Battles

America’s Civil War will be reenacted by 250 actors in period costumes this weekend at Fairview Park, and organizers are hoping to draw a young crowd. The project, which is a collaboration between local veterans and historical groups, is a first for Costa Mesa and its creators hope to expand it and take it on the road if it’s successful. “Any kids who see this, their eyes are going to light up. Two-dimensional education doesn’t work with the modern child: He needs to touch it, smell it, grasp it,” said Jeff Sharp, one of the event’s planners who works with veteran’s association AMVETS.

Every Labor Day Weekend in Huntington Beach’s Central Park, a massive cannon and other artillery are slowly wheeled into a grassy clearing. Women in voluminous skirts, with children in tow, gather on the sides of the field — along with more incongruous spectators in Rainbow sandals and tank tops. The anticipation is palpable. All around the hushed clearing, kids eagerly point out troops in blue and gray, who stolidly make their way toward either end of the wide expanse.

Guns blazing, an estimated 250 actors in period costumes converged Saturday at Fairview Part for the first-ever Battle of Costa Mesa. The Civil War reenactment is slated to continue 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, with battles scheduled at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The event is a collaboration between local veterans and historical groups. Organizers hope to take the battle on the road if it’s successful. Parking for today’s battles will be available at Estancia High School.

"I think it is important because we get to learn how our United States began because of one battle. If we lost that, we could've been British." KYLE PREVEL, 10 Costa Mesa "I think it's important because, if you never found out what it was, then we would never pass it on to our children and ... then their children." MELINDA KENNEDY, 11 Costa Mesa "I think it's important ... because if we know how these battles changed our lives and our history.

LAGUNA NIGUEL ? After the post-game speech, the chant was "En Fuego" for the Newport Beach American Little League Majors Division All-Stars. The bats were indeed again on fire for Newport Beach in a 15-4 win over Laguna Niguel on Wednesday night, a marathon game that took three hours to complete. With the win, Newport advances to tonight's District 55 Majors All-Star Tournament championship game against Laguna Hills, at 7 at Chapparosa Park. Manager Mike Favreau's team now needs to beat Laguna Hills twice consecutively to advance to the Section 5 Little League playoffs ?

Christine Carrillo Riding around the classroom on a wooden hobby-horse -- yardstick to be exact -- Tyler Brown took on the persona of Paul Revere announcing to his fellow classmates that the British are coming. Battles quickly ensued, one massacre after another, as the fifth-graders at Prince of Peace School in Costa Mesa re-enacted three major battles fought during the American Revolution. Each student traveled back in time to take a stroll in the shoes of key historical figures, from George Washington to Abigail Adams, and get a sense of who they were.

Barry Faulkner On the elevated emerald stage upon which the Orange County All-Star Football Game is played, the stakes are higher, the 40 times lower and the margin for error in the secondary as fleeting as the blur of a speeding spiral. All of this South cornerback Charlie Alshuler knows. But the recent Corona del Mar High graduate, who shared the Orange County lead with nine interceptions last fall, also knows a thing or two, or two dozen, about playing the position.

Anyone who saw "Gladiator" will recognize director Ridley Scott's intense visual style in his latest film, "Kingdom of Heaven." Like that Oscar-winning epic, this fictionalized story about the Crusades wows the eye, only this time, it doesn't quite succeed at thrilling the heart and mind. And in spite of an excellent cast, star Orlando Bloom doesn't have the charisma or depth of Russell Crowe. Set in the late 12th century, the film begins when young French blacksmith Balian (Bloom)

Dick O’Brien was 19 when he served in World War II as a buck sergeant with the U.S. Army’s 35th Infantry Division. He landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy 30 days after the original invasion in 1944, or as he puts it, “D-plus 30.” From that point on, O’Brien fought in five major battles up until the end of the war. He saw friends die in front of him. He knows what it’s like to be advancing on...

Since learning how, Christina Mainero has read just about everything she can get her hands on. And as far back as Anthony Mainero can remember, he has had a wild imagination and the ability to dream up adventures, battles and monsters. Christina is 16 -- she's athletic and enjoys spending time with her friends, reading, and watching TV and movies. Anthony's 13 -- he likes to stage battles with friends and play computer games. But unlike most of their friends and people their age, the Corona del Mar brother and sister wrote a book last summer -- "Astrodon: The Dawn of Battle" -- which they self-published through Authorhouse.

CORONA DEL MAR - The setter feeding the biggest player on the court the ball dealt with a couple of cuts, one on his leg and another on his arm. The one on the arm, near the elbow, wouldn't stop bleeding. The referees charged Newport Harbor High a second timeout because Steven Duhoux's cut wasn't fully covered after the initial timeout. It was late in the decisive fifth set of the Battle of the Bay boys' volleyball match at Corona del Mar and the Sailors needed a better Band Aid. Somehow the Sailors figured a way to tape up the cut. Duhoux returned, all bandaged up. Keep in mind that he had to switch jerseys because his No. 15 had blood on it. The number that wasn't going to change was the number of the player Duhoux kept calling on Friday night.

A mechanical shriek followed a low rumble as the Boeing 737 came closer, a looming albatross partially obscured by a thin, misty cloud. Within moments, it had passed and was soaring over the gunmetal waters of the Upper Newport Bay and toward the ocean. Then, the jet did something it wasn't supposed to do: It flew straight ahead. "He didn't turn," observed Ken Shapero, a GE Aviation Systems official, peering skyward. The plane, striped in Southwest Airlines' distinctive yellow and red, should have curved left to stay roughly over the bay to comply with a flight pattern aimed at protecting residents from noise.

COSTA MESA - At the end of the sixth inning, the Costa Mesa High softball team gathered near the dugout and yelled, "Estancia!" The players then lined up to slap hands with rival Estancia. The Mustangs believed Thursday's Orange Coast League home game was over. It wasn't, but it might as well have been. The teams played one more inning, going the normal seven. The Eagles added three runs to their 23-12 rout, helping them sweep the Battle for the Bell series against Costa Mesa for the second straight year.

NEWPORT BEACH - The Battle of the Bay swim meet always seems to come down to the meet-ending 400-yard freestyle relay on the girls' side. In 2011, Newport Harbor won it to forge a tie. Last year, CdM won the race to edge out a victory. In a way, it again came down to the last race Thursday at Newport Harbor High. The Sailors girls needed to finish first and second in that relay to win the meet. CdM Coach Doug Volding knew that wasn't about to happen. Instead, the opposite was true.

COSTA MESA - Spring break is this week for Costa Mesa High. The boys' volleyball team doesn't have much time off, though. The Mustangs went to school on Monday and prepared for an upcoming Orange Coast League match. The next day, they returned to the gym to play host to their rival, Estancia. Costa Mesa senior Noah JeyaRajah said it was still a little hard getting up for the Eagles during spring break. And it showed in the first set on Tuesday, as the Eagles jumped out to a seven-point lead.

They are fixtures on the left side of the infield for the Newport Harbor High softball team. Seniors Breanna Lopez and Lauren "Lou" Gandi typically play third base and shortstop, respectively. In those positions, they need to be able to communicate. But, for Lopez, a different kind of talk that happened during the teammates' freshman year also made a huge difference. "We were actually in the same French class together," Lopez said. "[Gandi] was just talking about how she played softball and how much fun it was. She just told me to come out and try out. That's what got me out here.

Dear sir or madam, will you read my book? It took me years to write. Will you take a look? So begins the Beatles' "Paperback Writer," a song whose lyrics take the form of a query letter by a fledgling author to a publisher. The subsequent verses nail many of the anxieties ("I can make it longer if you like the style ... I can change it 'round ... ") of taking that first step toward publication. For a few lucky authors, that step leads to the finish line. And then, after the first rush of euphoria, another pertinent question arises: "Dear sir or madam, will you buy my book?"

NEWPORT BEACH - Make that 32 wins in a row for the Corona del Mar High boys' lacrosse team. And make that eight Battle of the Bay wins in a row for CdM. No team has been able to figure out the Sea Kings in two years. Friday's opponent, Newport Harbor, hasn't figured out the Sea Kings in eight years. The Sea Kings made easy work of the Sailors in the annual rivalry game, defeating them, 15-7, on Newport Harbor's field. The Sea Kings are one of the best teams in the state as they went into the night ranked fifth by laxpower.com.

CORONA DEL MAR - On the very first pitch of the game, Newport Harbor High senior Breanna Lopez bunted for a base hit. Her hit caught host Corona del Mar a bit off-guard in the softball Battle of the Bay. By the time the half-inning was over, the Sailors had put up three runs. That turned out to be more than enough. Newport Harbor breezed to a 6-0 victory on Wednesday at CdM, the Sailors' sixth straight Battle of the Bay win. And, though Newport Harbor improved to just 3-8, Coach Russell Hartman said the Sailors have been growing through their tough nonleague schedule.

CORONA DEL MAR - Monte Vista High came all the way from Danville to play Corona del Mar in boys' lacrosse on Tuesday. The San Francisco Bay Area school's spring break is this week, a perfect time for two of the state's top teams to meet. The Mustangs' trip to Orange County unraveled early, as the Sea Kings won, 13-5. Before the start of the second period, one of Monte Vista's players was caught playing with an illegal stick. The coach, Michael Lambrecht, didn't believe it. He asked the referee to show him why he called a three-minute, non-releasable penalty on his player.