For sale: One big fairgrounds lot
Residents could see a "for sale" sign on the Orange County
Fairgrounds, if state legislators decide it should be among unused
and underused properties the state will sell to solve budget
problems.
Costa Mesa residents kicked up a fuss when then-Assemblyman John
Campbell first suggested selling the fairgrounds in April, and they
continued to protest when the fairgrounds was listed as an example of
salable, underused properties in a report requested by Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger.
The report suggested ways the state can reorganize government
operations to save money and increase efficiency. In January
legislators will begin tackling the report's more than 1,000
suggestions to decide which are most feasible.
Rape trial stirs up
teenage outrage
The retrial of three men accused of gang-raping an allegedly
unconscious 16-year-old girl when they were teenagers is scheduled to
start Jan. 31.
The first trial of Keith Spann and Kyle Nachreiner, both now 20,
and Greg Haidl, the 19-year-old son of former Orange County Assistant
Sheriff Don Haidl, ended in June with a hung jury. The videotaped
incident happened on a pool table in the garage of Don Haidl's Corona
del Mar home in 2002.
Greg Haidl starts the year in jail and will remain there at least
until the conclusion of the trial. A judge revoked his bail after a
series of run-ins with the law, including allegedly having sex with
another 16-year-old girl he met at a party the night a mistrial was
announced.
With fewer counts against the accused and with Greg Haidl in jail,
the second trial will likely move more swiftly than the first, which
lasted about a month.
Even though it's the second time around, and Don Haidl retired
from his position to draw attention away from his son, the case will
likely remain in the news.
Principal lawsuit targets district leaders, parents
A court date has not yet been set for an expected court battle
between the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and former Newport
Heights Elementary School Principal Judith Chambers.
Chambers sued Supt. Robert Barbot, Assistant Supt. of Human
Resources Lorrie McCune and Assistant Supt. of Elementary Education
Susan Astaritas in November for defamation, breach of contract,
violation of due process and intentional infliction of emotional
distress.
She felt she wasn't given sufficient time to respond to her
firing, said her attorney, Margot Nelson.
Chambers is also suing three Newport Heights parents, citing their
