JANUARY
Costa Mesa is the first city to have a library with no books. The
Orange County Public Library opened its pilot technological branch in
a small city shopping center just blocks away from South Coast Plaza.
The small venue lacks aisles of bookshelves. Instead, it has tables
full of computers.
Newport Beach's most wanted: They are legged and dangerous -- to
paved surfaces, planters, benches and railings. Their weapon of
choice is a piece of timber fixed firmly on four wheels. The Newport
Beach City Council has launched a battle to save the city from these
outlaws and the damage they bring. Council members voted to further
restrict skateboarding from city parks, saying the popular sport was
destructive and attracted miscreants.
It's bad enough that residents have to pay for TV reception that
is supposed to be free, but when they can't get through to cable
representatives about poor reception, it adds insult to injury. AT&T
Broadband came under increased scrutiny when Costa Mesa officials
gave them an ultimatum: provide some customer service or start
looking for another contract.
Corona del Mar claimed the title of booby headquarters, but not
for the reasons one might suppose. A rare bird from the Galapagos
Island, the masked booby, limped onto the Corona del Mar coast with a
fishing hook in her stomach. The blue-footed booby enjoys long
plunges from 40 feet and is fond of flying fish and small squid.
FEBRUARY
Controversial teaching methods brought Orange Coast College
political science professor Ken Hearlson back in the limelight after
a colleague nominated him for teacher of the year. Hearlson had
survived the flurry of media scrutiny surrounding his alleged
harassment of Muslim students after the infamous Sept. 11 attacks,
only to have the controversy revived by being named a nominee for
Faculty Member of the Year Award. Fellow professor Susan Smith said
she suggested Hearlson for the award because it brought the issue of
academic freedom to the forefront.
Newport Beach officials were harder on themselves than
environmental regulators when they realized the city sewage treatment
practices were out of step with federal law. City officials
apologized profusely and worried that the 12-year impropriety of
sending sewage to local landfills without testing for heavy metals
would tarnish their otherwise spectacular environmental record. Local
environmentalists were forgiving and said the city's prompt action to
correct its mistake fell in line with the city's environment-friendly
