The road ahead for Newport-Mesa

There must be some significance attached to the fact that my most important memory of 2005 is the death of Johnny Carson.

It is ironic, after all, that a guy who hasn’t watched television in 10 years places so much importance on a guy who whose claim to fame was becoming a television icon.

I had the pleasure of seeing Johnny Carson do his stand-up act at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas in August, 1976. My friend Mark Berman had turned 21, and his parents told him they would take him to Las Vegas and that he could bring a friend.

Johnny’s hour-long show was hilarious. What I remember most, however, is that he used only one foul word, and that one would be considered mild.

But that was then and this is New Year’s Eve 2005.

There are many options for activities tonight. The most important of those is the debut of the Orange County New Year’s Eve event at the Orange County Fairgrounds. The fun there starts at 6 p.m. and lasts until 1:30 a.m. There will be several bands playing, food will be available and a good time will probably be had by all.

At midnight, a 250-pound, 6-foot orange will descend 80 feet while fireworks fly in the background.

The dropping of the ball in Costa Mesa is a fit metaphor for what has happened in and to the city this year.

Inheriting a legacy of tolerance and level-headed leadership, the City Council has been drawn to the glare of the media spotlight, where people will often do or say anything to remain.

That spotlight makes you feel important when you are in fact only popular. And you are only popular until or unless you have something newsworthy to say. In the media business, newsworthy often means outrageous.

It’s too bad that the top story in a Newport-Mesa year in review would probably be the City Council’s decision to involve the police in the deportation of illegal immigrants. How much better it would have been to have the city make the news for a major charitable endeavor.

Although I often disagreed with former City Councilwoman Libby Cowan, she had my respect and the respect of countless other locals who appreciated her warm, thoughtful approach to issues.

Those annoying year-in-review stories are everywhere. As I’ve written, those stories are easy. The hard part is predicting the future, telling people what is in store for the next year.