2006:Year of immigration debate

South of the cottages, a $10.4-million beach restoration project is planned for the former El Morro mobile-home park, which will include a 60-space campground, restroom facilities and plenty of parking spots. In May, the El Morro Village Inc. and community association agreed to pay a $60,000 settlement to the state involving trash and vandalism, the final obstacle to the building of the public campground.

9 Newport Beach City Hall

The seemingly simple decision of where Newport Beach would build a new city hall — the existing Balboa Peninsula site or elsewhere — became a continuing saga as council members found a new reason to delay every time they took up the topic in 2006.

Way back in 2005, the council was planning to move ahead with rebuilding at the current site, but some residents questioned the expense and why other sites hadn't been explored. So in 2006, the council did as government officials often do and formed a committee. Early in the year the group studied 22 possible sites and by April whittled the list to two: the peninsula site and one in Newport Center owned by the Irvine Co.

But the Irvine Co. wouldn't deal, and the council appeared to be forced to stick with the old site. Enter Bill Ficker, a well-respected local architect who in June proposed selling the peninsula site and building a new city hall on land next to the central library on Avocado Avenue.

Park boosters roared because the land in question had long been promised as a park and they'd already secured a donation to pay for it.

With an election looming, the council opted in July not to consider the park site and to instead look for other sites in Newport Center. That led to the most recent controversial possibility, the Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club on East Coast Highway. The council requested an appraisal in October and is now awaiting the results.

10 Newport-Mesa school district's new superintendent, board members and bond issue

With a new superintendent and three new trustees in office, the district saw its biggest turnover at the top in recent memory.

In July, following a nationwide search, former Beverly Hills Unified leader Jeffrey Hubbard replaced Robert Barbot as Newport-Mesa's superintendent.

Five months after Hubbard stepped in, the district saw another sweeping change, as three new members joined the school board — the highest total since 1994.