From the Police Log: Burglary, Disorderly Conduct, DUI, Drugs

A residential burglary was reported at 10:13 p.m. Sunday in the 700 block of Jasmine Avenue, online police reports state, and a traffic collision with injuries was reported at 10:01 a.m. today at Avocado Avenue and East Coast Highway. Details were not immediately available on either incident.

In other police news, a 41-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct at 1:22 p.m. Friday at East Coast Highway and Heliotrope Avenue. The man, who said he was transient, also had a Long Beach warrant. His bail was set at $15,000.

At 3:15 a.m. Saturday, a 22-year-old Huntington Beach man was arrested in the 3700 block of Ocean Boulevard on suspicion of DUI, records state. He also had a warrant, and his bail was set at $15,000.

At 12:26 a.m. Friday, police arrested a 43-year-old Dana Point man on suspicion of DUI at East Coast Highway and Cameo Shores Road; his bail was set at $2500. And at the same location at 2:10 a.m. Saturday, police arrested a 36-year-old Las Vegas man on suspicion of possession of narcotics; his bail was set at $20,000.

Wearing of The Green

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CdM Today’s Poll of the Week

Clouds Off CdM Coast

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Construction Update: Carnation To Go to One Lane, Newport Coast Work To Begin

Ongoing roadwork along Carnation Avenue is about to close all but one lane of that street, and a project on Newport Coast Drive is ready to begin, which will close sections of the right lane and bike lane from March 15 until early December.

The Carnation Avenue construction is a continuation a project that includes repaving streets and fixing deteriorated concrete, curbs and gutters, as well as removing and reconstructing sidewalks. Begonia and Acacia avenues are included in the project.

Contractors have completed most of the work on curbs, sidewalks, gutters and ramps along Carnation Avenue, but they are now ready to repave, which will close all but one lane. That lane will remain open to detour cars from Bayside Drive, which also has three lanes closed because of a county sewer project. (Read our story here.)

Traffic from East Coast Highway to Bayside Drive will be detoured along Second Avenue to Heliotrope Avenue.

City officials said that street sweeping parking enforcement is suspended until the project is completed, which should be next month. More information and a map can be found here.

Newport Beach officials delayed another project — planting palm trees in Corona del Mar medians — because that project also would close lanes on East Coast Highway; that project will take place in late April or May when the other projects in the village are complete.

The Newport Coast Drive lane closures will be to allow the Irvine Ranch Water District to being a corrosion projection project between Coast Highway and the 73. Crews will be working on a 10-year-old pipeline that is suffering from numerous water leaks because of unexpectedly early corrosion, officials said. The work will be done in segments, with the right lanes and bike lanes generally being closed, they said.

Costa Mesa Cycling Activists Inspired by N.B. Task Force, Arrange Bike Rack Program

After four months of meetings, after massive amounts of research and discussion and debate, the Newport Beach Task Force on Cycling Safety soon could see results from its efforts — in Costa Mesa.

Costa Mesa resident Jim Fitzpatrick quietly began attending the twice-monthly task force meetings, taking notes on the discussions of everything from sharrows (marked lanes to show where bikes and cars must share) to bicycle racks. Eventually, Fitzpatrick contacted task force member Frank Peters and asked for copies of some of Peters’ research.

“I’m so envious of Newport Beach because of the wonderful task force members,” said Fitzpatrick, who is a Costa Mesa planning commissioner and also one of a handful of members of an informal, private Costa Mesa cycling task force. “You’re getting free wisdom. And it’s kind of providing a roadmap for the rest of us.”

Fitzpatrick said he was particularly intrigued by the bike rack research that Peters provided in January when he reported on the dearth of bike racks in Newport Beach, including at City Hall and at Big Corona State Beach. (Read our story here.) Fitzpatrick called Peters to obtain copies of the materials, then he began talking to business owners along Seventeenth Street in Costa Mesa.

He and some other cycling and environmental enthusiasts now are trying to raise money and collect donations to create bike racks that can be placed near businesses in Eastside Costa Mesa. He thinks the racks will be built and in place before summer.

Costa Mesa city officials are aware of his work, Fitzpatrick said, and are “absolutely supportive.”

“What Newport Beach gave us was credibility,” he said. “We can have the same standards for things like bike racks, how to establish key destinations, how to build them safely…”

Peters said he was delighted that Costa Mesa was benefitting from his work. But he worries that the task force might see a map of paths as its only concrete result.

“Some legacy, if we don’t do anything about racks, but they do,” he said. “Shame.”

Fitzpatrick said the two cities and their bike enthusiasts should continue to work together, even as the Newport Beach task force wraps up its work this month.

The task force was created as a short-term group that will disband after making its report this month, although the group may suggest that the City Council create a permanent cycling safety committee.

The task force now is working on drafting a report to submit to City Council. The next meeting will be 4:30 p.m. Monday in City Council Chambers at 3300 Newport Boulevard, and the public is welcome.

CdM Today’s Top Stories This Week

harbor1. City officials explain why the tsunami advisory AlertOC cal came after the tsunami passed through Newport Beach. Read the story here.

2. Teachers hand out flyers, dress in blue and hold rally to protest state education cuts. Read our stories here and here.

3. Rose Cafe Bakery gets permission to keep its expanded outdoor seating after a public hearing before the Newport Beach Planning Commission. Read our story here.

4. Crystal Cove State Park’s back trails, which were closed because of damage from the January storms, reopened this week. Read our story here.

5. Corona del Mar Today reader’s observations about a dangerous youth center sign leads the city to change the design. Read story here.

Coastal Commission Rejects Appeal Of Begonia Park Home

megonigalOpponents of a home that will block some of the ocean views from Begonia Park were dealt another blow when the Coastal Commission denied an appeal to overturn the city’s approval of the project.

The Coastal Commission staff concluded that the Newport Beach City Council acted appropriately and consistently with commission requirements when it voted 5-2 in favor of allowing construction of a single family home on a now-vacant lot at 2333 Pacific Drive. The plans twice had passed through the Planning Commission, but public outcry continued because the home’s garage would partially block park views. (Read more here.)

A group called Friends of Begonia Park formed, gaining momentum as the City Council hearing date approached. The group gathered 1,200 signatures on a petition, placed dozens of signs in yards and turned out in force to testify before the City Council that by blocking ocean views from the park, the home was a violation of the city’s General Plan.

Kim and Carolyne Megonigal have owned the lot for a decade and have tried to get plans approved for three years.

Kim Megonigal said that even after getting Council approval in January, the couple continued to try to work with the Friends of Begonia Park to move the placement of the garage, next to the home rather than on top of it.

“Unfortunately, this solution would require steps that would involve the Coastal Commission and could take years to reach approval, which we do not have time,” Megonigal said in an email, adding that he, his wife and representatives “have decided that we have exhausted all possibilities and I must move on with the plans as approved.”

Friends of Begonia Park member Mark D. Simon said he knew of the Coastal Commission’s denial of one appeal, but he believed other challenges were being made by other concerned citizens.

“I can not comment as to the outcome of the remainder of the appeals,” he said in an email. “It is now likely that a court of law will be deciding whether the City Council’s decision that a 35% Public View loss from Begonia Park is not significant is arbitrary and capricious or not.”

CdM This Weekend: Five Great Things For Your To-do List

1. Head to the Central Library on Sunday for a free family concert called “A World Journey on the Keyboard” featuring Junko Ueno Garrett. The concert runs from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Friends Room at 1000 Avocado Ave. and will include music from France, Spain, Argentina and other countries.

2. Children’s author Denise Doyen, who wrote “Once Upon a Twice,” will give a reading and sign books beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday at Whale of a Tale Children’s Bookshoppe near UC-Irvine. “Once Upon a Twice” is an adventure story of a hero mouse, Jam Boy, and his water snake nemesis. Whale of a Tale is located at 4199 Campus Drive in Irvine.

3. Roger’s Gardens is hosting a free seminar at 9 a.m. Saturday called Gardening Naturally: Edibles in the Landscape. The lecture will be the third session of a program designed to help gardeners use fewer resources, and this week’s focus will be tips for incorporating edibles into the landscape. “Envision grape vines on fencing, hanging baskets of strawberries and bold structural vegetables mixed among perennials and shrubs. Create your own natural, organic farmer’s market!” Roger’s Gardens says on its website. Roger’s Gardens is located at 2301 San Joaquin Hills Road. Call (949) 640-5800 for more information.

4. Tacos, anyone? Taco Rosa has launched a happy hour special that runs Monday through Saturday — so you can try it tonight or tomorrow — with half-price menu options and drink specials from 2 to 6 p.m. If you’re more the family type, kids 12 and younger eat for a penny (with the purchase of an adult entree and eat-in only) on Sundays and Mondays from 4 p.m. until closing. Taco Rosa has two locations: in the Newport Hills Shopping Center at 2632 San Miguel Rd., (949) 720 0980; and at The Market Place at 13792 Jamboree Rd. in Irvine, (714) 505-6080.

5. If burgers and shakes sound better, Ruby’s is sponsoring a fundraiser tonight to benefit Harbor View Elementary School’s Spirit Run. Print out a flyer available here, and bring it — and Ruby’s will donate 20 percent of your food and beverage purchases to the school. The benefit runs until 9 p.m. tonight.

Lincoln Dedicates Organic Garden

garden 1garden 2Lincoln Elementary School honored a little girl who wanted more than anything to be a farmer, dedicating an all-organic garden today in her memory.

The entire student body watched as Joe Sachen used a pair of oversized scissors to cut the ribbon and open the garden, which is near the school’s front office in a raised area surrounded by a cozy blue and brown painted fence. The garden is planted with organic herbs and fruits and veggies, and everything was donated and installed by the Savannah’s Organic Ranch organization.

Savannah Sachen was 8 years old when she died of a rare heart tumor in 2007.

“It was the day after she passed that we started the charity,” said co-chairman Bob Rieden, who also is a neighbor and family friend.

Savannah loved gardening and valued organic food, so a gardening charity in her honor seemed fitting, her father said. The organization collects donations from businesses including Home Depot, plus cash donations, to create the gardens.

Lincoln’s garden is the fifth the group has completed. Workers spent a long rainy weekend building it, and crews from the organization will return every other week to check on it.

Students will help, and they will get to sample the bounty from its beds: rosemary, cauliflower, parsley and more.

“They will love it,” Rieden said. “The kids get protective of their gardens, and they’ll make sure it’s taken care of.”