Corona del Mar Today: Firefighters seek donations for San Bernardino victim

Every holiday season for the past 10 years, the Newport Beach Firefighter’s Assn. has adopted a local family that needs help. This year, according to a city news release, the group is providing gifts and other assistance for the family of a victim of the Dec. 2 terrorist shooting in San Bernardino.

Mike Wetzel was shot and killed during the attack, according to a fundraising webpage. He is survived by his wife, Renee, and six children. He was the family’s sole provider.

“Although the Wetzel family are not Newport Beach residents, they are the most deserving family we have ever come across,” the webpage states. “Every dollar raised goes to Renee and her six children.”

The association’s Fire Santa Program has raised almost $21,000 toward a goal of $50,000, according to its fundraising web page. To make a contribution, visit: https://www.youcaring.com/renee-wetzel-and-her-six-children-484812#.

*

Harbor Day plans open house

Robotics demonstrations, art projects, instruments and more will be part of a community Open House at Harbor Day School on Jan. 9.

The event will take place from 9 a.m. to noon on the school’s campus at 3443 Pacific View Drive. Faculty, administrators, parents and students will be on hand to give tours and describe the school’s programs. There will be three half-hour presentations, beginning at 9:30 a.m. with information about kindergarten through fourth grades, at 10:30 a.m. for information from alumni and a student panel, and at 11:30 a.m. for information on grades 5 to 8.

Organizers said the event is free but request participants to register online at .

*

Pen on fire resumes Jan. 12

The Pen on Fire Speakers Series and Salon will resume at 7 p.m. Jan. 12 at the SCAPE gallery in Corona del Mar with an event that will feature three novelists who will discuss writing long fiction, their books and the business of writing and publishing, according to an email from organizer Barbara DeMarco-Barrett.

The event costs $25 and includes refreshments.

The evening will feature Joshua Mohr, author of “All This Life” and four other novels, including “Some Things that Meant the World to Me,” which was one of O Magazine’s Top 10 reads of 2009 and a San Francisco Chronicle bestseller.

Nina Revoyr, author of “Lost Canyon,” also will appear. Revere has written four other books and was a finalist for the 2009 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Her book “Wingshooters” won an Indie Booksellers’ Choice Award and was one of O: Oprah Magazine’s “Books to Watch For,” and “Southland” was a Los Angeles Times “Best Book” of 2003

“Revoyr is also co-editor of a college textbook and has taught at Cornell University, Antioch University, Occidental College, and Pitzer College,” the event’s website states. “In addition to writing, Nina is chief operating officer of a large nonprofit that serves children affected by violence and poverty in Central and South Los Angeles.”

Gordon McAlpine also will appear. He wrote “Hammett Unwritten” and many other novels, as well as a middle-grade trilogy called “The Misadventures of Edgar and Allan Poe.” He has taught creative writing and literature at the University of California at Irvine and at the University of California-Los Angeles as well as at Chapman University.

SCAPE Gallery is located at 2859 East Coast Highway.

For information or to buy tickets, visit

Corona del Mar Today appears Sundays in the Daily Pilot. Read daily updates at coronadelmartoday.com.