WEEK IN REVIEW

NEWPORT BEACH

Task force to oversee appraisals for Ranch

City Council members voted Tuesday to form a committee to oversee the appraisal process for Banning Ranch.

The area, which includes coastal bluffs and wetlands, is the last large piece of undeveloped privately held coastal land in Orange County, environmentalists claim. The city must determine whether to buy the land and preserve it, or allow some developing.

Newport Banning Ranch LLC, the private management team that oversees the land, hopes to unveil plans for more than 1,300 housing units, an upscale 75-room hotel and 75,000 square feet of retail space as early as late spring. Tentative plans would still preserve about half of the area’s open space, ranch representatives said.

 The Harbor Commission voted Wednesday to create a new task force to examine speed and other safety issues relating to sailboat racing after concerned local boaters opined on recent Harbor Patrol crackdowns on races. County and city laws set a harbor speed limit of 5 knots per hour, but it is rarely enforced during races. Harbor Commission officials said the task force, which will include boaters and other stakeholders, would probably hold its first meeting in March.

COSTA MESA

Duke of Wales commends Orange County’s markets

The United Kingdom’s Prince Andrew addressed a luncheon of about 730 local executives Tuesday during an event hosted by the British American Business Council of Orange County at the Orange County Hilton.

The prince, acting in his capacity as the U.K.’s special representative for International Trade and Investment, spoke for about 30 minutes on U.S.-U.K. relations.

The Duke of Wales repeatedly stressed the mutual benefits he saw derived from a strong U.K./O.C. relationship, praising the “knowledge-driven, diverse and open markets” of Orange County.

“Yes of course, there are some differences we can talk about,” the prince said, joking about American iced tea and football. “But, I’d suggest we have far more in common than otherwise.”

Fairgrounds’ proposed tower unfavored among neighbors

Orange County Fairgrounds and Exposition Center may see an extensive remodeling this year, following approval by its board of directors.

Proposals include the installation of an air hangar that would celebrate the grounds’ history as a military base, backstage improvements in the Pacific Amphitheater and general infrastructure upgrades.

Of particular concern, however, is a proposed sightseeing tower that would allow fairground attendees the opportunity to see Costa Mesa from several hundred feet in the air.

“One of my concerns is that there is going to be this 300-foot sore thumb sticking up in the air, and the people inside it will be able to look into our windows,” College Park resident Nadine Crawley said. “Why is this tower in our backyard? We’re not Sea World.”

Senior Vice President Steve Beazley said the tower is not designed and that its construction would include input from neighbors and other stakeholders.

EDUCATION

UCI officials ignore racist speeches, report states

A task force composed of Jewish community members announced the results of its yearlong investigation into anti-Semitism at UCI this week.

After more than 80 hours of interviews with dozens of students, public and school officials and community members, the task force concluded that UCI and Jewish organizations are complacent to the alleged “hate speech” of some controversial Muslim speakers who visit.

The group stood by the Muslim Student Union’s right to free speech and criticized UCI administrators for not taking a moral stance against statements task force officials consider anti-Semitic.

The group also said a number of local Jewish organizations do a poor job of providing a supportive environment for Jewish students. The group urged Jewish college-bound students to enroll elsewhere until UCI took a firm, public stance against specific examples of “hate speech,” according to the task force’s report.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Fugitive artist found in Dallas, returned to county

Newport Beach artist Michael Schofield returned to Orange County Wednesday after police arrested him in Dallas on a $50,000 warrant. Thanks to a tip, Dallas police found him in an art studio where he was staying.

Schofield is suspected of conning a local real estate broker into giving him a $40,000-plus loan by using a Picasso sketch valued at about $200,000 as collateral, authorities said. The sketch was not Schofield’s, police said. Investigators say he stole the sketch back.

Schofield faces two felony charges of grand theft and one felony charge of passing a check with insufficient funds. If convicted, he could see up to four years and four months in prison, prosecutors said.

POLITICS

Huckabee not fazed by McCain’s momentum

Mike Huckabee will stay in the race for his beliefs and supporters, his advisor Ed Rollins told a UCI audience.

“He’ll get out when his supporters tell him to get out,” Rollins said. “Right now, it’s just McCain supporters telling him that.”

The lecture, sponsored by the school’s Center for the Study of Democracy, drew on Rollins’ political expertise. Rollins advised Ronald Reagan’s reelection campaign, which saw the president score a record number of delegates on his way to winning 49 states.

“He has issues he feels very strongly about. This is a lot more than just a selection,” he said. “This is about the future and growth of our party, and these big states...all have the right to hear a different point of view.”

 Rep. John Campbell won’t withdraw a measure that would cut nearly $2 million in earmarks to Berkeley, despite that city’s council amending of a resolution that referred to the city’s Marine Corps recruitment center as an “uninvited and unwelcome intruder.”

The original resolution encouraged people to avoid cooperation with the recruiting station, and it applauded those who “may volunteer to impede, passively or actively, by nonviolent means, the work of any military recruiting office located in...Berkeley.”

City Council members said Tuesday night that they support the troops, but sought to limit recruitment efforts on behalf of what they characterized as an “illegal” war.

Campbell had earlier acknowledged the possibility of the council altering its position, but declined to state whether he would withhold the bill.