The event at the home of Jeff and Nancy Stack is closed to the public.

Tickets range “from $2,500 to $35,800,” according to the article.

The bronze statue of the 40th president was pried from its foundation but not completely removed, the Orange County Register reported. The crime happened around 5:30 a.m. Sunday.

The city removed the statue later for repairs.

… Continue reading

By Sarah Peters

NEWPORT BEACH — Fans of Mozambique Steakhouse and Lounge in Laguna Beach will soon be able to partake in their favorite African-inspired fare at a new eatery here, a company spokeswoman said Monday.

The fast-casual concept, also called Mozambique, will open in late November at The Bluffs shopping center on Bison Avenue in Newport Beach.

The restaurant will offer indoor and patio seating and feature variations of signature dishes at discounted prices, spokeswoman Lisa Ende said.

“One of the fasting growing trends, especially with the economy as it is, is the fast-casual dining segment,” she said. “Customers can enjoy a restaurant-type experience with high-quality food, but not at the price like you would expect at an upscale restaurant.”

Entrees, such as peri-peri chicken, peri-peri shrimp, roti wraps, curry dishes and salads, which average between $15 and $25 at the Laguna location, will cost $6 to $10 at the fast-casual concept.

Portions will be smaller, but the flavors and the quality will be the same, Ende said.

Another change is that the casual concept will be open for lunch.

The Laguna location has been in the news lately. In September, the Laguna Beach City Council chose to continue a resident-only parking programhttp://www.coastlinepilot.com/news/tn-cpt-0909-quietzone-20110908%2C0%2C144891.story in the neighborhoods adjacent to Agate Street in response to complaints that people leaving the restaurant at night created too much noise.

However, noise will not be an issue for the Newport location, which fits neatly with other Bluffs eateries, such as Chipotle, Islands Fine Burgers and Wildfish Seafood Grille, Ende said.

The lower prices, hours and location are expected to appeal to younger diners coming from UC Irvine as well as a previously unserved niche of South Africans living in Orange County.

To commemorate the opening, the restaurant will hold a raffle on opening night for a trip for two on South African Airways to Mozambique.

This will be the first of eight to 10 new Mozambique fast-casual locations in San Diego, Los Angeles and in Northern California.

Mozambique

Address: MacArthur Boulevard and Bison Avenue

Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily

Prices: $6 to $10

Information: www.mozambiqueoc.comhttp://www.mozambiqueoc.com/

The exact date escapes me. It was about 1990, maybe 1991. The article, a feature, was about a lifeguard, but I recall little else.

What I remember clearly is the freelance pay: $25. What amounted to gas money also gave me some badly needed confidence that the journalism degree I was pursuing nearby at Cal State Long Beach would lead to a paying job.

I’ve spent the days following the Seal Beach shootings thinking back on my times covering the community as a Sun freelancer while in college and, much later, as a staff reporter and editor at the nearby Long Beach Press-Telegram. I’ve had a long journalistic and personal relationship with the community, and it breaks my heart that people in one of the last friendly beach towns in Southern California remain stunned and grieving in the wake of the worst mass murder in Orange County history.

Most of my earlier memories of Seal Beach are positive, and I want to keep them that way. I learned to surf (not very well) in the unusually warm waters off the jetty. I celebrated my daughter’s third birthday at the playground next to the pier. My father-in-law had his retirement party at a Main Street restaurant.

These memories and others can’t black out the recent shooting, but I hope they do some day. I want to always think of Seal Beach for what it is — charming mom-and-pop stores run by actual moms and pops, great seafood restaurants, mild waves, earnest people, amazing schools and walkable neighborhoods.

After that piece on the lifeguard, the Sun editor at the time, who is still there, seemed to take a shine to me and gave me work. He assigned me to Los Alamitos school board meetings, Seal Beach City Council meetings, Sunset Beach and Rossmoor special district meetings, and crimes and features.

There was also the dreaded Sidewalk Talk feature, where I had to ask people on the street what they thought of a given issue, write down their comments and then take their pictures. That assignment paid $10.

I loathed it not because of the money but because I was embarrassed to walk up to strangers on the street and ask them questions. But it was one of the best-read things in the paper. And it taught me a valuable journalistic skill: how to approach people.

My days freelancing for the Sun taught me the importance of community journalism. My stories received reactions — phone calls and letters to the editor (few people outside of MIT professors used email in those days). I remember sinking in my chair at a school board meeting when a rather combative school board member challenged my reporting — I felt unfairly — from the dais.

Seal Beach then, like Newport Beach and Costa Mesa today, was an engaged community that paid attention to schools, City Hall, liquor license applications, the comings and goings of local businesses and so on. The paper was able to be both a community booster and watchdog — a seemingly contradictory approach that appears to be coming back in style as surviving media stakes more of its future on local news.

The Sun folks gave me good training. They showed me how to read agendas, told me what kinds of questions to ask and how to develop sources. I remember going with the staff to happy hour after we put the paper to bed (I was still too young to drink) and how I felt like a big time reporter at 19 or 20.

Those early assignments led to clippings that led to internships at bigger places and finally to paying jobs. The Sun was the foundation for what eventually became a career.

I’ve read some of the coverage in the Seal Beach Sun on the shootings. The tiny staff is keeping the community informed, but also is helping it heal in a way that only a local paper can with updates on vigils and way to help victims who people in town actually know. And the Sun will stay on the story long after the national or regional media have moved on.

The news business may be turned on its ear these days, but there is still a place for papers like the Seal Beach Sun. Especially in times like these.

JOHN CANALIS is editor of the Daily Pilot, Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot and Huntington Beach Independent. He can be reached at (714) 966-4607 and john.canalis@latimes.com.

Seal Beach police said they do not yet know why a gunman opened fire on a busy Seal Beach salon Wednesday afternoon, killing six people and critically wounding three others.

Some witnesses familiar with employees at the salon said the suspect was involved in a domestic dispute — possibly a custody fight — with one of the stylists. Police said they could not confirm any relationship between the shooter and the salon. They also did not release his name.

Sgt. Steve Bowles said Salon Meritage, in the 500 block of Pacific Coast Highway, appeared to be very busy at the time of the shooting, which occurred about 1:30 p.m.

Full coverage: Deadly shooting at Seal Beach beauty salon

“There are victims throughout the entire salon,” he said. “There are survivors from inside the salon.”

One shooting victim was found outside the business, Bowles said.

“A crime of this magnitude is not something Seal Beach is familiar with,” the sergeant said.

Police said they responded to a report of shots fired at the salon. As they arrived, one officer saw the suspect leaving the parking lot. He was arrested about half a mile away, police said.

“We believe he is the only suspect at this time,” Bowles said.

Bowles said he did not know the make and model of the weapon, saying it was still too early in the investigation.

The suspect has been arrested, police said.

The victims are believed to be both employees and customers of Salon Meritage in the 500 block of Pacific Coast Highway, KTLA News reported.

Full coverage: Deadly shooting at Seal Beach beauty salon

Seal Beach police Sgt. Steve Bowles said the suspect was taken into custody about half a mile from the shooting site. He was cooperative and put up no resistance, Bowles said.

KTLA reported that the suspect was wearing body armor and had a cache of weapons.

Authorities searched car to car and door to door in the strip mall, which is home to a variety of businesses, including medical offices, attorneys and a nail salon.

– Los Angeles Times

Salon Meritage shooting scene in Seal Beach. (KTLA)

Orange County authorities were responding to a shooting at a salon in Seal Beach on Wednesday, with reports of seven potential victims. A source familiar with the investigation said six people were believed  dead.

The shooting occurred at Salon Meritage, a beauty salon in the 500 block of Pacific Coast Highway, workers in the shopping center said.

A suspect is in custody, according to a Seal Beach police official. The entire department is responding to the scene.

– Los Angeles Times

There were a reports of an injury shooting, possibly at a business. An unknown number of victims were reportedly taken to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center.

Morgan Arevalo

COSTA MESA — A Newport Beach woman reported missing Oct. 2 was found Tuesday in a Costa Mesa hotel, police said.

Morgan Arevalo, 28, was found unharmed at 10 a.m., said Newport Beach police spokeswoman Kathy Lowe.

“There was no indication that a crime had occurred,” Lowe said. “She was at the location voluntarily and was in good health and able to care for herself when contacted by our detectives.”

Police issued an advisory Monday saying that they were trying to find the Balboa Peninsula resident. She was last seen at 11 p.m. in the 1000 block of W. Balboa Boulevard.

Police said they were told by friends that she had been drinking.