BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS

11 UCI students win top scholarships

Eleven undergraduates and one junior researcher have won prestigious academic scholarships over the last year, with some planning to study at home and others venturing abroad.

Three students won the U.S. Fulbright Fellowship, which sponsors graduate study overseas. Marika Csapo and Hugo Salazar both plan to study in South America ? Csapo in Uruguay, Salazar in Colombia ? while Vanessa Zuabi aims to research world politics in France.

Mukul Kumar won the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, which prepares students for careers in leadership. He is one of only two California students to win the honor this year, and centers his studies around affordable housing for the poor.

Vilma Palma received the Merage American Dream Fellowship, established two years ago in honor of businessman and philanthropist Paul Merage. The first in her family to attend college, she plans to attend law school.

Youssef Farhat and Jenny Ouyang both won the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, which encourages students to pursue careers in science, engineering and mathematics. Student Arthur Uy Asuncion Jr. and researcher Kelsey McDuffee both received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

The Donald A. Strauss Public Service Scholarship, which funds projects for students in their senior year, went to Kenneth Loo.

Airport restaurant closed for refurbishing

Travelers who dine at John Wayne Airport lost the airport’s only full-service restaurant Thursday as the Orange Restaurant Bar and Grill closed to make way for a new, more upscale eatery. The existing restaurant has been at the airport since about 1990, airport spokeswoman Jenny Wedge said.

The new restaurant ? the Oasis Grill and Sky Lounge ? will be completely renovated and should be open by the end of summer, Wedge said. Restaurateur David Wilhelm and HMSHost are designing the restaurant, which Wedge said will have a full bar and a retro theme with fun touches like model airplanes as light fixtures.

While the restaurant is under construction, travelers can eat at Creative Croissants right next door or grab a sandwich at the recently opened Brioche Dorée in the food court, and drinks are available at the two bars and three Starbucks in the airport.

Due today: Cultural Arts grants applications

Applications for the Newport Beach Cultural Arts Grants are due today.

Grants are awarded to local non-profit organizations whose projects are shown to enhance community education and culture through the arts.

Each year the city gives the Newport Beach Arts Commission $40,000 to fund local non-profit art groups, although they are not available to individual artists, said Kirwan Rockefeller, chairman of the arts commission.

Grants are allotted in amounts ranging from $500 to $7,500 to local non-profit art organizations, Rockefeller said. The commission does not award grants to individual artists.

In the past grants have been given to the Newport Beach Film Festival, South Coast Repertory, Orange County Museum of Art and the Laguna Playhouse.

Applications are available at the Cultural Arts Office at 1000 Avocado Ave. in Newport Beach. All applications must be turned in to cultural arts coordinator Jana Barbier by 4 p.m. Friday.