Week in review
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Orange Coast College President Margaret Gratton announced Monday that
she would retire at the end of the year. Gratton has been at the helm of
the college for the past six years and is the only woman to ever hold the
post.
The Corona del Mar High School athletic community is mourning the
passing of Doug Orr, 50, the popular school sports announcer who
graduated from the campus in 1970.
* Deirdre Newman covers education. She may be reached at (949)
574-4221 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .
Balboa Island man sent to prison
A 54-year-old Balboa Island man will be locked away in state prison
for 15 years to life for inappropriately touching three young girls, a
judge ruled Friday.
Thomas Michael Murphy was sentenced Friday morning after a jury, in
November, found him guilty of four felony counts of lewd acts with a
child younger than 14 years of age and one misdemeanor count of
possessing child pornography.
Each of the felony counts includes an enhancement that states Murphy
committed the crimes with the intent of gratifying his sexual desires.
Newport Beach police arrested the former self-employed scuba
instructor on May 2, 2000, after seizing about 10,000 photographs and 200
movies from his computer at his Ruby Avenue home. Two girls ages 9 and 11
came forward with the allegations.
In other news, a Lido Isle home was destroyed in an early morning fire
Thursday. The two-story house was gutted a day after it went into escrow.
Investigators are not sure what caused the fire, but said it started in
the garage. All six people who lived in the house and their dog escaped
unharmed.
* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at
(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .
Women look for new robes
A handful of Newport-Mesa attorneys are reeling from the results of
three judgeship races last week, landing two women in separate runoffs
for a seat on the bench and sending the message that Orange County voters
would not stand by while a besieged judge retained his seat.
Vickie Bridgman and Glenda Sanders were both the top vote getters in
their races for Orange County Superior Court offices 22 and 27
respectfully.
Bridgman, who lives in Newport Heights and works in the district
attorney’s office, garnered 46.2% of the votes. Sanders, a Corona del Mar
resident with her own practice, gained 47.9%.
Both will run again in November against the second highest vote getter
in their respective office.
Gay Sandoval and Karen Robinson also celebrated a victory last week,
although their possible future on the bench is still unsure.
Sandoval -- a former Daily Pilot columnist -- and Robinson -- a Costa
Mesa city councilwoman -- waged independent write-in campaigns to unseat
judge Ronald C. Kline, who faces felony charges of child molestation and
child pornography.
The Costa Mesa women joined nine other write in candidates to defeat
Kline by a two to on margin. The group of write-in candidates gained 67%
of the vote while Kline garnered only 33%.
The Orange County Registrar is scheduled to release individual tallies
March 26.
* Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)
574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .
A tribute to Chuck
One activist has come up with a fitting idea to memorialize famed
animator and longtime Newport resident Chuck Jones. Laura Dietz has
announced that she will ask the city’s Parks, Beaches and Recreation
Commission to look for ways to remember the recently deceased Jones in
city parks -- perhaps with images of some of his beloved characters such
as Bugs Bunny and Foghorn Leghorn.
Businesses could soon receive fliers from the city explaining ways to
comply with new water-quality rules. The handbills, still in draft form,
explain ways to keep pollutants out of storm drains.
Big Canyon Reservoir was shut down after some residents reported
seeing tiny midge fly larvae in their drinking water and toilets.
Officials are treating the water with chlorine and serving Newport Beach
homes and businesses with water directly from the Metropolitan Water
District.
Wells providing water to Newport Beach and Costa Mesa that had been
shut down recently have been put back online. The wells in Fountain
Valley and Costa Mesa had been shut down as a precaution after public
health officials announced the potentially cancer causing chemical
1,4-Dioxane had been detected in their water. The state’s health agency
has since ruled that the chemical is present in such small quantities
that it does not pose a significant health risk.
* June Casagrande covers Newport Beach. She may be reached at (949)
574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .
A bleak future for El Toro
Orange County voters stopped supervisors’ plans for an airport at El
Toro dead on Tuesday, by passing Measure W on a solid margin.
Of the voters who headed to the polls -- a scant 32% of those
registered -- about 58% approved the deal and 42% rejected it.
The Great Park initiative, as it became known, rezones the closed El
Toro Marine Corps Air Station from aviation to open space.
Before the results could even sink in, Navy officials said they were
moving toward a plan to sell off parcels of the 4,700-acre base on the
open market.
That move would probably quash any plans for a Great Park, a proposal
brought forward by Irvine Mayor Larry Agran and other South County
leaders.
Airport supporters also lost an ally on the Board of Supervisors in
Cynthia Coad, who was turned out of office by Fullerton Councilman Chris
Norby.
* Paul Clinton covers the environment and John Wayne Airport. He may
be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail ato7
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