Week in Review

PUBLIC SAFETY

Harmful fumes lead to evacuation at mall

The Costa Mesa Fire Department evacuated the Crystal Court section of South Coast Plaza on Sunday after fumes began leaking from the ventilation system. A nearby room was being sealed with elastomeric paint, and the air-conditioning system accidentally spread the fumes throughout the court.

Some shoppers contacted the fire department, reporting physical pain from inhaling the fumes. The court area was closed down for several hours and reopened shortly before 5 p.m.

Sara Estrada underwent surgery at Western Medical Center in Tustin for cerebral hemorrhaging after the crash, which occurred shortly before 8 a.m.

Her daughter, whom she had been pushing in a stroller on a crosswalk near Wilson Street and College Avenue, was also treated for minor injuries.

Police identified the driver as Johannah Falke, 32, of Costa Mesa and said she had not been cited. Costa Mesa Sgt. Victor Bakkila said it was unclear whether the truck or the pedestrians, who had been crossing on a green light, had been out of place.

“It’s an accident, but someone will be found at fault for it,” he said. “Either the pedestrian was in the road illegally or the vehicle made the turn illegally.”

COSTA MESA

Council postpones vote on high-rise condominiums

The Costa Mesa City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to table its decision on a series of high-rise condominium complexes around the South Coast Plaza area. The week before, John Wayne Airport’s airport land use commission had given the proposal a negative review, and the council voted to override the commission’s report and give it 45 days to respond.

At the council’s Jan. 16 meeting, it expects to vote on approving the buildings. In December 2005, five developers approached the city with a single package, offering to add more than 1,200 residences to Costa Mesa. Four of the five buildings would require the demolition of existing property.

The discussion on Tuesday turned out to be a short one, but several people present, including Councilwoman Linda Dixon, urged the city to keep its less-affluent residents in mind even as it sought expensive condominiums.

“I think it’s extremely important that a project like this make an effort to provide affordable housing elsewhere in the city,” she said.

Margaret Kolasinski, Douglas Dorsey Follette and Judy Marie Haeger were convicted Tuesday of operating the Adams Avenue Piecemakers Country Store without the proper permits and refusing to allow the inspectors in.

The Orange County Healthcare Agency has continuously been impeded from inspecting the store since the 1990s, prosecutors said.

In 2005, when the healthcare agency obtained a court order for inspection, they still wouldn’t allow them to enter, and the inspectors were turned away with obscenities and other malicious behavior, prosecutors said.

The three are scheduled for sentencing in February.

This year marked their 13th annual Turkey Bowl football game, which they started while in high school. Duncan Calegari, Richard and Robert Kelly and Patrick O’Leary have participated since the beginning, although the team lineups have changed throughout the years.

The group begins planning months in advance for the game of flag football, which some family members, friends and dogs turned out to watch.

“It’s really the only time we play all year, and we just want to get together before we eat,” Calegari said Thursday.

EDUCATION

OCC student government votes to reinstate pledge

The spat over the Pledge of Allegiance at Orange Coast College reached a climax — and, maybe, a resolution — this week, as the student government agreed to reinstate the pledge on its agendas but promised to take an opinion poll to measure students’ true feelings on the matter.

At an impassioned meeting Monday, the board of trustees deliberated on the pledge for more than two hours as students, faculty and administrators offered their own opinions on mandating the pledge. On Nov. 6, the trustees voted to remove the pledge from future agendas, arguing that it was irrelevant to the board’s business and that the words “under God” turned off some attendees.

Over the next two weeks, the controversy spread across America, as dozens of websites and newspapers shouted that OCC had “banned” the pledge and the school’s front office was inundated with angry and supportive calls. When the board met on Monday, the Faculty Lounge was filled almost to capacity — a marked contrast to the handful of people who used to attend the sessions.

For the time being, the pledge is back on the agenda as an “opportunity” for those who wish to recite it. On Wednesday, Christine Zoldos, the vice president of the student government, announced her resignation. President Lynne Riddle had criticized her for bringing the media to OCC following the decision to abandon the pledge.

BUSINESS

Strong sales, but not as strong as recent years

Economists predicted a slight increase in holiday shopping season sales compared with last year, but the increase is weaker than in years past.

Because of the rising cost of gas, a cooling real estate market and rising interest rates, this year’s consumer confidence may be down, said Esmail Adibi, director of the Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman University.

People were out in full force Friday, the day after Thanksgiving — often called Black Friday — to peruse the shops at both South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island.

Spokeswomen for South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island said Friday that they expect healthy sales figures for the holiday weekend.

The day after Thanksgiving is often lauded as one of the busiest shopping days of the year, but Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas tend to be even better, South Coast Plaza spokeswoman Debra Gunn Downing said Friday.

“A lot of these guys … go back to childhood, and they’re hanging in there, whether it’s by playing football or hanging out. But it’s the friendship part that remains important.”

— Larry O’Leary, of Costa Mesa, watching his 29-year-old son Patrick and many of his former classmates from St. Joachim Catholic School play their annual Turkey Bowl; the longtime friends have been getting together to play football every Thanksgiving Day for 13 years.

“We didn’t have nowhere to go; we have no family here, so we’re very thankful for this place and thankful we’re able to be here. I’m so thankful for this place, and I feel so privileged.”

— Patsy Parker, who has been staying at the Orange County Interfaith Shelter with her husband and two children since they moved from Arkansas to California, on having Thanksgiving dinner at the Someone Cares Soup Kitchen in Costa Mesa

“The last few years, home prices have been appreciating, which creates an economic quality called the wealth effect. Once you feel wealthy, you spend a little more. Although you are not planning on selling the house, the feeling is positive.”

— Esmael Adibi, director of the Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman University in Orange, on the effect the real estate market has had on holiday retail spending

“I’m dancing every day with people who’ve been dancing nonstop since they were 3 years old. My body went into shock at first, but it’s definitely been a good experience.”

— Molly Ringwald, actress, on returning to the stage as Charity Hope in “Sweet Charity,” running through Dec. 3 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Segerstrom Hall

“The $195,000 is the starting point, but frankly we’re really flexible. The goal is to sell it so we don’t have to dismantle it.”

— David Muller, executive director of the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum, on efforts to sell the more than 40-year-old riverboat Pride of Newport, which formerly housed the museum

“We put so much emphasis on academic achievement, but community involvement in the school is something we can really feel good about.”

— Luke Brunda, a 17-year-old senior at Newport Harbor High School and one of about 80 students and parents who spent a recent Saturday working to beautify the campus