Costa Mesa

Dave Riggle, known for his 15-year allegiance to the Newport Harbor High football program, is fondly remembered at memorial service for his ability to touch many lives.COSTA MESA -- Dave Riggle's recurring presence on the sideline at Newport Harbor High football games the last 15 years helped him become known as the Sailors' 12th man. At a memorial service attended by an overflow crowd estimated at 200 Friday at Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church, he was remembered for his unwillingness to stand on the sidelines of life.

Danette Goulet Students that Buzz Amble taught last year stood next to those he taught nearly 30 years ago to wish him well in his retirement at a party Friday afternoon in Costa Mesa. The College Park Elementary School community -- past and present -- came together to honor a teacher who changed and shaped many a life. "I just wrote a letter in the last couple months to the district, not knowing if he was still around, because he was a teacher that stuck out in my mind, that changed my life," said Heather Darrow, 38, who was in Amble's class 28 years ago. "I was a tomboy before it was acceptable and . . . a total outcast, and he made it acceptable.

These people have been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of an intoxicant. They have only been arrested on suspicion of a crime and, as with all suspects, are considered innocent until proved guilty. NEWPORT BEACH Friday, April 8 Renee L. Hartshorn, 26, West Hartford, Conn. Tuesday, April 12 Kevin Mark Foden, 22, Westminster Thursday, April 14 Michael Roger Diephouse, 26, Newport Beach Friday, April 15 Marc Ernest Eberstein, 30, Balboa Island Laci Rene Smith, 23, Newport Beach Saturday, April 16 Monica Duda, 30, Costa Mesa Sunday, April 17 Rigoberto Martinez, 24, Lomita Lachmi Kumari Atma Ram Jaini, 22, Tustin Monday, April 18 Tina Nicole Sherman, 18, Newport Beach COSTA MESA Thursday, April 14 Nicholas Dean Dicarlo, 21, Upland Kari Leanne Betzler, 30, Huntington Beach Davide Stefano Sarracino, 31, Fountain Valley Friday, April 15 Henry Edwin Everson, 36, Morgan Hill David Matthew Perry, 41, Colorado Springs Kevin Alan Robinson, 24, Laguna Niguel Shawn Matthew Clary, 27, Costa Mesa Saturday, April 16 Brian Scott Durkee, 36, Huntington Beach Andrew Lorenzo Diaz, 22, Long Beach Francisco Armando Garcia, 20, Tustin Donald Dennis Landers, 55, Costa Mesa Tyler Edward Brower, 25, Santa Ana Heights ...

Costa Mesa (0-1) vs. Santiago (0-0) When/Where: Tonight, 7 at Garden Grove High Key Mustangs: Sr. RB-CB Mario Smith (136 yards rushing, one TD); Sr. QB-S Nathan Alvis (131 yards passing, one TD, one INT); Sr. CB Marcus Hayes (one INT). Key Cavaliers: Soph. QB Richard Sagastume; Sr. RB Andrew Huk; Sr. LB Fausto Tajimaroa. Breakdown: After a competitive effort in last week's 34-13 loss at Buena Park, Costa Mesa looks for its first victory in the nonleague game against Santiago … Santiago, ranked No. 8 in the CIF Southern Section Southern Division, finished 4-6 last year, and in fifth place in the six-team Garden Grove League … Like Costa Mesa, the Cavaliers have a first-year head coach in Brandon Croft … Costa Mesa lost last year's nonleague game to Santiago, 26-21, despite nearly rallying from a 19-point deficit … The Mustangs also lost to Santiago in the first round of the Southern Division playoffs in both 2008 and 2009.

High School Football When/where: Tonight, 7 at La Palma Park Key Mustangs: Sr. RB-DE Tyler Sheffner (10 carries, 42 rushing yards, two overall touchdowns); Sr. OT-DT Andrew Albers; Jr. QB Nathan Alvis (19 for 38 passing, 266 yards, two touchdowns); Jr. WR Trace Curet (five receptions, 78 yards). Breakdown: The Mustangs (0-2) rallied to get a chance at victory last week against Santiago after a lopsided loss to Buena Park in the opener … Katella (1-0) is coming off a 55-20 win over Sunny Hills in which it rolled up 427 rushing yards … Costa Mesa has struggled to get its ground game going, but Alvis has proved to be a dangerous weapon and continues to mature in his first season as the starter … Mesa got a big lift against Santiago with the return of Sheffner, who provides punch as a ballcarrier and is also a threat catching passes … A loss would mark the sixth time in the last seven seasons that Costa Mesa began the season 0-3. — Barry Faulkner

Costa Mesa police on Saturday night will mount a DUI and driver's license checkpoint at Newport Boulevard and Flower Street. Starting at 7 p.m., officers will conduct field sobriety tests on drivers they suspect may be impaired. Costa Mesa was ranked No. 20 on the list of "Top 50 DUI Cities" in California in 2008, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety. Statewide, overall traffic deaths fell by 23% from 2007 to 2009. "Everyone in California should be heartened with these figures," Christopher J. Murphy, director of the California Office of Traffic Safety, said in a prepared statement.

A resident who indicated in a letter to family that he is depressed has been missing since last week, according to Costa Mesa police. Fred Clifton Obrikat, 56, probably walked away from his residence at Oceanair Aparments, where he left his identification and vehicle, according to a news release issued Thursday. Obrikat is known to frequent Canyon and Talbert Regional parks and may be in the area, police stated. Police are asking anyone with information on Obrikat's whereabouts to contact Det. Dana Potts at (714)

C ould there be a more appropriate acronym than ROCKS, which stands for Recreation on Campus for Kids after School? We'll answer our own rhetorical question with a resounding "no." The city of Costa Mesa's program is solid and safe, a worry-free environment for working families who need someone to supervise their youngsters between the time the school bell rings and Mom and Dad get home from work. ROCKS, which is on the city's chopping block alongside youth sports and recreation programs, should not be rolled away.

COSTA MESA — The city has changed its website address to http://www.costamesaca.gov and workers' email addresses have changed as well. Costa Mesa employee email addresses are now formatted as firstname.lastname@costamesaca.gov , city officials announced. Emails sent to old addresses will automatically be rerouted to the new ones. Online users will be rerouted to the city's new site if they use the old website address. — Joseph Serna Twitter: @josephserna

Fresh paint coated the walls and a flat-screen TV hung in the living room across from a new art wall. Newly hung curtains framed the windows and brightly patterned pillows livened up the couch. "I just walked into my house, and I was like, 'Oh, my God! Are you kidding me?'" said Sarah Reeve, a single mother of two whose Eastside Costa Mesa two-bedroom home was the recipient a two-day mini-makeover. "What amazed me is they used my stuff ... I'm so impressed because I would have never envisioned it the way they did. " "I love it," Reeve's 6-year-old son Luke yelled into the phone.

Costa Mesa officials hope their peers in Newport Beach will join them in opposing a proposed bridge that would link Costa Mesa's 19th Street with Huntington Beach. In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the Costa Mesa City Council upped the ante on its nearly 20-year-old resolution opposing the 19th Street Bridge by also pledging to try and get it removed from the county's master plan. "I'll do my best to show my love to Newport Beach," Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer told the audience Tuesday.

Costa Mesa City Attorney Tom Duarte asked federal authorities months ahead of a January raid to help shutter the marijuana dispensaries operating illegally in the city, according to a letter he wrote to the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles. "In light of your office's recent announcement relating to increased enforcement against illegal marijuana cultivation and distribution, we therefore seek your office's assistance," Duarte wrote to U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. on Oct. 26. "We believe that by working together with the U.S. Department of Justice, we can eradicate these illegal businesses from our city.

A majority of residents surveyed in the Coast Community College District support a potential 2012 bond measure for building repairs and job training, according to a poll financed by the district. The district, which released the results last week, is ramping up its exploration of a bond that an initial ballot summary says would support the Orange Coast, Golden West and Coastline Community campuses, but not toward the district's administrative salaries or Sacramento. The poll's preliminary numbers show that about 60% of voters surveyed would definitely, probably or are leaning toward voting in favor of a 2012 general obligation bond measure, said Richard Bernard, a research associate with Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates, during a Feb. 1 presentation to the district Board of Trustees.

"Super" Mario Smith has decided where he will run with the football in college. Smith has signed a national letter of intent with the Southwestern Oklahoma State University football program, said Costa Mesa High Coach Wally Grant. Smith decided to join the Division II program from Weatherford, Okla., after he rushed for 2,155 yards and 28 touchdowns on 197 carries in his only season with the Mustangs. Sacramento State and New Mexico State showed interest in the elusive Smith.

Costa Mesa Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer's campaign committee raised more than $35,000 in 2011, with about $11,000 coming in a single fundraiser in December, financial disclosure forms show. The disclosures, which were released last week, show Righeimer far ahead of anyone else seeking city office. Righeimer for City Council 2010 remains $42,000 in debt from loans Righeimer's company, LMC Management Group, used to fund his campaign two years ago, a time when he faced strong pushback from the police union.

A Costa Mesa radio station shut down its weekly program on medical marijuana Sunday amid concerns that the show's host presented a one-sided view on a contentious topic, representatives said. Not long before it was to air, the nonprofit KOCI 101.5 FM pulled the plug on "Cannabis Community," hosted by Robert Martinez, a former marijuana dispensary owner and Army veteran. However, a station official said the show had actually been canceled a week prior. Controversy surrounded "Cannabis Community" after a Jan. 8 broadcast from a bar owned by Costa Mesa Mayor Gary Monahan, who said on air that he supports legalizing and regulating the pot dispensaries operating in the city.

A Costa Mesa man in custody without bail faces six charges of residential burglary following an alleged burglary attempt Thursday, police said. Police responded at 2:45 p.m. to the 500 block of Sturgeon Avenue in Costa Mesa after the Huntington Beach police helicopter, which Costa Mesa uses, observed Jesse Maxwell Dawson, 21, and a 17-year-old boy exit the residence and flee, said Sgt. Phil Myers. The helicopter was able to direct police to the two. Once caught, Dawson was found in possession of cocaine, heroin, illegal prescription medication and a hypodermic needle, Myers said.

Drew Graham will always have Paris. The Newport Harbor High School 1996 alumnus spent 10 years in Europe, including eight years in the City of Light, before returning home to open a Parisian vacation apartment rental agency. "With CobbleStay, we create Parisian insiders out of travelers," Graham said of the Costa Mesa-based company he launched in 2010. Upon returning home from Paris, Graham saw a need for a bridge between American travelers and French culture. "I think that it is very hard to navigate the city on so many different levels without having had the experience of living there yourself," Graham said.

COSTA MESA - Thanks to eight three-pointers, including three in a critical 17-0 third-quarter run, the Laguna Beach High boys' basketball team defeated Costa Mesa, 60-41, in a key Orange Coast League showdown Friday night. Laguna Beach (14-10, 7-1 in league) prevented the Mustangs from tying them for first place, with Mesa (16-8) dropping to 5-3 in league on Senior Night. In an impressive sidenote, the Breakers beat the Mustangs for the 15th time in a row, dating back to Jan. 12, 2007.