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 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.

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.

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.

Dorr-Carey Engagement Announcement Mr. and Mrs. George Carey of Balboa Island are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Jennifer Morgan Carey  to John Wells Dorr III, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Dorr II of Lafayette, CA. Jennifer is a graduate of Newport Harbor High School and the University of Hawaii where she competed in volleyball. She is the Assistant Volleyball Coach at the University of California at Berkeley. John is a graduate of Las Lomas High School and the University of California at Berkeley where he competed in swimming.

I read with interest the story " Flood risk: Bane of Balboa's existence ," (May 5). About a century ago, a fast talking, fly-by-night entrepreneur named William Collins dredged up a swamp and sold tiny plots of land to buyers who didn't know what they were getting into. He used cheap cement to build shoddy bulkheads and barely dredged up enough sand to put the island even with the high-tide level. Today, residents are paying the price for Collins' poorly executed engineering project.

Craig Schusterick, his workman's hands powdery white with construction grit, led the way across Onyx Avenue on Balboa Island to show off his handiwork. His nearly complete three-story home - designed with solid wood paneling to echo the Cape Cod feel of its neighbors - features a rooftop deck, an elevator (for the grandkids and for the time in life when climbing stairs becomes more difficult) and the kind of luxe touches that would make any mainland decorator drool. "It's going to be really nice when it's done," he said with an easy grin.

I'm going to miss the Park Avenue Bridge. Though not an A-lister like the Golden Gate or Sydney Harbor bridges, the Park Avenue Bridge is a graceful and distinctive 100-foot span that connects Newport Harbor's Balboa Island and Little Island. The narrow 32-foot-wide bridge, which has two lanes for autos with pedestrian walkways bordering each side, was completed in about 1930. It spans the ribbon-thin Grand Canal. The Park Avenue Bridge was the first bridge I got to know as a youngster.

Margaret Torrey Margaret Torrey. November 15, 1926 - March 18, 2013. Raised by family in Sierra Madre, raised her family in Arcadia, and made everyone family on Balboa Island. Mother to 4, stepmother to 3, grandmother to 7, greatgrandmother to 9, + 2 great-greats. Friday March 22 internment at Pacific View followed by memorial service at Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club.

Robert Lee Cook (Bob) Robert Lee Cook (Bob), long time resident of the "Bear House" on Balboa Island, passed away 2-27-13 of prostate cancer.  He will always be remembered for his friendly smile, his cheery greetings & his genuine love of people.  He will be terribly missed by his family who loved him dearly & his wonderful world of friends.  Marcy (wife) invites all to remember him with love at an open house Saturday, 3-16-13, 11AM - 4PM at 538 South Bay Front, Balboa Island.

DONALD E. ELDER, FORMER NEWPORT BEACH VICE-MAYOR, DIES Donald Eugene Elder, 86, passed away on January 27, 2013 at his home in Balboa.  Don was born May 27, 1926 in Los Angeles to Eugene 'Gene' and Helen (Morse) Elder. Don was a lifelong resident of Newport Beach, living on Balboa Island, in Corona del Mar, where he met his wife of 58 years, Diane (Wakefield) when he bought the home next to her family, and for more than 50 years on the Balboa Peninsula oceanfront. He graduated from Newport Harbor High School in 1943, and received his degree in Electrical Engineering from The University of Southern California in Los Angeles in 1950.

As we head full steam into 2013, Costa Mesa is gearing up to celebrate its 60th anniversary. The city, which has been called Costa Mesa since the early 1920s, was officially incorporated in 1953.  My family moved here from Newport Beach months earlier, in December of '52. We left the fabulous environs of Balboa Island — puttering about in a cozy apartment behind my grandparents' home on Marine Avenue — for the rough and tumble of the Mesa. Leaving Balboa Island behind for Costa Mesa was like leaving the splendor of the Sydney Opera House for Ayers Rock.

Only one real topic on the harbor this week, and that's the 104th Annual Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade with the theme "Surf, Sand and Santa" going on from the 19th to the 23rd. I had a chance to sit down with this year's parade chairman, David Beek, who is the third generation of Beeks to chair the parade, at the Balboa Yacht Club last weekend. David explained, "Over the last 104 years, the spirit of the parade has not changed. It's always been about Newport Harbor coming together for the holidays, using their boats, singing, expressing holiday greetings across the water, and passing the tradition down to the next generation.

Valeria Kuntz Symes passed away peacefully at home in Newport Beach on December 15, 2012. Val was born October 6, 1921, in Forest Hill, NJ, the youngest of Albert and Jane Kuntz's three children. She and her brother Jack and sister Janet grew up in Bronxville NY, but spent several winters in Pasadena CA during Val's junior high school years. It was here that she met the love of her life and future husband, Bill Symes. Val returned east to graduate from Bronxville High School in 1939 and Hollins College in 1943.