Bottled Water

I miss the days when I could drink a glass of water from the tap without hesitation. Walk down the beverage aisle of any grocery store and the choices for water are mind boggling. A Google search on “bottled water” turned up 2,550,000 sites. Newport Beach recently mailed a glossy “2007 Water Quality Report” trying to convince us their water is the best. The Irvine Ranch Water District, also serving parts of Newport, sends out a zippy little newsletter with its bills every month touting how wonderful their water is. Having two homes in Newport, my water bill from the city is considerably higher than my water bill from Irvine Ranch Water District.

Lolita Harper Carla Cobrarubias has little money to spare. She and her husband have three young kids to feed and a steep Southern California rent to pay on a modest salary. Bottled water, however, is one luxury she will not live without. "We know the tap water here is safer than at home, but we still like bottled water better," Cobrarubias said. In her native city of Tijuana, Mexico, Cobrarubias knew better than to drink from the tap. The water is not safe, and she and each of her neighbors made weekly trips to the water store for a drinkable alternative.

"Whenever there is an explosion, we recommend people get away from there. They should migrate away, not gravitate toward." -- Bob Durham, Costa Mesa Police sergeant, on people's interest in a transformer explosion at Triangle Square on Tuesday "It's important to know that quality standards for our groundwater basin are as good or better than bottled water. If there's a bad chemical out there somewhere in the water supply, it's more likely to end up in your bottled water than in the groundwater.

It?s always refreshing to see people exercise their right to demonstrate peacefully. So a thumbs up to the effort put forth by Moveon.org recently. The group fanned out across the country urging members of Congress to support President-elect Barack Obama?s economic stimulus plan. Locally, about 20 of them showed up at Rep. John Campbell?s district office in Newport Center, only to be greeted with bottled water and doughnuts. ?He is for it. He supports it,? said Lou Penrose, district director for Campbell.

Andrew Glazer NEWPORT-MESA -- Just 32 hours before the dreaded Y2K crisis would, or wouldn't, happen, local grocery stores, gas stations and banks looked no busier than normal. Stater Brothers on Newport Boulevard was busy. But most shoppers had their carts filled with alcohol, chips and dip, not drums of water, batteries and First Aid kits. A Circle K on Newport Boulevard also was quiet. And Costa Mesa's gas stations were no busier than any other Thursday afternoon.

June Casagrande The Orange County Water District has launched a full-scale media blitz to promote its Groundwater Replenishment System -- a project that will add treated sewer water to drinking water supplies. The message "safe as bottled water" is central to the $700,000 promotional campaign, that includes public service announcements on five cable stations and three rounds of mailers, each to 783,000 homes in about 20 Orange County cities. The Groundwater Replenishment System, the first of its kind in the country, will use wastewater treated to drinking-water standards to make up the difference between supply and demand for water in Orange County.

Waving signs bearing slogans like “New Jobs, Green Jobs,” a group of local activists visited Rep. John Campbell’s district office in Newport Center on Wednesday to urge the congressman to support President-elect Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan. Campbell’s staff met the group with bottled water and a plate of chocolate doughnuts neatly arranged on an American-flag-patterned serving platter. “He [Campbell] is for it — he supports it,” Lou Penrose, district director for Campbell, told a crowd of about 20 people at a noon rally outside Campbell’s office.

Three years ago, I suffered a severe knee injury in a basketball game. Before my visit to an orthopedic surgeon, I went online and self-diagnosed my condition. I printed about eight pages of information and walked into my appointment an informed patient. When I showed the surgeon what I had discovered, he took my printed pages, walked over to a trash can and threw them out. “One of the dangers of the Internet,” he said, “is that you can find an answer for anything.

Jennifer Kho COSTA MESA -- The city's water has a clean bill of health, according to a water-quality report now available to residents. The annual report shows that Mesa Consolidated Water District's water has lower levels of contaminants than state regulations allow. "By all means, I am happy with the report," said Trudy Ohlig-Hall, the water district's board president. "Our water is healthy to drink. If you put it in the refrigerator, the next day it is better than bottled water because you know what's in your tap water and you don't know what's in your bottled water."

June Casagrande NAME: Gordon Hanscom HOME: Costa Mesa JOB TITLE: Course services chairman HE IS Getting the goodies where they need to go DAILY DUTIES When you see a Toshiba visor, a Cadillac cap or a golfer enjoying a quick snack out on the course, you're seeing the work of Gordon Hanscom. As chairman over about 50 volunteers in the course services division, Hanscom oversees the tournament's entire operation for distributing merchandise on the course.

Did you know that this week is National Drinking Water Week? Neither did I until an e-mail from a loyal reader hit my inbox. “Drinking Water Week is an opportunity for North Americans to think about what water means to each of us,” AWWA President Craig Woolard said in a news release. “A safe, reliable water supply is critical to the success of any community. It creates jobs, supports business and investment, and provides for the health and welfare of citizens in ways ranging from disease-prevention to fire suppression.

Ahoy, Did you know that this week is National Drinking Water Week? Well, neither did I, but I think that National Drinking Water Week is a worthy cause. I am not sure what we are supposed to do for this festive occasion, but I think we are fortunate to live in an area where our drinking water in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa is of excellent quality, and is very safe to drink from the tap. As a matter of fact, the Mesa Consolidated Water District’s reports describe that its tap water is above par, compared with bottled water.

A recent visit by the state’s second-in-command reminded residents that in addition to plastic bags and aluminum cans, much of its sewer water is recycled. The Orange County Water District hosted state Lt. Gov. John Garamendi and state Assemblymen Van Tran and Mike Duvall Jan. 30 for a tour of the Groundwater Replenishment System in Fountain Valley. The system is the largest purification project of its kind in the world; the amount of water it produces can supply half a million area residents each year, and it is not affected by drought.

It?s always refreshing to see people exercise their right to demonstrate peacefully. So a thumbs up to the effort put forth by Moveon.org recently. The group fanned out across the country urging members of Congress to support President-elect Barack Obama?s economic stimulus plan. Locally, about 20 of them showed up at Rep. John Campbell?s district office in Newport Center, only to be greeted with bottled water and doughnuts. ?He is for it. He supports it,? said Lou Penrose, district director for Campbell.

Waving signs bearing slogans like “New Jobs, Green Jobs,” a group of local activists visited Rep. John Campbell’s district office in Newport Center on Wednesday to urge the congressman to support President-elect Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan. Campbell’s staff met the group with bottled water and a plate of chocolate doughnuts neatly arranged on an American-flag-patterned serving platter. “He [Campbell] is for it — he supports it,” Lou Penrose, district director for Campbell, told a crowd of about 20 people at a noon rally outside Campbell’s office.

Three years ago, I suffered a severe knee injury in a basketball game. Before my visit to an orthopedic surgeon, I went online and self-diagnosed my condition. I printed about eight pages of information and walked into my appointment an informed patient. When I showed the surgeon what I had discovered, he took my printed pages, walked over to a trash can and threw them out. “One of the dangers of the Internet,” he said, “is that you can find an answer for anything.

I miss the days when I could drink a glass of water from the tap without hesitation. Walk down the beverage aisle of any grocery store and the choices for water are mind boggling. A Google search on “bottled water” turned up 2,550,000 sites. Newport Beach recently mailed a glossy “2007 Water Quality Report” trying to convince us their water is the best. The Irvine Ranch Water District, also serving parts of Newport, sends out a zippy little newsletter with its bills every month touting how wonderful their water is. Having two homes in Newport, my water bill from the city is considerably higher than my water bill from Irvine Ranch Water District.

Ahoy. I think June gloom is here a month early, giving us cloudy and damp mornings with the sun trying to peek through in the afternoons. This weekend will remain mostly the same ? look for overcast mornings and afternoon sunshine if the winds kick up. Boating will be good with flat seas, as swells at Point Conception are under 7 feet. Did you know that May 7 through 13 is National Drinking Water Week? Neither did I until an e-mail from a loyal reader hit my inbox. "National Drinking Water Week is a chance for water utilities and the consuming public to pause and consider the immeasurable value that a safe, reliable water supply plays in our daily lives," said Jack Hoffbuhr, executive director for the American Water Works Assn.

Marisa O'Neil Students starting classes Monday at Harbor View Elementary in Corona del Mar might be in store for some old-school learning. As of Friday afternoon, construction continued on the school, which will open a week later than other schools in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. Teachers and administrators at the school are hoping for the best when classes begin but are prepared for the worst. "That school has needed a lot of attention for a long time," said Tom Holtom, the district's representative for Measure A construction.

Greer Wylder Celebrity Chef Martin Yan just opened Yan Can in Costa Mesa, a new quick-casual restaurant (one step up from a fast-food restaurant). It's a mix of quality Asian culinary specialties from Vietnam, China, Thailand, Korea and Japan. There's a counter for ordering, plus a sit-down area where servers bring food. His first Yan Can opened in Northern California in 2002. Now there are six California locations (one in Rancho Santa Margarita).