaker Andrew Clark rattled off names of some of the 20th century’s movers and shakers — from Henry Ford to John F. Kennedy to F. Scott Fitzgerald — and urged his classmates to follow in their footsteps.

“We’re done, graduates,” he said. “The 21st century is calling us.”

KOCE-TV Foundation gets ownership of stationThe battle over KOCE-TV finally ended last week — and it was somewhat of a twist. The Daystar Television Network, a Texas-based Christian broadcaster, reached a settlement that would leave the fought-over station in the hands of its current owner, the KOCE-TV Foundation.

The Coast Community College District sold the station to the foundation in 2004, only to be hit with a lawsuit from Daystar, which claimed that its higher cash bid made it the rightful owner of the license. A court decision voided the sale last year, but the question of KOCE’s ownership wasn’t resolved until last week.

Attorneys for the network, the district and the foundation wouldn’t disclose the terms of the settlement, but all sides expressed relief that the case was closed.

“I knew, ultimately, there would be some resolution, but everybody seemed to be on a horse riding in a different direction,” said district trustee Jerry Patterson. “As it turns out, it’s not number-one perfect for probably anyone, but it’s close to that for the district.”

UC Irvine building named for Donald BrenDonald Bren, the chairman of the Irvine Co. and a longtime benefactor of UC Irvine, got another namesake on campus Wednesday, as administrators officially dedicated Donald Bren Hall next door to the University Club.

The six-story building, which broke ground in 2004, will house the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences. On Thursday, Bren, Chancellor Michael Drake and others gathered for a ribbon-cutting and opened the building for public tours.

“As most of you know, at my core, I’m a community builder,” Bren said. “It’s been my lifelong passion.”

COSTA MESACity to send immigration advice to presidentThe City Council decided on Tuesday to send a letter urging President Bush to enforce federal immigration laws and stop backing a Senate bill that offers some illegal immigrants an opportunity for citizenship.

Councilman Eric Bever drafted the letter, and the council voted 3-2 to send it, with councilwomen Linda Dixon and Katrina Foley dissenting. Bever said the president is shirking his duty to secure the border and enforce the law.

Several speakers at the meeting objected to the letter, telling the council instead to focus on local issues.

POLITICSRohrabacher pledges to support border patrol agentsHuntington Beach Rep. Dana Rohrabacher got back into the immigration debate last weekend, participating in a June 16 rally at Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway. He spoke to activists to pledge his continued support for two jailed border patrol agents, whom he has pressed President Bush to pardon.

Rohrabacher said later he won’t support a presidential candidate who won’t commit to pardoning the agents, and that the person most likely to earn his support is Fred Thompson, who has yet to officially declare his candidacy.

NEWPORT BEACHGroup homes still under scrutiny from council, publicIn trying to create new regulations for group homes, city officials will have to navigate between the conservative advice offered by special legal counsel and the tougher demands of an attorney hired by residents.

City staff recommended rules that require most new group homes to get permits, while residents wanted a rule that the homes be spaced at least 1,000 feet from each other and from parks and schools.

The city’s legal opinion said distance requirements have been struck down by courts as discriminatory, but residents argued that other cities have such requirements.

The planning commission, which gave the proposed rules a first hearing Thursday, agreed with residents and asked that the tougher standards be brought back for a July 19 hearing.

Pilot honored for gang apprehensionSgt. Jeff Van Es, a pilot with the Airborne Law Enforcement Unit based out of John Wayne Airport, and other police officers and a park ranger were honored Tuesday night at the Costa Mesa City Council meeting for their parts in the apprehension of eight reputed gang members in April.