EDUCATION Hoping for a contract Last week...

EDUCATION

Hoping for a contract

Last week was a hectic one at St. John the Baptist School, as

parents formed a grass-roots campaign on Monday to push for the

retention of Sister Mary Vianney, the private Catholic school’s

principal for 31 years. Many parents suspected that the church had

not renewed Vianney’s contract because of her alleged opposition to a

proposal to ban same-sex couples from the campus this fall.

On Wednesday, however, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange

announced that Vianney would be returning as principal, and the

following day, church officials told parents that the couples ban --

which appeared in a May 6 memo distributed to teachers -- would not

be written into the school handbook.

* At the Newport-Mesa Unified School District’s board meeting on

Tuesday, a group of parents from TeWinkle Middle School complained

about the treatment of Latino students by the school’s

administrators. One parent, Mirna Burciaga, expressed plans to file a

statement with the federal Office for Civil Rights.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Tsunami warning surprises, spurs voluntary evacuations

Coastal residents got quite a shock Tuesday night when they heard

that a tsunami warning was issued following a large offshore quake

near Northern California.

The warning came at about 8 p.m. and was canceled about an hour

later -- but not before concerned residents flooded police phone

lines with more than 600 calls. Though police did not evacuate any

residents, some who live on the Balboa Peninsula decided to head for

higher ground, jamming traffic for miles.

Police recommend that people tune in to televisions and radios for

Emergency Alert System updates when a large-scale emergency arises.

The city of Newport Beach has its Emergency Management Plan posted on

the General Information section of its website at

https://www.city.newport-beach.ca.us.

* Just two days after a brief tsunami warning rattled nerves, a

4.9 earthquake rattled a lot of other things.

Thursday’s temblor was based about 75 miles away, near Yucaipa,

but was felt by many in Newport-Mesa. Neither city had any reports of

damage or injuries.

COSTA MESA

Councilwoman alleges open-meetings-law foul

Costa Mesa City Councilwoman Linda Dixon filed a complaint last

week alleging that three of her colleagues violated the Ralph M.

Brown Act by passing a note at a May 17 meeting.

Dixon filed the complaint with the city Thursday. The complaint

says that while the council was discussing how to spend $200,000 from

a development agreement with C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, Councilman Eric

Bever wrote a note addressed to Mayor Allan Mansoor and Councilman

Gary Monahan.

Dixon’s complaint claims the three councilmen used the note to try

to reach consensus about an issue on the agenda and that Mansoor,

when asked about the note, said it was private and threw it away.

The Brown Act, which became California law in 1953, requires

public bodies such as city councils and school boards to announce

meetings in advance, hold meetings publicly, and deliberate and vote

on most issues in a public forum.

* Mesa Consolidated Water District voted Tuesday to raise water

rates. On average, the new fees would likely cost Costa Mesa

residents an additional $1.92 per month, water district general

manager Diana Leach said.

The Irvine Ranch Water District and Newport Beach City Council are

likely to raise water rates for Newport Coast and Newport Beach

residents later this month.

POLITICS

State Sen. John Campbell is the early front runner

State Sen. Dick Ackerman on Monday dropped out of the tentative

race for Rep. Chris Cox’s seat. The race won’t be official until Cox

is confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new head of the Securities and

Exchange Commission. Ackerman was one of the first to declare his

intention to run for the Congressional seat, which hasn’t been open

since Cox won it in 1988.

Official candidates for the not-yet-open House seat are

Newport-Mesa Sen. John Campbell -- who has since picked up some

endorsements Ackerman initially secured -- and former Assemblywoman

Marilyn Brewer of Newport Beach. Other candidates are expected to

emerge once Cox is confirmed for the federal post.