WEEK IN REVIEW

NEWPORT BEACH

Storm generates ideal setup for surfers in Newport Beach

Swells slammed the northern coast of Newport Beach this week with waves up to 10 feet in some spots.

The storm generating these waves came from the northwest, leaving south-facing beaches, like the Wedge, pretty flat.

Early-morning riders Wednesday and Thursday saw rough mushy waves in by the Newport Pier, but 28th Street definitely proved the best spot for some large sets.

A number of people simple showed up to watch the waves from the safety of the shores.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Dead body identified; foul play not presumed in death

Authorities identified the man found at the mouth of the Santa Ana River as Marvin Alexander Ceron, 30, of Garden Grove. Orange County medical examiners still do not believe his death was a result of foul play, however, a full autopsy is still pending.

A group of local surfers found the body Dec. 1 near the river jetties on a sandbar under the West Coast Highway bridge that connects Newport Beach and Huntington Beach. His body was found unclothed, and he had a number of tattoos, authorities said.

It is still not clear where the body came from, Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jim Amormino said.

 A Los Flores man suspected for several “peeping tom” complaints along the Balboa Peninsula was arrested, police said.

Rick Ryan Febbo, 34, of Los Flores was arrested Dec. 2 for allegedly exposing himself four times between Oct. 9 and Nov. 6 at homes along the peninsula, police said.

Febbo would allegedly peek in the windows of various peninsula homes and was caught masturbating a number of times, police said.

Febbo has been charged with indecent exposure and peeping and is being held in the Orange County Jail in Santa Ana on $50,000 bail. He is scheduled for an arraignment Monday at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach.

BUSINESS

Country faces recession due to housing market’s slump

The United States is headed toward a recession in the coming year — according to two separate forums held last week in Newport-Mesa on back-to-back days.

UCI’s Paul Merage School of Business on Tuesday presented its first conference on California’s real estate situation, with three panels of speakers fielding questions and offering insight on the market’s direction.

Most predictions were gloomy, with one speaker even comparing the economic downturn to the Titanic submerged halfway in the water after striking an iceberg.

Others, however, said they saw positive signs amid the bad news. The Orange County technology and tourism industries said they remained steady and that exporting helped regain some of the money lost to the sagging housing market.

“California is going through a real estate recession, if you will, but it will recover,” said Frank Foster, the chief executive of Fieldstone Homes. “It has in the past, and it will in the future.”

Wednesday, Chapman University President James Doti gave his annual economic forecast at the Orange County Performing Artscenter, predicting drops in construction and consumer spending and more homes flooding the market due to foreclosure.

 The original Ruby’s Diner on the Balboa Pier gave customers a special deal for its 25th anniversary Friday: The restaurant reverted to its original 1982 menu, with pre-inflation prices and recent menu additions deleted.

Some customers took advantage of the deal by enjoying repeated meals at Ruby’s throughout the day. Anne Hollingshead, a Newport Beach resident, had breakfast with her husband and said she planned to bring her children there for dinner.

“We would have taken them for breakfast if they didn’t have school,” she said.

EDUCATION

Students more fit than state average, but not nationwide

Newport-Mesa Unified School District students are in better shape than the California average, but below Orange County’s average, according to state test scores released Thursday.

More than one million students were assessed in six physical categories in the spring. About one-third of Newport-Mesa fifth-, seventh- and ninth-graders satisfied all six requirements, and about 90% met at least half.

District assessment director Peggy Anatol said, compared to state scores, district students fared well, but there is still room to grow.

COSTA MESA

Roads to receive up to four times typical repair amount

Costa Mesa residents will receive myriad road improvements from their city officials this holiday season, with more than $8 million in repaving and sidewalk projects scheduled to run through October of next year. Thirteen roads are slated for repair under the project — three to four times the typical size of the city’s annual repaving initiatives.

The work was made possible by an Arterial Highway Financing Program grant covering 28% to 32% of the project’s costs.

Construction will be staggered to mitigate the project’s effects on traffic, engineers said.

Roads leading to the beach will be finished before the summer, while South Coast Drive construction will begin after the holiday season.

POLITICS

Local lawmakers take raises, one to donate his to charity

Assemblymen Chuck DeVore and Tom Harman defended their acceptance of a roughly $3,000 boost in pay despite a projected $10-billion deficit next year.

DeVore said he works long hours, and Harman declined further comment because he said the issue was not newsworthy. Assemblyman Van Tran pledged to donate his raise to charity.

RELIGION

Jewish celebrations begin in honor of hope, compassion

Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, began at sunset Tuesday and continues until sunset Dec. 12 this year. The holiday, which commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, starts on the 25th day of the Hebrew month Kislev. A single candle is lit during each of the eight nights of the holiday, along with an extra candle called a Shamash, meaning guard or servant. All nine of the Hanukkah candles are lit on the eighth night of the holiday. Hanukkah traditions include eating foods fried in oil such as latkes and doughnuts. Hanukkah gelt, or small monetary gifts, are often given to children during the holiday.