Costa Mesa’s draft budget has increased capital spending

Following a push by the City Council to heavily invest in infrastructure, the Costa Mesa Finance Department presented an early draft budget Tuesday that doubles capital improvement spending but also shows a slight deficit.

“We see this as a very preliminary document,” city CEO Tom Hatch told the council. “We will come up with a balanced budget.”

Currently, the proposal relies on reserves to close the gap.

The city budget grew by 15.2% compared with last year, with the “lion’s share” aimed at the city’s infrastructure, Finance Director Bobby Young said.

Young proposed more than $20 million in capital improvement work — a 92% leap from last year, with more than half coming from the countywide Measure M bond, gas taxes and other funds. The rest, about $6.7 million or so in the city’s capital improvement fund, is more flexible and is designated for infrastructure projects.

–Joseph Serna, @JosephSerna, Daily Pilot

…Continue reading “Costa Mesa’s draft budget has increased capital spending”

Man suspected of arson tackled by witnesses in Costa Mesa brush fire

A man suspected of lighting a small brush fire in Costa Mesa on Wednesday night was tackled to the ground by witnesses as the blaze burned through heavy brush in Talbert Regional Park.

The fire broke out about 7 p.m., prompting a response by firefighters and a water-dropping helicopter from the Orange County Fire Authority, officials said.

At least two witnesses tackled a man they suspected of sparking the blaze. “His face was really bad. There was blood all over,” a resident told KCAL TV Channel 9.

The man was taken to a local hospital, where he was being treated for minor burns, fire officials said.

“He is a possible suspect,” Capt. Marc Stone of the Orange County Fire Authority told The Times. “He is being interrogated by arson investigators.”

Fire crews were mopping up hot spots late Wednesday.

– Robert J. Lopez, Los Angeles Times

Mensinger to run for Costa Mesa City Council

Costa Mesa City Councilman Steve Mensinger will run for election in November to keep the seat he was appointed to last year, he told the Daily Pilot Wednesday.

“I want to make a difference,” Mensinger said.

Mensinger, 50, an Orange County businessman, was appointed to the council in January 2010. He took over the seat vacated by Newport-Mesa school board trustee Katrina Foley, who stepped down when she was elected to the previous November.

Mensinger will likely face stiff opposition from community activists, and possibly public employee organizations, both of which have been heavily critical of the city’s austerity measures over the last 16 months. He will also likely be supported by members of a local taxpayers’ group that supports the reforms he and Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer have proposed.

Mensinger and Righeimer have spearheaded a push to dramatically cut the city’s payroll, outsource city services and steer money toward public projects.

—Joseph Serna, @JosephSerna, Daily Pilot

Southwest passengers resume trip after bomb scare at John Wayne

VIDEO: Bomb threats at JWA

Courtesy KTLA

Air travelers stranded overnight in Orange County by a bomb scare were on their way to Phoenix on Wednesday morning after being rebooked on Southwest Airlines flights beginning at 6:45 a.m.

Their trip on Flight 811 was interrupted about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday when authorities received threats against it and an earlier Southwest flight from Orange County that arrived at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport about an hour earlier.

The FBI is investigating the incidents to determine who made the phone threats and if there is a link between them, spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said Wednesday morning.

Passengers were taken off Flight 811 and the plane was moved to an isolated area of John Wayne Airport, where it was searched by a bomb squad and canine units from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the Orange County Fire Authority, Eimiller said.

A similar search was conducted of Flight 1184 in Phoenix, but no explosives were found aboard either jet, authorities said. Passengers and baggage were re-screened and the flights were cleared to leave.

The Phoenix flight flew on to Tulsa, Okla., on Tuesday night, but a noise curfew prevented the Orange County flight from leaving.

Southwest put up the passengers in hotels Tuesday night and re-booked them on flights this morning, airline spokeswoman Ashley Dillon said. She said that the incidents did not prompt any enhanced security measures at either airport.

–Los Angeles Times

Duo goes for trio of restaurants in Costa Mesa

Noah Blom, left, and Leonard Chan chat behind the dining room counter at the Iron Press in Costa Mesa. The restaurant features waffle sandwiches and California craft beers. (DON LEACH)

One retail center, two business partners and three restaurants opening — all within about four months.

It would sound like a crazy plan to most, but for restaurateurs Noah Blom and Leonard Chan, it was opportunity calling.

The three restaurants — a waffle sandwich and brew house, oyster bar, and a cocktail and classic American dishes eatery — are moving into the SouthCoast Collection shopping center on Hyland Avenue in Costa Mesa.

“This is more about the center, and more about a collective effort of trying to create a culinary center in Orange County,” Blom said. “New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco — all are known for their food scene. I don’t see why there can’t be a comparable food scene here. We have the space, the palates, so let’s make it happen.”

Their partnership is something like a Venn diagram, with each heading up his own vastly different restaurant and joining together to open the third.

–Sarah Peters, @SPeters01, Daily Pilot

…Continue reading “Duo goes for trio of restaurants in Costa Mesa”

Meeting to review Eastside improvements is Wednesday

Costa Mesa residents will soon get a peek at major infrastructure projects scheduled for the Eastside.

Residents will hear from city officials on $6.3 million in improvements slated for an area between east 15th and 21st streets, and Irvine Avenue and Newport Boulevard.

The work will include redoing pavement, fixing damaged curbs, gutters and sidewalks, and replacing some asphalt sidewalks and driveways with concrete. The construction is funded by the city’s Measure M and gas tax revenues.

The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Kaiser Elementary School, 2130 Santa Ana Ave.

For more information, call Fariba Fazeli at (714) 754-5378.

—Joseph Serna, @JosephSerna, Daily Pilot

TCN South wins statewide awards

SAN JOSE — Journalists from the Daily Pilot and its Orange County sister papers won statewide awards for writing, photography and page design, an industry organization announced this weekend.

The California Newspapers Publishers Assn.’s annual Better Newspapers Contest pits the state’s papers of similar size against each other. Winners were announced Saturday in San Jose.

Pilot staff writer Mike Reicher took first place in education reporting for his School Flight series, an in-depth look at why affluent families from Costa Mesa’s Mesa Verde have abandoned their neighborhood’s schools.

Designers and editors at the Pilot — Kelly Parker, Matt Murray, Hamlet Nalbandyan and Bradley Zint — took second place for best page layout and design. (Parker has since been promoted to web editor.)

The same design and news team won first place for the Huntington Beach Independent’s page layout and design.

The Independent, Daily Pilot and the Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot brought home a total of six awards for their coverage in 2011. All three papers, which are published by Times Community News (TCN), are based in Costa Mesa and share some staff members.

–Daily Pilot staff reports

…Continue reading “TCN South wins statewide awards”

Ayieni repeats at OC Marathon

Peter Omae Ayieni crosses the finish line for first place in the OC Marathon with a time of 2:31:18. (Steven Georges)

As he turned the corner and ran toward the finish-line tape, Peter Omae Ayieni knew he would become the men’s champion of the eighth annual OC Marathon.

Ayieni, a 34-year-old from Kenya, believed he could win the race since the sixth-mile mark, when he said he felt comfortable. He went on to win his second straight men’s overall title in 2 hours, 31 minutes, 18 seconds Sunday morning. He finished more than three minutes ahead of runner-up Nate Clayson, a 26-year-old from Murray, Utah, who came across in 2:34:50.

Ayieni wasn’t the only repeat winner. Maika Carlsen, a 31-year-old exercise physiologist from Providence, Utah, won the women’s title for the third straight year, this time in 2:53:13. Stephanie Kato, 23, of San Jose was second in 2:55:05.

A race record 18,000 runners were registered for the marathon, half-marathon, 5K and Kids Run the OC races. The marathoners began at Fashion Island and ran through Newport Beach, Irvine, Santa Ana and ended at the OC Fair & Events Center in Costa Mesa.

For more photos from the OC Marathon, click here.

–Cesar Gonzalez, Special to the Daily Pilot

…Continue reading “Ayieni repeats at OC Marathon”

OCC baseball advances to Super Regional

COSTA MESA — It was back to business for the Orange Coast College baseball team on Sunday. And, as has been the case during a monumental 2012 season, business is booming for the Pirates.

The No. 1-ranked team in the state, which is also ranked atop one national poll, hammered Los Angeles Valley, 9-1, to complete a best-of-three sweep in the Southern California Regional held Saturday and Sunday at OCC.

The Pirates needed extra innings to prevail, 6-5, on Saturday, when they lost a 4-0 lead in the ninth and fell behind in the 10th, before rallying for the walk-off triumph.

But Sunday was more of a walk in the ballpark for Coach John Altobelli’s 33-4-1 juggernaut, which continues to display more than enough talent to offset its picayune weaknesses.

“This was more us today,” Altobelli said after Sunday’s conquest, in which freshman pitcher Brandon Brennan allowed no earned runs and just six hits in eight innings to improve to 10-1. “We were more business-like. A lot of guys were doing things differently [Saturday], than they have done all year. So, we talked about going back to our routine and what we do and not trying to do any more because it’s the playoffs. We don’t need to try harder, because it’s the playoffs. We just need to do what we do.”

What the Pirates did Sunday was amass 16 hits and score in four innings.

–Barry Faulkner, @BarryFaulkner5, Daily Pilot

…Continue reading “OCC baseball advances to Super Regional”

Column: O.C., can you play? Yes, we can

Daily Pilot classical music columnist Bradley Zint, center, plays Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet” on his French horn during a session of the Pacific Symphony’s "OC Can You Play With Us?" at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall on Tuesday. (KEVIN CHANG)

One of those little things you don’t consider when first choosing an instrument is what it’s like to lug it around.

For the flutists and clarinetists, their small instruments can act as stowaways in standard-sized backpacks. Even the heavies — tubas, cellos, basses, harps and the like — well, those cases are blessed with wheels.

But a horn case? Being of odd shape and decent weight, it’s bothersome to carry.

I would know. I carried one many times throughout my 12-year horn career while en route to planes, trains or automobiles. On Tuesday night, I found myself carrying one again, from my car at the South Coast Plaza lot to the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.

It was just as annoying as I remember.

I carried my horn case through the check-in process for OC Can You Play With Us? and into warm-up area in the Samueli Theater until I could carry it no more.

Down it went next to cellist Christopher McCarthy. The Cal State Long Beach graduate was one of the many musicians warming up before our 7 p.m. showing onstage.

–Bradley Zint, @BradleyZint, Daily Pilot

…Continue reading “Column: O.C., can you play? Yes, we can”