Dubious distinctions

JANUARY

Costa Mesa Police learned a local company was moving more than

furniture when an office drug bust revealed more than 1,000 marijuana

plants at Starving College Students Moving Co. Police arrested Paul

Harrington, 42, on suspicion of cultivating marijuana for sale, and

they said he had stolen electricity to run an irrigation system for

his illegal garden.

Being an elected official is often a thankless job, but sometimes

it even gets you death threats. That’s what Rep. Dana Rohrabacher got

after a radio show discussed his efforts to pass a bill limiting

health care for illegal immigrants. His Huntington Beach office

received dozens of calls -- one labeling him a racist and another

mentioning Hitler -- after he pushed a bill that would have made

hospitals check the immigration status of patients and pass the

information on to federal authorities. The bill was voted down in

May.

FEBRUARY

Newport Beach residents like their dolphins in the water, not on

the bluffs overlooking the beach. An outcry from residents led Corona

del Mar centennial celebration planners to scrap the idea of a

commemorative dolphin statue at Inspiration Point. Residents

complained that the statue would obstruct their ocean view.

Chalk this one up to bio-weapons paranoia. Workers in a Santa Ana

Heights office building called Newport Beach Fire Department

officials saying someone received a greeting card in an envelope

containing a strange powder that turned out to be chalk. It may have

been an attempt to scare the card’s recipient, but U.S. Postal

Service and FBI officials even looked into the case, which was the

third suspicious-substance incident in Newport-Mesa in two weeks.

MARCH

Telling kids what to wear earned Newport-Mesa school officials a

big pink headache, thanks in part to the media. When Ensign

Intermediate School Principal Edward Wong pulled students from a

class photo because he thought their pink clothes signified gang-like

affiliation, he landed the school in the media spotlight. Radio and

television host Ryan Seacrest announced “Think Pink” week, and local

TV crews stopped by the school. As pre-teens often do, some at the

school grew tired of the issue and the controversial color before the

week was out.

You didn’t really want to vote, did you? Technophobes’ worst fears

were realized when glitches with Orange County’s new electronic

voting system caused voters in some precincts, including four in

Newport-Mesa, to get the wrong ballots on March 2. Election officials

blamed the problems on inadequate training for poll workers, but some

observers said the issue typifies how electronic voting machines are

susceptible to fraud or just plain old incompetence.

APRIL

When Newport Beach resident Rick Gorski saw a flash in the sky

behind his home last year, and then found a tantalizingly

alien-looking rock behind his home, he felt sure a rare meteorite had

paid him a visit. The more he read up on the subject and the more he

looked at the rock -- about the size of a human skull -- the more

convinced he became. Even experts from the University of Arizona,

UCLA, Griffith Observatory, Orange Coast College and Irvine Valley

College declaring the find an Earthling couldn’t convince him

otherwise.

Newport Beach city officials got a special delivery from a

Riverside County girl -- an envelope containing two shells and a note

asking for forgiveness. It seems little Katherine, who didn’t give

her last name, had visited Corona del Mar’s tide pools and picked up

a couple of souvenirs. When her teacher warned that she may have

unwittingly left a couple of hermit crabs homeless, she sent the

shells back with a note apologizing for her sticky fingers.

MAY

The Newport Beach City Council voted to ban the firing of airsoft

guns, which fire plastic pellets but look strikingly like real guns.

Before the ban, groups of children bearing replica machine guns and

handguns gathered in out-of-the-way, wooded areas to stage mock

battles with the guns. Some argued that boys need a place to run

around and play, but police and city officials worried the toys would

be mistaken for real guns and could end in a shooting by officers.

Pamela Rose came to visit Cameo Shores Beach early Mother’s Day

morn. Problem was, Pamela Rose is a 60-foot, steel-hulled bait boat

that wasn’t invited on the rocky shore. The boat ran aground after a

deckhand fell asleep at the wheel of the boat. Three crew members

abandoned ship and made it ashore safely. A fourth was found in a

tide pool, suffering from hypothermia and minor injuries.

Here’s a hint: If you’re a well-known cross-dresser who works in a

local store, don’t try to rob a nearby bank. Police arrested

53-year-old Brianna Catherine Cery, also known as Bryan Cery, for

allegedly robbing a Newport Beach Bank. Cery was wearing blue jeans,

a blue tank-top with spaghetti straps and a blond wig at the time of

his arrest. One of the bank customers recognized Cery as an employee

at a Costa Mesa grocery store and positively identified the suspect.

JUNE

Costa Mesa resident Anthony James Ellis, 53, was sentenced to 960

hours of community service for punching his pet macaw and slamming

him against his boat. Ellis claimed he was drunk at the time and

reacted to the bird biting him. He was also ordered to take anger

management classes, pay the Newport Beach Police Department $3,500

for his bird’s vet bills and not drink or own a pet for three years.

In a move that might have the Duke rolling in his grave, Orange

County Supervisor Chris Norby suggested renaming John Wayne Airport

after Fox’s successful prime-time soap “The OC.” The idea was greeted

by a unanimous “Ew!” by locals, and supervisors backed off the idea

quicker than it takes a fight to break out at a posh party from any

given episode of the show.

Remorseful bandits returned American flags and poles stolen from

the Balboa Island Bridge after leaving many in the community

“outraged,” according to one homeowner. Those who swiped the Stars

and Stripes brought them to the police the next day, saying they had

gotten drunk and stole the flags. The homeowners association that

reported the theft did not press charges.

JULY

An Orange County judge condemned 50 uniformed Costa Mesa Police

officers July 28 for their attendance in court to support a fellow

officer who’d been hit by a drunken driver. Prosecutors said Costa

Mesa officer Dennis Dickens suffered severe cuts, broken bones and

post-traumatic stress disorder after he was hit by a Mission Viejo

motorcyclist traveling at speeds in excess of 100 mph. Judge Geoffrey

Glass told the officers that their presence in court was having a

“negative impact” on the case. “Your being here isn’t making things

any easier,” he said, adding that he was concerned uniformed officers

were sitting in a courtroom instead of patrolling the streets. “But

hey, this is a free country.”

A Costa Mesa Police officer alleged she was assaulted by a

homeless man who was upset about receiving a bicycle citation.

Officer Jinna Johnson said the man, John Christopher Bauer, 37,

struck her with his fist and continued to hit her after he found out

he was receiving the citation. Bauer was later arrested, and Johnson

was treated for minor injuries.

AUGUST

The 4th District Court of Appeal overturned an Orange County

Superior Court judge’s ruling that prohibited Balboa Island resident

Anne Lemen from initiating contact with people she knows to be

Village Inn employees and from making alleged defamatory statements

about the bar to others. The appellate court ruling said Lemen, a

neighbor of the bar, called customers and employees “whores,”

“drunks,” “Satan” and “Satan’s spawn,” but Lemen contended she never

said any of those things. The court ruled that, according to the

legal conceptions of “prior restraint,” her remarks couldn’t be

restrained before they were made. Lemen had raised her concerns with

the Village Inn’s alleged noise and public disturbances for years,

filing several complaints with police and getting about 400

signatures on petitions against the bar, the appellate ruling stated.

SEPTEMBER

What would “W” do? Costa Mesa resident Steve Gooden theorized on

his website, www.thepassionofbush.com, that the presidential

candidate -- George W. Bush or John Kerry -- who people most

associate with Jesus Christ would end up winning the election. As of

Sept. 10, 75% of the people polled on the site felt Bush’s views were

closer to those of Jesus, said Gooden, a self-proclaimed conservative

Christian and Republican. Bush won the election, though his margin of

victory wasn’t quite as wide. Gooden said he started the site to show

people “the tremendous influence the Christian vote has on the

presidential elections.”

Talk about rubbing people the wrong way. Two Los Angeles County

women were arrested in September on suspicion of prostitution at a

local massage parlor. Costa Mesa Police officials said an undercover

officer was solicited for sex at New Oriental Mass. on Harbor

Boulevard and Fair Drive in Costa Mesa. Alhambra resident Yanling

Sun, 39, and Hacienda Heights resident Chunyan Li, 31, were arrested and subsequently released with a written notice to appear in court,

and the business was shut down, officials said. The business didn’t

have a license, which is required by the city.

OCTOBER

The Newport Beach Walk of Fame -- what could be controversial

about that? A lot, if the first inductee is known for a mix of sex,

drugs and all the other unsavory topics that lure viewers to

prime-time television. The Newport Beach Conference and Visitors

Bureau selected the cast of Fox Network’s “The OC” to be the

inaugural inductee into the city’s Walk of Fame at the Balboa

Pavilion, and Mayor Tod Ridgeway handed the actors the key to the

city at the ceremony. The bureau wanted to capitalize on the show’s

popularity to boost tourism, but a vocal segment of Newport Beach --

or should it be “N.B.”? -- thought the honor besmirched the city’s

good name. The Daily Pilot received several charged letters to the

editor about the show. One writer called the program “absolute

garbage,” while others wrote that if “The OC” had the key to the

city, it was time to change the lock. A Costa Mesa man jibed both the

show and his neighbors to the south, writing: “I guess Newport really

is as desperate for attention and as superficial as the show’s

characters and premise.”

Blame it on the rain for Balboa Peninsula’s unofficial mascot

being found wandering along Bayside Drive. A Newport Beach animal

control officer encountered Rupert the black swan in bad shape after

a rainstorm. The popular avian was taken to the All Creatures Care

Cottage in Costa Mesa for blood work, having survived yet another

trauma. Rupert, believed to be 16 years old, has been a frequent

guest at Huntington Beach’s Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center. The

feathered guy’s need for veterinary care is not that surprising.

Rupert has made his home in the not-so-clean waters of Newport

Harbor, and every rainfall makes his home even dirtier.

Three Los Angeles men reportedly tried to pull off a jewelry heist

in Corona del Mar, but all three were taken into custody after a

two-hour standoff during which one of the suspects hid in a gelato

store. The three men carried handguns into Corona del Mar’s Jewels by

Joseph and demanded jewelry from employees, police said. Employees

tripped a silent alarm, and when two of the men ran outside, the cops

were already there to slap on handcuffs. Things got more hairy when

the third suspect ran into Gelato Paradiso next door, and the sight

of an armed man reportedly sent that store’s employees running to

nearby Lingerie et Chocolate. Newport Beach SWAT officers surrounded

the gelato store and convinced the alleged thief to surrender. Police

stated the suspect probably hid in the ceiling and tried to sneak

back into the jewelry store while trying to make a getaway.

Have you ever called local police for help because you thought

your car had been illegally towed? Turns out that even if you’re

right, the cops aren’t allowed to help you. A Daily Pilot story

detailed that when property owners contract with private tow

companies, California law requires property owners to give motorists

a one-hour grace period and tell tow-truck drivers which cars they

want off their property. But the federal law that deregulated the

airline industry also applies to tow trucks, meaning the state is not

allowed to enforce its own law, unless safety is at stake. The Orange

County district attorney’s office stated it was investigating what

law enforcement called “predatory towing,” but in the meantime,

traffic cops are handcuffed on this issue.

NOVEMBER

The Anaheim Angels might be a few miles up from Newport-Mesa, but

the team’s owner, Arte Moreno, became a popular figure across Orange

County when he lowered beer prices and signed power-hitting

outfielder Vladimir Guerrero. But cheaper alcohol and home runs could

not assuage baseball fans’ and politicians’ disappointment when word

leaked that Moreno had contemplated what many locals considered a

grave insult. He wanted to rename the team the Los Angeles Angels.

Anaheim’s city council cried foul and asked for help. Newport Beach

joined counterparts up the freeway by passing a resolution opposing

the name change. Reps. Dana Rohrabacher and Christopher Cox also came

out in support of Anaheim. The Angels have recently added Steve

Finley and Orlando Cabrera to their roster, but the name issue has

yet to be resolved.

Officials said “no obvious problem” was found after 57 people

suffered a mysterious illness at a local hotel. The Orange County

Health Care Agency investigated the Hilton Costa Mesa Hotel food

preparation and serving facilities after conference guests fell ill

with nausea and diarrhea. Officials could not find the source of the

problem, and the kitchen remained open. Guests who were not a part of

the conference experienced no health problems.

DECEMBER

Dickensian may be the best term to describe a protest by members

of Orange County Musicians’ Assn., who were angered by the use of

synthesized music during a performance of “Oliver!” at the Orange

County Performing Arts Center. Union musicians argued the Sinfonia, a

high-tech music machine with computers and piano-style keyboards,

took jobs from local artists, though the machine’s defenders at the

performing arts center countered that without it, “Oliver!” would be

too expensive to show.

Christmas is supposed to be a time for giving, but tell that to

whoever stole the baby Jesus from the child-made creche that had

decorated Mesa Verde United Methodist Church. Sunday school students

crafted the life-sized plywood cutouts of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the

three wise men and sheep in a re-creation of the famous manger scene.

The church puts the display out annually, and the theft was the

second time in the past three years someone ripped off the church’s

baby Jesus. For some reason, a wooden sheep is also believed to have

been stolen.

Could a list of unusual happenings around Newport-Mesa not include

Dennis Rodman? “The Worm” made the news when he renamed Josh

Slocum’s, the Mariners Mile club that he owns. The nightspot now

bears the eponymous moniker of Rodman’s. But the former rebounding

leader first returned to the pages of the Daily Pilot when he signed

with the Orange County Crush, a new team in the American Basketball

Assn. Rodman inked the contract in November and was set to play his

first game with the Crush in December. He did, and it was his last

game as a member of the struggling franchise. Rodman played the first

two minutes and 18 seconds of a Crush win against Las Vegas, and then

asked for his walking papers. He soon signed with the Long Beach Jam,

and his agent said the Crush’s problems finding a home court

motivated Rodman to look for a new team. After Rodman’s departure,

the Crush postponed all home games for the season. The team had been

playing at the Bren Events Center at UC Irvine, but stopped after

ticket buyers purchasing tickets through Ticketmaster were allegedly

forced to pay a $50 service fee for $10 seats. The team was set to

play in Irvine until a permanent home could be built at the Orange

County Fairgrounds. The team is looking for a place to play, and team

officials have talked with Huntington Beach’s Golden West College and

Cypress College.