April Ross qualifies for London Olympics in beach volleyball

There will be two former Newport Harbor High volleyball standouts in the London Olympics.

April Ross, who starred at Newport Harbor, and Jennifer Kessy have qualified for their first Olympics. They will join Misty May-Treanor, also of Newport Harbor, and Kerri Walsh, the two-time gold medalists, in the Olympic beach volleyball tournament.

Ross and Kessy were the No. 3 team at the Beijing Olympics, but the duo clinched the second of two American women’s berths after finishing fifth in the Beijing Grand Slam this past weekend.

Beach volleyball teams qualify for the Olympics by compiling points on the international pro tour. A country can have a maximum of two men’s teams and two women’s teams.

Matt Fuerbringer, an Estancia alumnus, is in contention to qualify for the Olympics for the men. Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena are tied in the standings with Sean Rosenthal and Jake Gibb for the second men’s spot.

Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser, the defending men’s gold medalists, have already locked up the other U.S. men’s berth.

–Daily Pilot staff reports

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CdM loses mural on John Blom photography building

Courtesy Corona del Mar Today

The new owner of the John Blom photography studio building at 3732 East Coast Highway has painted over a mural on side of the structure and plans to add a “living wall,” or a green wall that will be covered in succulents that create a design.

The mural had depicted pelican’s holding waving pictures of seascapes and a church, floating in a blue, cloud-filled sky. Blom said he returned from vacation to see the mural was gone, but he said it was the new owner’s right.

“It was good while it lasted,” he said. Blom recently sold the building and is closing his studio, but he’ll continue to work with clients on locations.

–Amy Senk, @coronadelmartdy, Corona del Mar Today

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Tourism conference: O.C. cities should work together

Sibling rivalries are expected, and to a degree, beneficial, but when it comes to tourism in Orange County cities, the message Wednesday was all about working together.

“Of course, we’ll keep working individually too — I still want to keep my job,” Gary Sherwin, president and chief executive of Visit Newport Beach Inc., joked while speaking at the fourth annual Tourism Conference, organized by the Orange County Tourism Council (OCTC) at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Spa.

Overall, speakers encouraged the audience — and each other — to work together to develop “The OC” as a global brand and destination for international visitors.

“We’re talking about this wonderful shared asset called Orange County,” Sherwin said to the audience. “When you hear ‘The OC’ anywhere in the world, you know what they’re talking about — they’re talking about us. And we take a lot of pride in that.”

Panelist Judith Bijlani, president and chief executive of the Laguna Beach Visitors and Conference Bureau, pointed to the county’s miles of beaches, many art museums and galleries, and shopping as several of the key components making up “part of the OC experience,” a tagline she encouraged local businesses to adopt.

–Sarah Peters, @SPeters01, Daily Pilot

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Mansoor accuses opponent of willingness to work with unions

Assemblyman Allan Mansoor speaks at a Surf City Tea-sponosored forum at the Huntington Beach Central Library on Monday. (SCOTT SMELTZER)

Assemblyman Allan Mansoor (R-Costa Mesa) told a conservative group Monday that he believes his Republican opponent in the June 5 primary will bow down to unions and special-interest groups in Sacramento.

During a Surf City Tea-sponsored forum in the Huntington Beach Central Library, Mansoor said Newport Beach Councilwoman Leslie Daigle, who is running against him in the 74th Assembly District race, supports unions and raising taxes.

“That’s a clear difference between me and my opponent, who calls herself Republican,” he said.

Daigle said Tuesday that there is no basis to Mansoor’s claims.

“There’s nothing in my record of public service that suggests I’m a tax-raiser,” she said. “I would say that together with my colleagues, we’ve gotten more pension reform [in Newport Beach] than Allan [did when he was on the Costa Mesa council].

“Several of the employee groups are now paying their full share of their employee pension, and we’re in the process of working with police and fire, and we anticipate reaching an agreement by the end of the month.”

–Mona Shadia, @MonaShadia, HB Independent

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Eat Chow expands to West Newport

Eat Chow has opened a second location on 62nd Street in West Newport, pictured here. (Don Leach)

A popular Eastside Costa Mesa restaurant has expanded into Newport Beach with a menu geared toward the grab-and-go surf crowd.

Eat Chow’s new location — described by owner Brian McReynolds as “modern Californian cuisine, like a gastropub with Mexican food” — on 62nd Street in West Newport is having an invite-only, grand-opening party Thursday to celebrate. The restaurant is Eat Chow’s second, the first being at Newport Boulevard and 18th Street, which opened about four years ago.

A soft opening in Newport was held April 23. So far, the response has been positive, McReynolds said.

“We’re keeping the same menu as Eat Chow One, but we’re slowly incorporating more beach food and hand-held food,” he said. “More tacos, more sandwiches, and for breakfast, more grab-and-go items for surfers and people in the community.”

–Sarah Peters, @SPeters01, Daily Pilot

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Downed power line possible cause of Newport Coast vegetation fire

Courtesy Newport Beach Fire Department

Newport Beach firefighters quickly extinguished a vegetation fire behind Sage Hill School at 9:43 a.m. Wednesday, according to a fire department statement.

A 911 caller alerted authorities to the blaze, which was off the 73 Toll Road.

“Once on scene they found a brush fire in vegetation that covered roughly 50 by 50 feet of vegetation,” the statement said. “Newport Beach firefighters aggressively attacked the fire and it was quickly extinguished.”

The fire did not damage any structures, and no one was injured, fire officials said.

“At this time, there is no estimated damage from the fire as only a small area of vegetation burned,” the statement said. The cause remains under investigation, but it appears that a downed power line may have started the blaze.

“The Newport Beach Fire Department would like to remind individuals that it is fire season and individuals should be careful when in wildland areas,” the statement said. “Additionally, if you see suspicious activity in these areas you should immediately notify the authorities.”

–Amy Senk, @coronadelmartdy, Corona del Mar Today

19th Street bridge back on map

The proposed bridge between Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach originally thought to be deleted from Orange County’s master plan is back after a vote by the Orange County Transportation Authority on Monday.

Following a motion by Huntington Beach Mayor Don Hansen and seconded by Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach, the OCTA board voted 17 to 0, with Supervisor Janet Nguyen abstaining, to pull back from deleting the 19th Street bridge from the county’s master plan, which dates back to the 1950s.

The change could be only temporary, OCTA officials said.

The board is expected to take up the issue again within six months, after OCTA staff work with the county, California Department of Transportation, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach and Newport Beach on a traffic study to find other congestion-relieving options besides a bridge over the Santa Ana River in Westside Costa Mesa.

–Joseph Serna, @JosephSerna, Daily Pilot

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Sources: Torribio named new Harbor basketball coach

Bob Torribio, the right-hand man of former Newport Harbor High Coach Larry Hirst, has been named the new boys’ basketball coach of the Sailors, said sources familiar with the situation.

Torribio, a 1995 Newport Harbor graduate, filled in for Hirst last season, marking the third time he has done that when Hirst took a leave of absence in the past four seasons.

The Sailors have now turned to Torribio to lead the program after Hirst stepped down for good in March because of criminal threats made against him and his wife.

Torribio, who has been coaching at his alma mater for the past 11 seasons, was one of three finalists for the Newport Harbor job.

Sources said the other two candidates were Jason Carey, a junior varsity coach at Newport Harbor, and Darryl Hilliard, the junior varsity coach at Back Bay rival Corona del Mar.

–David Carrillo Penaloza, @DCPenaloza, Daily Pilot

Newport-Mesa schools take home gold, silver and bronze

Newport-Mesa’s four comprehensive high schools ranked in the top 5% of schools in the country, according to a national journal.

The U.S. News & World Report’s 2012 Best High Schools ranked Corona del Mar the second best school in Orange County with a gold medal. Costa Mesa, Estancia and Newport Harbor received silver medals and Newport-Mesa’s Early College High School, where students take college courses concurrently, was given a bronze medal.

“I think [the rankings] are very representative of the hard work going on at those schools,” said Charles Hinman, Newport-Mesa Unified’s assistant superintendent of secondary education. “The fact that Costa Mesa, Estancia and Newport Harbor are all silver says a lot about the hard work those schools are doing. Obviously, Corona del Mar is a little ahead of the game, but, you know, that’s a mark for everyone to shoot for.”

U.S. News & World Report looked at 22,000 public high schools across 49 states. In California, 2,407 schools were evaluated. The journal measured the schools based on state test scores, Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate test data, and the success of different cohort groups.

–Britney Barnes, @britneyjbarnes, Daily Pilot

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Sailing group to investigate Aegean crash

The organization that governs sailing announced Monday that it would conduct an independent review of the incident that killed four during the Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race.

US Sailing appointed a five-person team to the Independent Review Panel at the request of the U.S. Coast Guard of San Diego in response to the April 28 accident, the group said in a statement.

The Aegean’s crash resulted in the first fatalities in the 65-year history of the race. The men killed were Kevin Rudolph, 53, of Manhattan Beach, William Reed Johnson, 57, of Torrance, Joseph Lester Stewart, 64, of Bradenton, Fla., and the boat’s skipper Theo Mavromatis, 49, of Redondo Beach.

The panel will interview sailors who took part in the race and focus on safety and equipment and set forth a set of recommendations, said US Sailing spokesman Jake Fish.

US Sailing is working in tandem with the Coast Guard in the investigation, Fish said.

The results are expected to come in late June.

–Lauren Williams, @LAWilliams30, Daily Pilot