Rearview Mirror: OC Week in Review

Sunday (07.05.15)

Police investigate block-party death

Homicide detectives were investigating the death of a 55-year-old man who may have died from injuries suffered during a fight at a Fourth of July block party in Orange County. Officers responding to the 2500 block of North Linwood Avenue in Santa Ana about 9:40 p.m. found paramedics performing CPR on a man who was “unresponsive in the street.” The man was transported to Western Medical Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. (Los Angeles Times)

Non-profit director moves on

After 11 years at the helm of the Costa Mesa nonprofit she helped co-found, Christine Brooks Nolf has called it quits. Nolf left her position as executive director at Mika Community Development Corp. The nonprofit, based on Monrovia Avenue, provides leadership development programs for youths and adults living in low-income Westside neighborhoods. (Daily Pilot)

Monday (07.06.15)

Under fire, D.A. creates advisory panel

Beset by allegations that informants were used to get potentially illegal confessions, Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas has created a committee of legal experts to review his office’s use of so-called jailhouse snitches. Rackauckas made the move amid mounting criticism related to the use of informants in the wake of the prosecution of Scott Dekraai, who killed eight people, including his ex-wife, in a 2011 Seal Beach mass shooting. (Los Angeles Times)

Developmental center employees sue

A group of employees has sued the Fairview Developmental Center in Costa Mesa, claiming the state-run facility enforces a discriminatory policy that bars workers from speaking Spanish at work. The six plaintiffs, who are food service and custodial workers, allege they risk being disciplined or fired if they speak their native language even during “meal periods and rest periods.” (Daily Pilot)

Missing tourists found in Little Saigon

Two Vietnamese girls who ran away from their tour group at Los Angeles International Airport on July 5 have been found in Westminster, officials said. Los Angeles police detectives investigating the case got a lead that Ly Camly Vuong, 12, and Linh Huyen Cao, 17, could be in Orange County, said Cmdr. Bill Collins of the Westminster Police Department. (Los Angeles Times)

Tuesday (07.07.15)

Councilman’s remarks anger gay leaders

Newport Beach City Councilman Scott Peotter angered gay rights leaders after circulating an email that criticized same-sex marriage and the LGBT movement’s use of rainbow imagery to advance its cause. The message sent to constituents took issue with the illumination of the White House in rainbow-colored hues after the June 26 Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay unions nationwide. Kevin O’Grady, executive director of the LGBT Center of Orange County, called the message homophobic, a criticism the councilman disputes. (Daily Pilot)

Passenger dies in Uber cab crash

An Irvine woman died after an intoxicated driver slammed into the Uber car that had picked her up at a Costa Mesa bar, police said. The 29-year-old woman had just left The Huddle bar at 741 Baker St. with a 29-year-old Huntington Beach man around 1:35 a.m., according to authorities. The pair got into the back seat of a Ford Escape they had hailed through the Uber ride-sharing service, and as the SUV crossed Baker Street, a BMW 540i smashed into its driver’s side, police said. (Daily Pilot)

Wednesday (07.08.15)

Taco Bell launches home delivery

Irvine-based Taco Bell is using delivery service DoorDash to make deliveries in more than 90 cities, with more than 200 restaurants participating in the Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco and Dallas areas, the company said in a release. (Los Angeles Times)

SWAT team finds man dead inside home

A shooting suspect was found dead inside a Buena Park home after an hours-long SWAT investigation, authorities said. SWAT and crisis negotiators from Buena Park and Anaheim attempted to negotiate with the man, but he did not respond through the early morning hours and did not go outside the house, near 10th Street and Kingman Avenue, police said. Police arrived to find a man “suffering from what appeared to be a gunshot wound,” said Buena Park Police Cpl. Bret Carter. The cause of the shooting was under investigation. (Los Angeles Times)

Katie Couric to speak at Anaheim conference

VidCon, the annual gathering for online video enthusiasts, just added a media heavyweight to its list of attendees: Katie Couric. The network anchor turned Yahoo Global News chief will be interviewing Ze Frank, online performance artist and president of Buzzfeed Motion Pictures. Couric will join other mainstream names at the three-day event in Anaheim. This year’s conference, which runs July 23-25, will expand into five floors of the Anaheim Convention Center. (Los Angeles Times)

Thursday (07.09.15)

Fullerton moves toward voting districts

Fullerton officials have settled a lawsuit alleging that the city’s at-large elections violate California’s Voting Rights Act, agreeing to create a district-based system that would then need voters’ approval. The suit, brought in March by Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles and the ACLU of Southern California on behalf of resident Jonathan Paik, argued that at-large voting prevented Fullerton’s minority populations from electing their preferred candidates. (Los Angeles Times)

H.B. school district picks new chief, deputy

The Ocean View School District in Huntington Beach has a new superintendent and deputy superintendent after a months-long search.

Board members approved Carol Hansen as top administrator, replacing Gustavo Balderas, who announced his departure in March. Hansen currently is the assistant superintendent for human resources in the ABC Unified School District in Cerritos. The district also chose Michael Conroy to be deputy superintendent, a new position. (Huntington Beach Independent)

Friday (07.10.150

Sea lion incident ruled accidental

The April dumping of chlorine in a pool at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, which left 17 sea lions with corneal ulcerations, has been deemed accidental by Laguna Beach police. Authorities announced that an employee unintentionally poured too much chlorine into the pool. Police, who at first had treated the incident as intentional, said the employee meant no harm when operating a filtration system that released an “excessive” amount of chlorine into one pool that left the sea lions with damage to their eyes. (Coastline Pilot)

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Irvine Spectrum marks two decades

The Irvine Spectrum shopping center prepared to celebrate its 20th anniversary Saturday with games and prizes. Since the Spectrum’s birth in 1995, the shopping location has matured from a center with a food court and movie theater into a venue with more than 130 entertainment, shopping and dining attractions. (Daily Pilot)