The top 10 stories of 2003

Unwelcome knocks

at the door

1Firm, successive knocks on the home of a Westside door the

morning of March 24 changed the lives of hundreds of people forever.

With the news that Costa Mesa resident Jose Garibay was killed

while serving in the war in Iraq, a mother lost a son and the Marines

a soldier. But in the aftermath of the grief, the Newport-Mesa

community gained a hero.

Garibay, 21, was killed March 23 near Nasiriyah, Iraq, after

encountering an ambush of enemy troops. He was the first Orange

County fatality reported in the war.

Members of the Newport-Mesa community came together to mourn the

loss, offering an outpouring of support to his immigrant mother, who

worked at a custodial services company. People from all over Orange

County drove to Simona Garibay’s modest home on the Westside of Costa

Mesa and left flowers, food, money and words of encouragement.

Hundreds of people attended his memorial at St. Joachim Catholic

Church and watched as a convoy of Costa Mesa police officers led

Garibay to his final resting place in Riverside.

A scholarship was named in his honor by the Hispanic Educational

Endowment Foundation, a Costa Mesa-based support group for Mothers of

Marines was founded, and Joe Garibay was posthumously given what he

wanted most in his life: United States citizenship.

Newport Beach sees

what’s out there

2Rumors had been simmering for months by the time the Newport

Beach officials finally announced they had their eyes on a larger

prize. Labeling them “sphere issues,” city officials created a list

of county functions in which they believed that the city could play a

greater role. And topping that list is John Wayne Airport.

The city’s idea is to create a “Sphere Issues Committee” that

would ask county leaders to sit down to discuss some things. Besides

the airport, those things include administering some county tidelands

in the city, taking over maintenance of the Coyote Canyon Landfill,

taking over the redevelopment agency for Santa Ana Heights and even

taking over Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol operations.

County supervisors said they’re always willing to talk, but

stopped short of saying they would support the city’s taking over the

airport.

Newport councilman makes noise

3Though a single comment about Mexicans on the grass at Corona del

Mar State Beach was the one that caused the biggest fury, Newport

Beach City Councilman Dick Nichols’ mouth had already gotten him into

trouble well before the most fateful phrase hit newsstands.

At a Planning Commission meeting in the June, Nichols addressed

the commission from the lectern, speaking not as a councilman but as

a member of the public. From there he said he disagreed with the

commissioners: “It looks like you’re taking money for this one,” he

told commissioners.

To some, this illustration amounted to Nichols accusing planning

commissioners of accepting a bribe. And even though Nichols said that

was not what he meant -- he did not believe any foul play had taken

place -- the city attorney and several council members said the

remark was inappropriate.

In the end, they agreed to drop the matter. But just two weeks

later, they found themselves in a fracas that made the bribery charge

seem mild.

Listing myriad reasons why he opposed changes planned at Corona

del Mar State Beach, Nichols said in an interview with the Pilot that

he opposed expanding grassy areas because “With grass, we usually get

Mexicans coming in there early in the morning, and they claim it as

theirs, and it becomes their personal, private grounds all day.”

Residents offended by the comment called Nichols a bigot and a

racist. Many sided with Nichols, saying that the Daily Pilot article

publishing his comments amounted to an attack on his right to free

speech. And others said that the presence of Latinos at the public

state beach was a problem.

All six of Nichols’ colleagues denounced his remarks, four of them

called for his resignation, and local businessman Lloyd Ikerd

launched a campaign to recall Nichols.

Nichols refused to step down, and Ikerd, saying that a recall

would further divide the community, announced he would drop the

recall campaign.

Kona Lanes falls

4The same year Costa Mesa celebrated its 50th anniversary, an icon

of 1950s architecture came tumbling down. The Kona Lanes bowling

alley was demolished in March -- a victim of lackluster appeal for

recreation in the Mesa Verde Shopping Center and an aging facility.

Kona Lanes was a classic example of Tiki-googie architecture,

which dotted the American landscape in the 1950s and early 1960s. It

opened in 1958, when bowling was a “swell” pastime.

It got a second lease on life in April when the City Council

rejected a Kohl’s department store to replace it. The community

rallied to save the funky bowling alley. But C.J. Segerstrom & Sons,

which had been generously keeping Kona Lane on life support by giving

owner Jack Mann rent concessions, decided it was time for Kona to go.

City rescinds redevelopment

5Westside industrial property owners rallied and emerged

victorious in the fight of their lives this year, dissuading the city

from adding their land to the downtown redevelopment zone. If the

400-plus-acre area had been added, all properties within it would

have been subject to eminent domain.

Realizing they had more power collectively than individually,

owners of a group of businesses formed the Westside Revitalization

Assn. Their goal was to work in concert with the city to eradicate

blight in the area without the black cloud of eminent domain hovering

over their heads.

And it paid off.

In October, the City Council scrapped its plans for adding the

large chunk to the redevelopment area, saying revitalization is

better achieved through other options.

The council agreed to revisit the idea of redevelopment for the

19th Street commercial corridor in January but overwhelmingly agreed

that problems on the Westside are better tackled through repaving

street, putting unsightly utilities underground, rebuilding

infrastructure and providing economic incentives to property owners

to invigorate their own territory.

A new chief in town

6Costa Mesa got a new police chief, John D. Hensley, who came to

the city after serving as chief of Cypress Police Department for five

years.

Dave Snowden, who had been at the helm of the department for 16

years, retired in June.

Hensley began his career 20 years ago with the Barstow Police

Department, where he spent about two years. He spent the next 13

years in Manhattan Beach, where he joined as an officer and worked in

different capacities before rising to captain.

The new chief has made several changes to the department, some

more visible than others. He got all detectives out of jeans and

casual T-shirts and into suits and ties to give them a more

“professional” and sharper image.

Community policing is his mantra. He is in the process of

redesigning officers’ beats and among his future plans for the

department is a spruced-up Web site. The department’s current Web

site, he says, is “woefully inadequate.” He says he hopes to nip

problems where they begin -- on small streets and in neighborhoods

and communities.

Measure A for effort

7Anyone who’s had extensive home repairs knows that things rarely

go as planned.

As work on seven Newport-Mesa Unified schools started this year,

funded by the $110-million bond Measure A, district officials faced

seven-times the headache.

In April, workers started construction on Woodland, Whittier,

Kaiser, Mariners, Newport Heights and Harbor View elementary schools

and Back Bay/Monte Vista High School. Those schools were deemed to

have the greatest need for upgrades and improvement.

Then the problems started.

Workers found extensive dry rot and termite damage at Harbor View

Elementary School in Corona del Mar over the summer. Electrical and

alarm systems weren’t functioning at many schools as the first day of

class approached.

District officials decided to put off the start of school at

Harbor View by one week because of the construction delays. Most of

the schools, including Harbor View, reported little difficulty when

they did open, though students and teachers had to deal with

inconveniences such as portable toilets, no water fountains and no

phone lines in classrooms.

As the school year progressed, so did the frustration of parents

with children at the affected schools.

Parents raised more concerns at Harbor View when workers started

removing asbestos during school hours. Though district officials said

they were following safety protocol during the removal, they ordered

workers to wait until after school to do the job.

Costs for the seven Group I schools was estimated at $21 million

earlier this year. So far, the project has cost $30,834,646.

City gets served, repeatedly

8Costa Mesa city officials spent a lot of time behind closed doors

this year responding to three lawsuits.

On Aug. 1, two months after the Redevelopment Agency approved a

rehearing for a downtown condominium project, the developer sued the

city and the citizens’ group that fought for the rehearing.

Rutter Development filed the lawsuit against the city and Costa

Mesa Citizens for Responsible Growth, mainly claiming the rehearing

was granted illegally without the required presentation of new

evidence.

The project calls for Rutter to build four four-story buildings in

the parking lot of the property that now hosts the Spanish

mission-style 1901 Newport building.

In early December, the agency voted unanimously to rehear the

high-density condominium project in January.

On Aug. 8, the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against

the city on behalf of organizers of the Orange County Dyke March,

calling demonstration requirements set up by the city “unreasonable”

and “unconstitutional” and criticizing the entire permit process.

Lori Hutson, one of the original organizers of the Dyke March,

said the group will not drop its lawsuit until it is satisfied with

the city’s new rules for issuing permits.

The city is working on a law that would change the way permits are

issued to make them “content-neutral,” meaning that they will no

longer be issued on the type of speech that could be involved with

the event.

And in September, former City Atty Jerry Scheer filed a lawsuit

against the city, four present and former council members and Senior

Deputy City Atty. Marianne Milligan, who was then known as Marianne

Reger.

The lawsuit, filed in Orange County Superior Court, contained 16

complaints, whittled down from 29 in an initial claim Scheer filed in

April. The complaints included violation of free speech and due

process, unlawful harassment based on age and disability and

violation of the Brown Act open meeting law.

On Oct. 29, city leaders announced they had reached a settlement

with Scheer that would pay him $750,000 and prompt his retirement.

But on Dec. 19, Scheer reopened his initial complaint and the

Orange County Superior Court issued a summons and served it on the

city. Dan Stormer, Scheer’s attorney, said Scheer was impatient with

the six defendants dragging their feet on the settlement agreement.

Bidding the councils farewell

9A Costa Mesa resident and former mayor realized her lifelong

dream in March when she was appointed a judge of the Orange County

Superior Court.

Former Gov. Gray Davis appointed Karen Robinson to the bench,

cutting her time on the City Council short and anointing her the

county’s first appointed black female judge. She was sworn in during

a formal ceremony on May 16.

A diverse group of 26 residents applied to replace her, from a

teenager to a senior citizen.

The remaining council members narrowed the hopefuls down to two:

Mike Scheafer and Eric Bever. But they could not break a deadlock

between the two candidates.

On May 12, Bever broke the deadlock himself by taking his name out

of the running.

Meanwhile, in Newport Beach, Councilman Gary Proctor had run on a

platform of fighting John Wayne Airport expansion at any cost. But

that was as far as Proctor’s dedication to local politics went. And

by the time that the John Wayne Airport settlement agreement had been

extended for another 20 years, limiting increases in flights and

expansion of the airport itself, Proctor had resigned himself to a

pretty passive position on the council. So it was no surprise when,

in September, Proctor announced that he would resign a year before

the end of his term. The council took applications from District 2

residents who wanted to complete his term, and after public

interviews, they selected businessman Steve Rosansky.

Rosansky, who had ran unsuccessfully against Proctor in 2000, said

he plans to run for a second term in 2004.

Lower Bayview Landing has landed

10It was the senior affordable housing project that almost wasn’t.

For years, city leaders had eyed the Lower Bayview Landing site on

Jamboree Road near Coast Highway as place to make up for the city’s

woeful lack of affordable housing. The city is about 250 units short

of meeting the state requirement for affordable housing and, until

late this year, was vulnerable to lawsuits because the state had not

approved the city’s housing element because of the shortage.

Lower Bayview Landing was by far the best hope on their horizon.

The senior housing complex was planned with 150 apartments for low-

and moderate income seniors and appeared to be on track to approval

until an environmentalist spotted problems. Three areas on the site

qualified as wetlands, Jan Vandersloot argued. California Coastal

Commission staff said they agreed and sent city planners back to the

drawing board.

Vandersloot and a group of other environmentalists said they would

support the project if the city agreed to some concessions, most of

them having to do with park space that was to be developed adjacent

to the housing complex.

Then-mayor Steve Bromberg cried foul and accused the

environmentalists of using the wetlands issue as a way to control

development of the park.

Despite this bitterness, the two sides managed to come to an

agreement. The city scaled down the project from 120 to 150 units,

changed the way the buildings were situated on the site, agreed to

build and maintain a wetland area on the site and to leave a portion

of the bluff above at its current height.