Week in review

NEWPORT BEACH

In anticipation of one of the most watched television programs in the world, film producer Robert Kline comes to the Newport Beach Public Library Wednesday to present “The Oscars: A Look at the Academy Awards.”

As a former member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Kline will offer guests an insider’s perspective on the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony.

Working more than 40 years in the motion picture industry — 10 of them as executive vice president of 20th Century Fox — Kline produced dozens of shows and documentaries for television. In 1993, he produced “Heaven & Earth” with Academy Award-winning director Oliver Stone.

The public is invited to Wednesday’s event, which runs from 6 to 9 p.m. at the library’s central branch, 1000 Avocado Ave., Newport Beach. Tickets are $35, including a champagne and appetizer reception, and can be purchased by calling (949) 548-2411.

POLITICS

State Sen. Tom Harman is proposing that voters show ID when they go to the polls. The proposal is among a crop of new bills from the senator, who represents Newport-Mesa.

If the proposal becomes law, California would join 18 other states that require some form of identification to vote. Legislators here have tried similar bills before, but they were killed in committee, Harman said.

Three Costa Mesa and Newport Beach City Council candidates spent more than $100,000 trying to get elected in November, according to year-end campaign finance reports filed Wednesday. Newport Beach Councilman Michael Henn raised the most of any candidate in either city in 2006, with $115,593 in his coffers.

Henn, Newport Beach Councilwoman Leslie Daigle and Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor all spent more than $100,000 on their campaigns — a new record in both.

COSTA MESA

Maverick restaurant owner and city hall opponent Sid Soffer died Tuesday in Las Vegas after battling leukemia and diabetes. He was 74.

Soffer was widely known for his popular Newport Beach restaurants Sid’s Steakhouse and the Blue Beet, where he served beef stroganoff and hosted jazz music and entertainment that included a young Steve Martin.

Friends also knew him as someone who fought for the underdog, doing legal research on municipal laws and offering opinions to city councils in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. He fought Costa Mesa over some classic cars in his yard, and in 1995 he left Costa Mesa to live in Las Vegas when an arrest warrant was issued for him over some building code violations.

Soffer’s daughter, Shima, said she will take up his fight and may reopen Sid’s Steakhouse. She also planned to hold a local memorial service but has not yet set a date.

PUBLIC SAFETY

The second month of immigration screenings at the Costa Mesa Jail had more people charged with immigration violations than in the first month, Costa Mesa Police Department statistics showed.

Immigration officials said in January that 46 people received immigration holds from Dec. 4 to Dec. 31, while police records showed 57 received such holds from Jan. 1 to Jan. 28, about a 24% increase.

Of those charged with immigration violations, 26 were initially arrested for misdemeanors, 19 were arrested for felonies, and 11 had previous arrest warrants. Felony arrests ranged from drug possession to strong-arm robbery and auto theft.

One man was arrested by police after they attempted to cite him for jaywalking and he did not have identification, Costa Mesa police said. Police are allowed to hold someone for two hours if they fail to produce proof of identity while receiving a citation, Sgt. Bob Ciszek said.

Advocacy groups such as the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union are paying close attention to Costa Mesa’s immigration arrests, but officials said it was too early to draw conclusions.

BUSINESS

It could be a dream come true for every car guy or gal in Orange County — a place to relax, have fun and play poker or pool, all while gazing at some of the most beautiful cars made in the last 80 years.

The Crevier Classic Car Co., off Redhill Avenue in Costa Mesa, was created by Don Crevier, owner of Crevier BMW in Santa Ana.

The place already had about 45 of the cars many people can only dream of owning.

The exclusive club is first a storage facility and second a place for the car owners to hang out, mingle with like-minded car enthusiasts and have a good time.

The facility has room for about 75 cars, and they will all be the cream of the crop.