The sail protrudes above city-imposed height limitations for the area and residents worry the structure will block their bay and ocean views.
City Council members have vowed to scale back the sail in the final designs. Bohlin Cywinski Jackson’s 81,000-square-foot, two-story design also features a wave-shaped roof that would clear the view plane.
A park included in the design plans would feature wetlands, walking trails and an amphitheater.
Weston Kruger trial: The trial for a Newport Beach man accused of throwing a liquor store owner to the ground and killing him when confronted about stealing a magazine could start as early as April.
Weston Kruger, 30, is charged with murder during the commission of a robbery after prosecutors say he threw Newport Beach Sportman’s Liquor Store owner Hao Quang Huynh to the ground with such force that the injuries killed him after Huynh accused Kruger of stuffing an adult magazine down the front of his pants and leaving without paying for it in 2007.
Kruger is listed at 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds in Orange County Sheriff’s Department records. Huynh was described as 5-foot-3, 110 pounds. Huynh suffered a severe head injury when he hit the ground outside of his liquor store and died a day later at a hospital.
Kruger, who was out on bail while cases for armed robbery and domestic violence worked their way through the courts, could face the death penalty.
The trial has a tentative April 6 start date. His other cases are pending.
Back Bay dredging:
The slow process to keep dredging in Upper Newport Bay has just enough funding to last through January, but it will take millions of dollars more to finish the job, according to city officials.
The future of the project, which needs $16 million more to finish, hangs on what Congress does in its upcoming session.
