The Newport-Mesa Unified School District trustees responded to the
county's endorsement of a modest expansion of John Wayne Airport by
vowing to fight for the reduction or elimination of adverse effects such
as increased pollution and noise.
District officials also said they expected to see an increase in
campus crime from statistics released by the state Thursday. Although
most categories experienced a slight increase, Supt. Rob Barbot said it
was expected because the district is going to great lengths to identify,
report and resolve various crimes.
Controversy continues to dog Orange Coast College political science
professor Kenneth Hearlson, who was recently nominated as Faculty Member
of the Year. Some professors are taking issue with seeing Hearlson
glorified as a poster boy for academic freedom.
And, no, it's not the new fashion trend -- sixth-graders from
Eastbluff Elementary School donned togas and sandals on Tuesday to take a
walk through the ancient world. The students dressed as early Greeks,
Romans and Egyptians, and put their knowledge of ancient history to the
test.
* Deirdre Newman covers education. She may be reached at (949)
574-4221 or by e-mail at o7 deirdre.newman@latimes.comf7 .
Fire rips through townhomes
A fire rocked a townhouse complex with explosions early Thursday
morning, leaving one man dead as it burned through his garage, shattered
neighbors' windows and sent people scurrying from their homes.
The fire that erupted in the garage of a home in the Monticello Town
Homes Complex about 3:30 a.m. destroyed one home, severely damaged
another and caused minor damages to several other units.
It took 50 firefighters about 40 minutes to get the fire under
control, Steward said. The Orange County coroner was unable to identify
the victims's body because "it was burned beyond recognition," said
Investigator Rod Thomas.
He said the investigation to pin down the victim's identity could
involve fingerprinting, trying to locate his family, dental charts or
even determining if he has had any surgeries in the past.
Several neighbors panicked when they heard the explosions and ran out
of their homes in their pajamas. Neighbors said they believed the victim
often did welding work in his garage and had paint cans and other
chemicals stored there.
Officials initially suspected there could have been another fatality
in the explosion because of witnesses' reports that the victim went back
into the house. But officials said they did not find anyone else after
