Balboa Island

County health officials have removed signs near Balboa Island that warned people to stay out of the water on Tuesday after the second sewage spill in the area, according to Corona del Mar Today . The warnings were lifted at 2:30 p.m. Friday, according to the Ocean Water Protection Program  website . The warnings were issued Tuesday afternoon following a small sewage spill that occurred while workers were testing a line they were repairing...

A local woman will sculpt the statue of President Ronald Reagan that the Newport Beach City Council commissioned, now that the city manager has selected her among a group of artists. Miriam Baker, a Balboa Island resident, already sculpted a Reagan statue at Chapman University and was best qualified among the dozen or so artists who applied, officials said. "She's very well-respected and an esteemed artist-sculptor in our area," said Robyn Grant, chair of the city Arts Commission, which recommended that City Manager Dave Kiff choose Baker.

A private construction crew sheared a gas line behind a home on Balboa Island on Tuesday, forcing firefighters to evacuate more than a dozen residents in the area, officials said. About 3:17 p.m., a crew doing construction on a home in the 800 block of South Bay Front was cutting concrete when they also cut a natural gas line, said Newport Beach Fire Department spokeswoman Jennifer Schulz. Firefighters asked 16 residents in the 100 block of Sapphire Avenue to leave the area until it was under control, she said.

A Newport Beach man was found dead in the waters off Balboa Island, county coroner officials said Tuesday evening. The body of Robert LeGallee, 73, was found near North Bay Front and Collins Avenue, according to a coroner press release. Earlier that afternoon, Newport firefighters and lifeguards had responded to that location after receiving a call about a possible drowning, said Jennifer Schulz, Fire Department spokeswoman. A swimmer reported seeing a man in the water between a boat and dock.

I ran into George Yardley at the doctor's office, both of us waiting for our regular checkup, and it reminded me that one part of our city has made a significant contribution to professional sports. Not many places the size of Balboa Island can boast of having had two nationally known professional athletes. Oh, professional athletes might congregate in some desirable place they can now afford. The notorious Dennis Rodman has a home on the peninsula, and a number of other former professionals live in the area, but the idea of having two athletes who were good enough to become professionals actually come from a place as small as Balboa Island is rather amazing.

I have often accused early Balboa Island of being a stodgy place in comparison to old Balboa. Balboa had bootleggers, gamblers, rum runners and their ilk. Balboa Island had ... residents. However, in fairness, I must point out that Balboa Island was at one time the scene of a criminal case that made national and maybe even international headlines. The case was People vs. Spreckels, and it occurred about 50 years ago in quiet, peaceful, boring Balboa Island. I suppose that today, the name Spreckels doesn't mean too much, but in its day, the name ranked right up there in newsworthiness with Rockefeller, Ford or Carnegie.

Lolita Harper William Keith drove 200 miles to visit the neighborhood in which he and his late wife once enjoyed years of happiness and creativity. He reminisces about his former jewelry store -- Keith's Jewelry -- once located in the heart of Balboa Island, and thinks of the keepsake he created in tribute of the quaint community. It was back in the day when smoking was the rage and men carried silver cigarette cases in the fold of their jacket.

Susan McCormack COSTA MESA -- Msgr. Joseph Sharpe, longtime priest, educator and adventurer, died of cancer Tuesday night. He was 85. Sharpe was best known in the Newport-Mesa area for his straightforward sermons at St. John The Baptist Church in Costa Mesa, where he presided from 1976-78, and at St. John Vianney Chapel on Balboa Island, where he presided for 20 years until 1998. As monsignor at St. Vianney, Sharpe led major efforts in 1996 to renovate the church, complete with a redecorated interior, a new stained-glass mural above the main doorway and a new electric organ.

Noaki Schwartz BALBOA ISLAND -- After a dozen long years, the little island community under threat by towering utility poles will finally have its wires and cables moved underground. "It really shouldn't have taken so long," said community leader Steve Bromberg, who's participated in the effort as the Little Balboa Island Property Assn's president until he recently stepped down. He added that the delay was partly because they had to gather petitions and study the project, then faced the recession, followed by some lagging organization.

Shirley Pepys still hasn't fully pieced together the history of the house whose 100th birthday she'll celebrate this month. Pepys, the creative director of the Balboa Island Museum & Historical Society, moved in 1995 into the home facing the water at 526 S. Bay Front. She hasn't found documentation of who built the house but has confirmed that Leonora May Collins, the sister-in-law of Balboa Island developer W.S. Collins, bought the land in June 1911. Some of the house's owners may be lost to history as well, but Pepys knows that Charles and Muriel Gay, who owned an African lion attraction in El Monte, lived there around the World War II years.

In the front window of his store on Marine Avenue on Balboa Island, Neil Roberts turned over a batch of candles in to smooth out the bottoms. The store was empty Saturday morning, but reusable bags with a small-business slogan hung on the bench outside and beckoned people in from the crowded sidewalk. This year, as in past years, the two owners of CandlEssence took part in Small Business Saturday, a promotion American Express created in 2010 to help mom-and-pop stores compete with big box retailers' Black Friday bonanza of shopping.

Mulvaney-Jennison, Judith Ann Judy (aka “Nannie” and “Princess”), of Lake Forest and Balboa Island, was welcomed home to Heaven on October 29, 2013 after a battle with lymphoma. Her passing was a shock, but she fought a good fight and kept us laughing until the end. Judy was born on October 22, 1942 in Frazier Park and later resided in Phoenix, AZ where she attended Sunnyslope High School. A cheerleader in high school, Judy went on to graduate from the University of Arizona where she became the cheer director.

Ninety-five years ago, a small crowd of people shared a moment outside the Balboa Pavilion that became an iconic part of Newport Beach history. Even if all they did was show up. One man, wearing a long white apron, steps out the front door of a shop marked Barker's, passing what appears to be a card or magazine rack. A yard or so away, a man in a white suit watches him. Three women walk and chat nearby on the sidewalk. A man in overalls stands outside a billiard hall, holding something indistinct in his hands, while a black-suited figure approaches the door.

Ellis C. Bryant, 81, of Newport Beach, died in a tragic car accident on Friday, October 11, 2013. Ellis graduated from the University of Arizona, completed his Masters Degree, and worked as a CPA. He married Ellen Bryant in 1967, and together they raised two boys, Ed and Bob. They lived in Corona del Mar and later moved to Newport Beach. He also is survived by two grandchildren Stephanie and Alexander, his brother David and sister Josephine, and many nieces and nephews. An avid tennis player, Ellis competed at the University of Arizona and later throughout Southern California.

Re. "Mailbag: Dogs are soiling Balboa Island beaches," (Oct. 3): Writer Dariela Wilson commented on a situation I often observe, people letting their dogs do their business on Balboa Island beaches despite the signs posted every block that clearly state, "No Dogs on Beaches. " This not only creates a health hazard, especially to children playing in the sand, but it represents a disregard for regulations that encourages the breaking of others. We also see more and more dogs unleashed, in violation of leash laws.

I cannot understand the reason for letting dogs on Balboa Island beaches. Very often I see dogs on the beaches before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m. (and after 9 and before 5) on leashes (or not), peeing and pooping in the same sand that, a short time later, unaware children will be sitting in, digging in and using to build castles. Parents, too, seem unaware. Isn't this just plain nuts? I am trying to understand why this health hazard exists and how it might be remedied. Dariela Wilson Balboa Island * Going to press doesn't help As a resident of Costa Mesa, I am having some difficulty understanding where we are heading with regard to our local militia, or Police Department, and our city's governing body.

Lawrence M. Darling 1/2/23 - 9/8/13 Larry was born and raised in Whittier, California, to James and Ula Darling. He was a decorated Navy veteran, serving in the South Pacific during World War II. He married the love of his life, Norma Jean Homeier in 1942. They and their children moved to Newport Beach in 1954 and lived on Balboa Island until the late 60's, then to Corona del   Mar for many years. Larry & Norma Jean relocated to Morro Bay in 1992 for ten years enjoying the art community.

After spending Labor Day weekend on Catalina Island, Valinda Martin boarded a ferry for the short trip back to Newport Beach. The vessel bounced on the choppy water. Martin, seated in the back, landed hard as the boat rose and fell. Suddenly, she lost all sensation in her legs. It was Sept. 6, 1993, and Martin's been in a wheelchair ever since. Life changed overnight for the former women's clothing sales representative, who was used to lugging 30- to 40-pound bags in and out of her car up to seven times a day - in four-inch platform shoes.