Around Town: Newport officials to discuss marijuana legalization’s effects
Marijuana legalization and its effects on Newport Beach will be discussed during Wednesday’s Speak Up Newport program.　
Police Chief Jon Lewis and City Attorney Aaron Harp will explain changes under Proposition 64, a ballot measure that statewide voters passed in November making recreational marijuana use legal under state law for people 21 and older.
The pair also will discuss city ordinances involving cultivation and dispensaries in Newport Beach and how police will handle violations and watch for drivers who may be under the influence.
The free program begins at 6 p.m. in the Civic Center Community Room, 100 Civic Center Drive.
Performances of Pulitzer-winning poetry set at Sage Hill School
Sage Hill School in Newport Coast will host a theatrical staging of former U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book of poetry, “Native Guard,” from Thursday through Saturday.
“Native Guard” will be performed by professional actors collaborating with the Alliance Theatre based in Atlanta.
The performances will be in the Sage Hill Black Box Theater at 4 p.m. Thursday, 2 and 7 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday.
Admission is free and seats can be reserved at sagehillschool.org/Studio.
Alzheimer’s Assn. presents forum in Costa Mesa
The Orange County chapter of the Alzheimer’s Assn. will present a public policy forum this week in Costa Mesa on how dementia affects women.
The forum will be held from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Friday at the Center Club, 650 Town Center Drive.
Keith Fargo, director of scientific programs and outreach at the Alzheimer’s Assn., will be the featured presenter.
Admission is $20 per person. For more information or to RSVP, visit alz.org/oc or call (949) 426-8544.
Pacific City to host children’s book reading
The Pacific City shopping center in Huntington Beach will host a children’s book reading event Jan. 17 including craft making and a musical performance.
The free event is from 10 to 11 a.m. at the play area in front of Sephora, 21040 Pacific Coast Hwy.
Kids can hear a reading of the book “If You Give a Moose a Muffin.”
Michael SG, a singer-songwriter from Long Island, N.Y., will perform.
Pacific City businesses will offer a variety of deals for parents attending the event, including free ice cream at Saint Marc.
Space is limited. To RSVP, visit bit.ly/2iD85IZ.
When people reserve a spot, they are automatically entered in a raffle to win gift cards from Pacific City merchants.
Laguna event to support Women’s March on Washington
Laguna Beach will be the site of a demonstration Jan. 21 to support the Women’s March on Washington taking place that day to address issues such as women’s rights, environmental concerns and health insurance.
Participants are asked to meet at Main Beach at 10 a.m. For more information, call (949) 494-8618.
Vietnamese American Pulitzer winner to kick off UCI’s annual Fellows Series
UC Irvine will host writer Viet Thanh Nguyen at 6 p.m. Jan. 25 to kick off the 2017 Chancellor’s Distinguished Fellows Series. He will read from his works of fiction and nonfiction.
Nguyen won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in fiction for “The Sympathizer,” a novel about a communist spy who infiltrates the South Vietnamese army.
Nguyen currently teaches English and American studies and ethnicity at USC.
The Chancellor’s Distinguished Fellows Series at UCI, launched in 1999, presents free lectures from professionals in literature, science, culture and politics.
Nguyen will speak at the UCI Student Center’s Crystal Cove Auditorium.