Nanette Packard is led out of the courtroom after being sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for plotting to kill Newport Beach's Bill McLaughlin in 1994. (SCOTT SMELTZER)

SANTA ANA — A woman who plotted with a former NFL linebacker to kill her Newport Beach boyfriend received a life sentence without the possibility of parole Friday.

Nanette Packard, 46, sat stone faced in Orange County Superior Court as the verdict was read. Dressed in a pink cardigan, with a black shirt and skirt, and with a faded blond streak in her curly brown hair, Packard did not speak or apologize to the 40 or so people gathered in the courtroom, many of them family and friends of the victim.

Packard and Eric Naposki, 45, were convicted in January and July, respectively, of plotting the murder of Bill McLaughlin, a Newport Beach millionaire. Packard was dating both men at the same time and had hoped to benefit financially from the 1994 murder.

Naposki refused to come out of his holding cell during proceedings, leaving him to shout his answers to Judge William R. Froeberg.

Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy said Naposki was “a coward for not coming out of his cell, a coward for not facing” McLaughlin’s family.

–Lauren Williams, @LAWilliams30, Daily Pilot

…Continue reading “Woman who helped murder Newport Beach boyfriend gets life”

Following almost

four hours of deliberations, a jury of nine women and three men convicted Nanette Packard-McNeal, 46, of murder for financial gain in the 1994 shooting of her then-boyfriend, Bill McLaughlin.

Eric Naposki, a former NFL player, was convicted last summer of pulling the trigger. While Packard-McNeal was with McLaughlin, she was also dating Naposki on the side.

– Lauren Williams, @lawilliams30, Daily Pilot

…Continue reading Woman convicted of plotting boyfriend’s murder

“They say it will be open in December for the first council meeting, and I believed them,” Selich told the Corona del Mar Residents Association board at their monthly meeting at the OASIS Senior Center.

The new Civic Center broke ground in May 2010 on Avocado Avenue. The project will include a new City Hall, a 450-space parking structure, a 17,000-square-foot expansion of the Newport Beach Central Library, and a 16-acre park including a dog park and 1.23 miles of walking and viewing trails. The total costs is $128 million, according to a city webpage.

The City Council has scheduled a meeting for Dec. 11, the only meeting on the December calendar.

Selich said after that meeting, the building would be left for about a month “to de-bug it.”

“To make sure you don’t turn a light switch on, and then the air condition comes on in the the other side of the building,” he said.

–Amy Senk, @coronadelmartdy, Corona del Mar Today

…Continue reading “Selich: Newport Civic Center could be open for December council meeting”

Guests take a look at the construction progress for the Newport Beach campus for Coastline Community College during a tour Wednesday. (SCOTT SMELTZER)

The crack of hammers and metallic buzzing of power tools echoed throughout the partially finished building at Coastline Community College’s new Newport Beach campus Wednesday.

Walking along an outdoor corridor complete with ocean views, officials took in the many unfinished rooms littered with equipment and electrical work hanging from the ceiling.

“What is right behind you is a typical classroom,” said John Weaver, who led the tour and is with C.W. Driver, the construction management company.

College and district officials donned hard hats to tour the $48-million campus at 1515 Monrovia Ave., which is expected to be completed in the fall and have classes starting in the spring.

“It will be wonderful that the college will now be out in the community,” said retired faculty member Sally Kurz, a Coastline Foundation board member. “So many students come from Newport Beach and Costa Mesa.”

–Britney Barnes, @britneyjbarnes, Daily Pilot

…Continue reading “Construction continues for Coastline’s Newport campus”

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

…Continue reading “April Ross qualifies for London Olympics in beach volleyball”

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

…Continue reading “CdM loses mural on John Blom photography building”

“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

…Continue reading “Tourism conference: O.C. cities should work together”

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

…Continue reading “Mansoor accuses opponent of willingness to work with unions”

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

…Continue reading “Eat Chow expands to West Newport”

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