NEWPORT BEACH
Clock tower installed in Corona del Mar
The installation of a 24-foot clock tower Thursday brought the
Corona del Mar Centennial Foundation one step closer to completing
plans for the new Centennial Plaza in the beachside community. The
green and bronze edifice was set up near the corner of East Coast
Highway and Marguerite Avenue. The completed Centennial Plaza is
expected to be open Sept. 25.
ENVIRONMENT
Environmental group gets kelp-project grant
A $220,000 federal grant was announced Wednesday to help
environmentalists plant kelp along the coastline.
The grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
awarded the funds to the California Coastkeeper Alliance, an umbrella
group for the state's members of the International Waterkeeper
Alliance. Until this spring, Orange County Coastkeeper was a member
of the Coastkeeper Alliance. The Orange County group managed local
kelp efforts from 2001 to 2004.
Though Orange County Coastkeeper has pulled out of the umbrella
group, Nancy Caruso, the marine biologist who was in charge of Orange
County Coastkeeper's kelp-related activities, has been hired by the
Coastkeeper Alliance to continue kelp reforestation in Orange County.
Caruso said her plans for this summer include transplanting kelp from
spots near Newport Beach south to the ocean floor around Laguna
Beach.
POLITICS
House-race candidates pick up endorsements
Candidates hoping to win the 48th District U.S. House seat left
vacant by Chris Cox last week announced major endorsements this week.
State Sen. John Campbell boasted the backing of Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger and the Orange County chapter of the Lincoln Club, and
former Assemblywoman Marilyn Brewer snagged support from Arizona Sen.
John McCain. The governor has not yet scheduled the special election
to fill the House seat, but he must do so within 14 days of Cox's resignation, which was effective Tuesday.
* The California state parks department said it will pare plans to
turn El Morro Village into a public campground because bids came in
higher than expected.
The state had $10.4 million to build the project, but bids
included removing mobile homes now on the site, a cost the state
expects the homes' tenants to pay.
Officials said they'll ask for new bids on the project but with
several amenities removed.
But the items they cut out will be built in a later, second phase
of the project that is not yet funded.
