WEEK IN REVIEW

Granted -- Jim Fournier’s private weather station on Balboa Peninsula

won’t do anything to stop the rainy days ahead.

But all those beach fans out there will now have a chance to get

information on the skies every hour, on the hour.

Fournier, who used to publish a weekly newsletter and wrote a book

about Balboa’s long gone wild days, fulfilled a childhood dream by

recently installing the meteorological instruments on his roof.

Come summer, his online weather readings might even help keep away

some beach goers and ease traffic down Balboa Blvd. But then again, that

might be wishful thinking. A rainy summer day in Newport Beach just seems

a contradiction in terms.

To check out Fournier’s weather info, go to

https://www.talesofbalboa.com.

Bye bye, resort. Hello who-knows?

For another week, it was all about Crystal Cove.

After a trip to his Fiji resort took him out of the range of press

inquiries, San Francisco developer Michael Freed finally sounded off

about the state’s announcement to pay him $2 million to kill his luxury

resort plan.

During a Wednesday interview, Freed said he would accept the buyout,

ending his more than three-year effort to build a $35 million resort at

Crystal Cove State Park.

At a Jan. 18 public meeting in Corona del Mar, Freed found himself at

the heart of a maelstrom of public opposition to his resort.

Complaining that his resort plan was misunderstood, Freed said he

wants “a project the community can get behind.”

A quiet holiday week for schools

It was a slow week in education thanks to the debut of the Presidents

Day holiday week in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. Students

were off, the schools were dark, even the district office was a ghost

town.

But the American Bar Assn. still managed to ruffle some educational

feathers with its decision to pass a resolution Monday opposing

zero-tolerance policies at schools. The group claims that policies that

call for the immediate expulsion or transfer of students caught with

drugs, alcohol and weapons violates students rights and do not allow them

due process.

Some school board members scoffed at their accusations, saying that

the policy works, so the policy stays.

It’s a discussion that is far from over. A student political action

committee that spoke to the board about their concerns on the policy last

year will seek another audience in the upcoming month.

Pluck down money for your very own seat

The Costa Mesa City Council gave its final approval to its parks and

planning commissioner appointments Monday and also postponed making a

decision on a proposed overhaul of the city’s residential development

codes so it can notify more residents.

The new standards would affect the design and construction of

two-story homes and second-story additions in all residential zones

citywide.

City staff will send mailers to every residential property in the

city, run several newspaper advertisements and hold a public forum on the

issue.

On Thursday, the city found out it would be saying “Hello” to a new

reserved seating program at this year’s Orange County Fair.

The fair board decided to offer 1,600 reserved seats at its open-air

Arlington Theater for $10 each. The other 7,700 seats will still be free.

A violent Friday morning

A slow week for Newport-Mesa finest ended dramatically Friday morning

as Costa Mesa police arrested an 18-year-old man on suspicion of sexually

assaulting a young woman at Canyon Park.

Armando Lopez Gomez of Buena Park was found hiding in a backyard as

Costa Mesa police, aided by the Huntington Beach Police Department and

Irvine Police Department bloodhounds, searched the area.

Police said Gomez allegedly was seen running from the park by

neighbors after an 18-year-old woman was found beaten and screaming for

help at 4 a.m.

The victim was taken to Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, where she was

treated for a broken nose, jaw and cheekbone and then released, police

said.

Gomez was being held in custody on $50,000 bail. He faces arraignment

Monday at Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach. -- Deepa Bharath covers

cops and courts. She may be reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at

[email protected].