American Dream

A listing of special events to entertain you through the weekend and beyond. TODAY Meet a soap star. Patrick Muldoon, who played Austin Reed for three seasons on "Days of Our Lives," will be inducted at 2 p.m. into the Guiness/Muldoon's Irish Wall of Fame. Muldoon also starred in "Melrose Place' and "Starship Troopers." Gaelic Storm will play a free courtyard concert after the ceremony. Muldoon's Dublin Pub is at 202 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach.

COSTA MESA — It looks like an image out of 1950s suburbia: a compact, freshly painted house surrounded by a white picket fence, with even a tiny putting green on the lawn. The only difference is that it’s not in the middle of a cozy neighborhood, but in a parking lot outside the local swap meet. The Orange County Market Place, which for nearly four decades has sold clothing, music, produce and just about everything else, made its first venture into housing at the end of March.

I'm struggling with what to write to attempt to convince the neighbors that eight additional Habitat for Humanity homes built in their backyards would be an asset to their neighborhood and the community. I fear that no matter what I write, I will not be able to convince the neighbors of the value of this project, proposed for a 1.5-acre property east of Harbor Center. However, what I do wish to convey, as a longtime Costa Mesa resident since 1963 and a volunteer with the Orange County Chapter of Habitat for Humanity since 1996, is that this project will give eight more families the opportunity for home ownership, the opportunity to improve their living standards and, most importantly, the opportunity to have their children live in a safe environment with good neighbors, attend excellent schools and live in this outstanding community.

ANDREW NGUYEN George C. Scott once said that "the human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it." The new film, "In America," exemplifies this idea of the human spirit beautifully, leaving audiences with a lump in their throat and an appreciation of life over material values. Director Jim Sheridan, who co-wrote the script with his daughters Naomi and Kirsten Sheridan, masterfully tells a tale of an immigrant father, mother and two daughters struggling to cope with the death of a son, amid a backdrop that symbolizes the American dream, New York City.

Cassady Jeremias Newcomers to filmmaking Jeff Blitz and Sean Welch will be at today's film festival to answer questions about their Academy Award-nominated documentary, "Spellbound." The film focuses on eight American children and their families as they make their way through the National Spelling Bee. Joining the filmmakers will be speller Neil Kadakia and his San Clemente family. Welch said their film is filled with rich, beautifully complex American stories.

Mathis Winkler NEWPORT BEACH--District 2 council candidate Steven Rosansky's arrival here 15 years ago resembled that of his Greek and Russian ancestors on Ellis Island many decades earlier. Fresh out of law school, he decided to settle in Newport Beach after visiting girlfriends from his university in the beach community. Riding his bike around Balboa Island, "I went up and down the street, looking for a 'for rent' sign," he said. Once he found one, he rented the place "on the spot."

When Edith Sandoval and Tony Figueroa heard Barack Obama planned to be at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach on Sunday, they knew they had to be there. Problem was it cost a lot of money to meet the Democratic presidential contender. If you wanted to shake his hand and get a picture taken with him, it would cost you $28,500. If you just wanted to hear one of his stump speeches in person and see the man, that would cost $2,300. Why the difference? Because the maximum an individual can give a presidential contender is $2,300 in the general election.

Deirdre Newman Some residents say they want the city to stop providing land at a cheap price to Habitat for Humanity unless Costa Mesa residents are selected to move into the houses. Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit Christian housing ministry that builds and sells affordable houses and loans money for the mortgages to low-income families. The main criteria, which varies with family size, is that qualifying families can only earn between 25% to 50% of the Orange County median income.

I would like to respond to Steve Smith's ludicrous diatribe on illegal immigration in the United States ("Juvenile, divisive and just plain wrong," Saturday). What this blowhard knows about the subject would get lost on the point of a pin, but what would you expect from this pin-headed, bleeding-heart liberal. Smith, no one has a problem with Mexicans who wait in line to become American citizens legally. Our beef is with those who crowd to the front of the immigration line and then think they've got a right to become a legal citizen ahead of millions of other legitimate legal-immigrant applicants from all over the world, who in most cases, have been waiting patiently and legally in line for years for their turn to come here and then work toward becoming legal American citizens.

Susan Menning When UC Irvine pre-med student Vivek Mehta took a volunteer position at Costa Mesa's Share Our Selves free clinic, it was primarily to enhance his medical school resume. But over the course of three years -- and 300 volunteer hours -- he learned more than how to take vital signs; he gained a greater understanding of health issues facing local immigrants and, more importantly, how to make a positive difference in their lives. Now Mehta has a new achievement to add to his resume.