WEEK IN REVIEW

PUBLIC SAFETY

Costa Mesa investigators were looking into the possibility that alcohol and racing may have played a part in the Oct. 7 crash that killed a Huntington Beach woman.

Traffic investigators are waiting for blood tests from the Orange County coroner to determine if Sara Noel Harris, 21, had been drinking before the crash. Her boyfriend allegedly told police the two had been drinking that morning at Billy’s at the Beach in Newport Beach. Afterward, the two were driving up Adams Avenue in Costa Mesa, and the boyfriend allegedly told police they were engaged in “horse-play” with the cars before the accident, Traffic Investigator Jeff Horn said.

 Costa Mesa resident Gabriella Hahn did not know Sara Noel Harris who was killed in last weekend’s car crash, but she wanted to pay tribute to her by decorating Adams Avenue with pink ribbons. She decided to cancel that plan, though, when Costa Mesa police advised her that it could lead to trouble with opponents of the memorial.

 Newport Beach police reminded drivers with five or more unpaid parking tickets to pay up or a tow truck might grab their car.

The DMV can suspend your license if the fines haven’t been paid for more than a year.

 SPORTS

The Stanley Cup stopped in Costa Mesa Monday for a two-hour pit stop at the nonprofit community agency Share Our Selves before heading back to its permanent home at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. The storied trophy traveled the world with the champion Anaheim Ducks last summer, but made one of its last appearances in Southern California this year in Costa Mesa.

 EDUCATION

If the teens who attended a “Keep Your Teen Safe” program sponsored by Newport Beach police and school officials this week weren’t convinced before about the importance of driving safely, then it’s a pretty sure bet they changed their minds when they heard what happened to Gillian Sabet.

Sabet was killed in a car wreck on her way to the prom a few years ago in Newport Beach.

Gillian’s parents offered the cautionary tale to help spare others the pain they suffered.

Parents and teens also heard tips on how to avoid danger on the Internet and the perils of drug and alcohol abuse.

 Nine UC Irvine scientists had a hand in this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel committee this year honored the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and former Vice President Al Gore for their work alerting the world to the dangers of global warming. The educators contributed to the organization’s environmental reports over the years. Michael Prather, a UCI earth system science professor, researcher and a lead author for the panel’s reports since 1995, praised the Nobel committee for not singling out anyone besides Gore and said he did not want the glory.

“My joke is that all we want is a dollar check from Nobel to put on our walls,” Prather said.

BUSINESS

South Coast Plaza has enjoyed a considerable amount of fanfare in its 40th year of existence — a massive interior renovation, a monthlong exposition sponsored by the Italian government. — and On Thursday, it got another accolade, as Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor? presented the mall with a proclamation honoring it for four decades of service to the city.

At a ceremony by the mall’s Carousel Court, Mansoor gave the proclamation to South Coast Plaza co-founder Henry Segerstrom? and his family. The plaque, which spokeswoman Debra Gunn Downing? said would hang in Segerstrom’s office, describes South Coast Plaza as a “visionary retail center” that has helped to enhance Costa Mesa’s image as a shopping destination.

“Looking at South Coast Plaza, we started very small,” Segerstrom said in a brief speech. “It was our objective to make people happy and sell goods.”

The Westside Business Culture, a committee of business owners seeking to support local entrepreneurs, took on its first major project this week as the members pledged to support Save Our Youth’s fundraiser Saturday at the Detroit Bar.

The committee members sent out e-mails publicizing the event, which was planned to celebrate the educational nonprofit’s pending 15th anniversary, and donated items for the fundraiser’s silent auction. Trevor Murphy, the executive director of Save Our Youth, said he approached the Westside Business Culture because its mission was similar to his own.

NEWPORT BEACH

City Council members set the stage Tuesday for a showdown over where to build city hall, voting to place on the February ballot a measure to build next to the central library. The measure, backed by architect Bill Ficker, would require city hall to be built on a 12.8-acre parcel on Avocado Avenue, part of which has been promised as a park.

The battle between the measure’s supporters and its opponents, who want to see the park built, is expected to be fierce. While some say the parcel is the best option because it’s centrally located and city-owned, others argue it will be breaking a promise to the public. The city is negotiating with the Irvine Co. for a different site in the 500 block of Newport Center Drive.

 Activists urging tighter controls over group homes on Tuesday gave city officials a list of demands signed by their attorney. They claimed residents have suffered more than $250 million in damages due to inadequate regulations, and they asked for new rules to be adopted within 45 days.

Residents also took aim at Mayor Steve Rosansky, whom they questioned about whether he had a past conflict of interest in the group-home issue, and they reiterated accusations of conflict about former City Attorney Bob Burnham.

City officials have said they do not believe Burnham has a conflict, and Rosansky challenged residents to produce evidence of his alleged conflict.