Constitution

COSTA MESA — A swap meet operator and a group of small-business owners on Tuesday announced that they have sued the state in an effort to stop it from selling the Orange County Fairgrounds to a private developer for $100 million. American Fairs and Festivals — made up of swap meet operator Tel Phil Enterprises Inc. and many of its sellers — filed suit in Orange County Superior Court to stop the state's Department of General Services from transferring the 150-acre property to Newport Beach-based Facilities Management West.

The Costa Mesa City Council on Tuesday is expected to put its city charter plan on the general election ballot. A charter - a city constitution by another name - would allow municipal issues like zoning, city project funding and elections to be decided by the council. The meeting, which is the third and final discussion on the charter, is also the last chance for the council to amend it before sending it to the Nov. 6 ballot. Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer introduced the charter idea late last year.

An appellate court on Monday denied a request by the city of Costa Mesa to put its proposed charter measure on the June 5 ballot. The 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana turned down the city's writ seeking to compel county elections officials to put the measure before voters during the statewide primary, despite the fact that the city missed the original filing deadline. Costa Mesa could not demonstrate the city would suffer "irreparable harm" if the proposed charter did not go before voters in June instead of at another time, according to the opinion.

Editor's note: This corrects the spelling of Hussam Ayloush's name. NEWPORT BEACH — University of California President Mark Yudof spoke before an estimated 350 people at Temple Bat Yahm on Thursday night, telling the predominantly Jewish crowd that he doesn't condone the anti-Semitic statements occasionally made on UC campuses, not just at UC Irvine. But the reality, Yudof said, is that there is nothing he can do about it because they are protected under the 1st Amendment, which allows for free speech and the right to assemble.

Costa Mesa's governance will shift toward increased local control should a majority of the city's voters approve a proposed charter in November's general election, advocates say. The ballot's charter initiative, Measure V, attempts to change Costa Mesa from a general-law city under the purview of state guidelines to being home-ruled by a charter. The major changes imposed by the charter, which would essentially serves as a city constitution, have been hotly defended and contested in the months since the document made the Nov. 6 ballot.

The Costa Mesa City Council on Tuesday evening approved putting a proposed city charter on the general election ballot, marking the first time in the city's nearly 60-year history that it could fundamentally change how it operates. In a 4-1 vote, with Councilwoman Wendy Leece dissenting, the move put the decision to enact the document — essentially a city constitution — to the will of voters in November. If approved by a majority, Costa Mesa would become a charter city, with municipal affairs such as zoning and public contracts under the rules of the city instead of the state constitution.

Tuesday's Irvine City Council meeting was marked with an introductory moment of silence in memory of Keith Lawrence and Monica Quan, as well as two law enforcement officials who allegedly fell prey to former cop Christopher Dorner. Mayor Steven S. Choi also commended Roger Steeber, a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier for saving the life of an elderly Irvine resident on Sept. 17. Steeber was on his route when billowing smoke snagged his attention, leading him to the mobile home of Karen Petersen, 79. According to Orange County Fire Authority division Chief Michael Moore, the fire in question was moving fast on one of the windiest days of the year, and it was only Steeber's quick thinking that saved Petersen before she was overcome by smoke.

Norma Jeanne Strobel Ralph E. Shaffer   Proposition 8: When Courts Overturn the Will of the People It’s been done before in California – Stunned by the narrow victory to ban same-sex marriage in California , gay and lesbian organization lawyers have moved to the courts. Ambiguities regarding amendment and revision of the state constitution gives them hope that the state Supreme Court will overturn the Proposition 8 victory. Article 18 of the state constitution makes it clear that there is a distinction between a revision and an amendment to the constitution.

Two Orange County law school deans will debate the Affordable Care Act on Wednesday. In celebration of Constitution Day, the founding dean of UC Irvine's law school, Erwin Chemerinsky, will debate John Eastman, former dean of the Chapman University School of Law. Orange Coast College's Social and Behavioral Sciences division is hosting the event at the campus. The two legal scholars will take sides on President Barack Obama's health-care plan. Last year they debated the Constitution during a similar event at OCC. The event is free and runs from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Robert B. Moore Theatre, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa.

Here is an idea that was suggested to me on the campaign trail - and the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. See if it does to you. Article I Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution specifies that each member of the House of Representatives must represent a minimum of 30,000 people, but it sets no maximum. Because there were 105 members of the House in 1790, when our country had a population of about 3.9 million people, that meant that, when our government began, each member of the House represented an average of about 37,140 people.