Week in Review

EDUCATION

UC Irvine holds vigil for Virginia Tech victims

UC Irvine held a candlelight vigil Monday evening for victims of the Virginia Tech shooting, as administrators and students gathered on the steps by the flagpole while Irvine Mayor Beth Krom and others made remarks.

More than 200 people attended the event, which lasted slightly under an hour. A number of those present wore maroon and orange clothing in honor of Virginia Tech’s colors, and a series of banners posted near the steps invited passersby to write memorial messages.

Administrators in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District released a report Tuesday suggesting that the district should cut a number of programs and apply for state funding to pay for others. By doing so, they said, the district could save money to pay for salaries or other expenses.

The report, presented to the school board at a study session Tuesday, reviewed 36 programs and gave most of them high marks but advocated cutting or changing a few. Administrators said the district could replace the Alternative Chance at Education program, which assists struggling students, with individual programs at school sites. The report also recommended cutting the annual $40,000 to pay for a consultant in the Family Friendly Schools program.

Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard said the district likely wouldn’t make every change suggested in the report, but noted that Newport-Mesa is looking to pare down its services in the coming years. Some administrators, he said, will retire soon, and the district did not plan to fill their positions.

“School districts are very bureaucratic, and one of the goals of this program is to reduce the amount of bureaucracy in Newport-Mesa,” Hubbard said.

NEWPORT BEACH

Rector admits to improper conduct in resignation

St. James Anglican Church announced the resignation of Rev. Praveen Bunyan on Monday, following the head rector’s confession to inappropriate conduct toward a female parishioner.

“I am grieved beyond words for the pain the church family is enduring,” Bunyan said. “I beg for forgiveness, understanding and prayer.”

A year after he joined the congregation in 2003, Bunyan led the then-Episcopal church to cut ties with the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and affiliate with the Anglican Diocese of Luweero in Uganda.

Rector emeritus the Rev. Canon David Anderson and associate rector the Rev. Richard Menees will assume pastoral duties at the church, and Bunyan’s wife, the Rev. Grace Veena Bunyan, will continue to serve as the pastor for women’s ministries.

No new group homes may open and property owners can’t get new permits for short-term rentals for at least 45 days under a moratorium the City Council approved Tuesday. Residents have pressured the city to block group homes, particularly drug and alcohol recovery facilities, that they say are having a negative effect on their neighborhoods.

During the moratorium the city will study the effects of transient uses, such as sober living homes and summer rentals, where people live for short periods of time. City Atty. Robin Clauson said she plans to have new regulations drafted within 30 days. The council could continue the moratorium for a total of two years.

COSTA MESA

‘Rent’ run ends today at performing arts center

“Rent,” one of Broadway’s longest running shows, will close out its limited engagement at the Orange County Performing Arts Center today.

The Tony- and Pulitzer-winning musical has been entertaining a devoted following of “Rentheads” for more than a decade as it examines a group of friends in the East Village of New York City as they are forced to deal with life’s many challenges.

Tickets are available at www.ocpac.org or by calling (714) 556-2787.

City officials enjoyed the fruits of their lobbying Monday, when the Orange County Transportation Authority board voted to study how to lessen congestion at the end of the Costa Mesa Freeway (55). The $275,000, 14-month study and will consider options such as creating a covered tunnel for part of the freeway, using flyover ramps to separate freeway traffic from local traffic, or adding a fourth southbound lane.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Marine animal deaths attributed to toxin

A large number of sea animals have been sickened and killed by a naturally-occurring toxin, authorities said this week. On Thursday, most of the 78 birds seen by Huntington Beach’s Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center came in dead or died at the facility, and about half of the 20 sea lions collected by the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach had died.

The toxin believed to be responsible is domoic acid, which is produced by algae blooms that usually occur in the spring and early summer. Scientists aren’t sure why so much domoic acid is being produced, but they know that when fish eat it, animals that eat the fish get sick and sometimes die. Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center director Lisa Birkle said it’s unusual that so many of the birds are dying.

Costa Mesa carwash manager Eduardo Rodriguez, 35, of Costa Mesa, died Wednesday after allegedly being run over by a co-worker. The driver, Elias Escalante-Izara, 25, also of Costa Mesa was filling in for a another employee at the Classic Hand Carwash on 17th Street moving vehicles.

Izara allegedly hit the gas, pinning Rodriguez between two vehicles, then ran over him, hitting a business and another vehicle. Rodriguez was pronounced dead at the scene.

Izara was arrested on suspicion of driving without a license and later placed on an immigration hold, authorities said.

The body of missing boater William Eugene Ott, 61, of Phoenix was discovered floating just off the shore of Santa Catalina Island on Tuesday afternoon. Ott’s 30-foot boat came crashing against the west jetty of the Newport Harbor inlet on April 18, prompting a 280-square mile search, Orange County Sheriff’s officials said. Ott was identified by Los Angeles County Coroner’s officials through his fingerprints, authorities said. Early in the search, rescue workers identified Ott as the boat’s owner through a plastic bag filled with prescription bottles found floating near the wreckage.