Costa Mesa High School

One socked 38 home runs in the major leagues. One served as a political leader in a southern African nation. One lived the sweet life in Orange County, stayed in community college for years -- and became a millionaire by his early 30s. Such are the disparate life stories of Brent Mayne, Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika and Paul Frank, all of whom were named this week as inductees to Orange Coast College's Alumni Hall of Fame....

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District showed gains in most of its standardized test scores this year, with English and mathematics scores rising even as high school science scores took a distinct drop. District administrators hailed the scores as a sign of progress, noting that schools showed growth in English and math at every grade level and that some schools more than doubled their percentages of proficient and advanced scores from a year ago. "The magic of it all, the secret, is hard work -- making sure standards are taught at every grade level," said Supt.

When we first heard the news we were, admittedly, taken aback. And the price tag, frankly, took our breath away. A little more than five years after getting overwhelming community support for passage of Measure A, the $110-million bond initiative to repair local schools, Newport-Mesa Unified School District officials announced that they are going back to the voters for more, specifically $282 million more. That's nearly three times the cost of the Measure A bond.

The most important decisions you have ever made are probably ones to which you gave no more than a few seconds thought. But you have lived with the consequences, good or bad, ever since. Our lives are filled with obvious choices every day, but by no means should they be considered small. Deciding to wait for a green light before entering an intersection is a decision we all make every day, sometimes several times a day. However, for most of us, it is worth no more time to decide than choosing which shoe to put on first each morning.

The Newport Harbor High girls tennis team captured a 10-8 Sea View League victory over visiting Woodbridge Tuesday. In singles, Jill Casserly, Chrissy Schwartz and Brittany Sturgess each took two of three sets, improving the Sailors to 7-1 overall. Sea View League Newport Harbor 10, Woodbridge 8 Singles -- Casserly def. Sendale, 6-3, lost to Call, 7-5, def. Morris 6-2; Schwartz won 6-2, lost 6-2, won 7-6; Sturgess won 6-0, lost 6-4, won 6-2. Doubles -- McKay-Cluck def. Caro-Snyderman, 6-0, lost to Cao-Fernandez, 6-2, def. Castheton-Solin, 6-1; Chinn-McIntosh lost, 7-6, won, 6-4, lost, 6-2; Dunlap-Adams lost, 0-6, 6-3, won, 6-4. Sage remains perfect VOLLEYBALL: Sage Hill School volleyball standouts Cat Dailey, Vista Murphy and Haywood Wright led the Lightning to a 25-15, 25-17, 25-18 Academy League romp over host Brethren Christian Tuesday.

The tiny campaign headquarters had only a few volunteers Tuesday evening, but scattered around it were the signs of many long nights ahead. Eighteen shiny, newly-purchased telephones filled the five offices, each one accompanied by a green folder containing voters' numbers. Styrofoam bowls of pretzels and trail mix lay mostly untouched on the tables, with coffee and candy bars packing the cupboards in back. On the wall of the largest room hung a huge map of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, its white surface awaiting a flurry of pen marks before Nov. 8. The campaigners had a simple mission: to sway as many voters as possible to support Measure F, the $282-million school bond that seeks to modernize every campus in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.

I just read the letter from Rick Taylor ("Sunset not fit to be on its own," Mailbag, June 3), and wish to provide the following facts concerning Sunset Beach. First, the Orange County Fire Authority collects taxes from the residents of Sunset Beach. O.C. Fire has an agreement with the city of Huntington Beach where O.C. Fire covers part of Huntington Beach and Huntington Beach covers Sunset Beach. Based on the number of calls, Huntington Beach is getting the better part of the deal.

On a trip to New York in 1988, my wife and I were in midtown Manhattan when the lunch hour arrived. For most of us, that's a casual time of day, when we take a little time to relax before completing the rest of our duties. Not in Manhattan. In Manhattan, the lunch hour is a race against the clock and your fellow man. The loser is the person who did not get his or her order in at the deli in time, or who did not bring sneakers in order to get in some power shopping.

Seahawks can still tie for league title by beating Westminster.The Ocean View High boys' basketball team lost sole possession of first place in the Golden West League race Monday when host Costa Mesa held on for a 44-42 victory. The Seahawks, playing without starter Brad Sweezy, were led in scoring by Wynton Johnson, who finished with a game-high 16 points. Costa Mesa, which completed a season sweep of Ocean View, moved into first place with a 9-2 record. The Seahawks slipped to 8-2 but can earn no worse than a share of the league title with wins this week over Orange and Westminster.

At Tuesday's Ocean View School District board meeting, teacher Colette Wright was given the Wave Maker Award. Wright began her career as a speech and language specialist in 1972 and has worked at Crest View and Harbour View elementary schools. She is currently the speech and language specialist at Lake View Elementary School and also serves as the school's administrative assistant. In 1998 Wright was named Ocean View Teacher of the Year. Pauline Tressler, principal at Lake View, presented Write with the award.