“The car was burning down pretty soon...

“The car was burning down pretty soon and we had to make an

assessment within a matter of seconds. We decided to pull the man out

of the car instead of trying to put out the fire.”

-- Jim Ellis, Costa Mesa Fire chief, about he and his son Kevin

pulling a man from fiery car accident.

“It’s been a very difficult issue. I didn’t talk to anyone. I made

the decision on my own.... In this case, I can’t get over the fact

that I don’t own this property, the board doesn’t own this property

-- it’s government land.”

-- Luis Pulido, Orange County Fair Board director, on the board’s

decision to seek bids on the lease for the fairgrounds’ swap meet.

“Debris is already coming down the Santa Ana River; we can see it.

It will be deposited on the beach.”

-- Mike Pisani, acting director of General Services Department, on

the week’s heavy rains.

“With all the work Mel Gibson put into this movie and all the

ridicule, I wanted to support the director for making an attempt to

show something so taboo, so restricted. What better day to come see

it than Ash Wednesday?”

-- Tania Andriene, a Newport Beach resident who was among those

who saw the controversial movie “The Passion of the Christ” on its

opening day.

“The decision was based on the belief that the most responsible

bidder was the one that would retain the license for public

broadcasting and educational purposes for the citizens of Orange

County and preserve the district’s ability to use KOCE to educate its

students. We have at all times sought to comply with the law and

preserve KOCE as an asset for the community at large.”

-- George Brown, Coast Community College District Board of

Trustees president, on the decision to stick with a bid for the TV

station from a local foundation.