Courts

Art Hernandez is ready to hold court. It's something he's become accustomed to. The former UC Irvine standout has several national senior tennis titles to his credit — seven to be exact — and will attempt to add another this weekend by defending a championship he won last year in his own backyard: a doubles title at the Huntington Beach Open. Pacific Sands Cabana Club in Huntington Beach is hosting the annual event, which is holding its 50th anniversary tournament that began Friday at various tennis venues in the city.

COSTA MESA — The state appellate court has agreed to extend the Orange County Fairgrounds hearing to give Gov. Jerry Brown time to review the case, according to court records. The hearing date has not been set yet, but it's no longer taking place Feb. 8. The Department of General Services, which is in charge of selling the fairgrounds, asked the court and the parties involved in the lawsuit opposing the sale of the property to give the new governor 30 days to review the case and determine how he wishes to proceed.

The sign on the gate of the 12 tennis courts at OCC reads, “The OCC Tennis Facility is reserved for scheduled physical education classes, team events and approved rentals. The court is therefore subject to closure during these times.” I take that to mean that if it isn’t one of those times, the courts will be open for use by the public. Often they are, but often they’re not. Last week I ran into a coach while hitting a tennis ball against the wall on one of the three remaining handball courts.

State Sen. Tom Harman agrees with a state appellate court’s decision to allow children to be home schooled by parents who may not have a teaching credential, he said in a news release Friday. The court’s decision is a reversal from its stance earlier this year, when the California’s 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals effectively prohibited parents statewide from home schooling their children, affecting an estimated 166,000 children, if they did not have a teaching credential.

RICK DEVEREUX There is a reality TV show where contestants see the best plastic surgeons, cosmetic dentists and therapists in hopes of turning an ugly duckling into a swan. While never an ugly duckling, the Mesa Verde Tennis Club might win if it was a contestant considering all of the changes taking place and being planned. To begin with, all 10 tennis courts were resurfaced with Plexipave, the same surface used at Flushing Meadows in New York. The process started May 3 and people were swinging racquets on the new courts May 14. Randy Meyers, director of tennis, said using the same surface as the one used at the U.S. Open was no coincidence.

COSTA MESA — Dante Saleh, a 16-year-old from Newport Beach, secured another victory Monday on his bid to gain a main draw entry into the Costa Mesa Pro Classic at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center. Saleh defeated Deiton Baughman, 6-1, 6-2, then Alejandro Moreno Figueroa, 6-2, 6-2. Saleh faces fifth-seeded Dennis Novikov in the final qualification round Tuesday. Four of the CMTC courts will host 16 matches throughout the day, the highlight coming shortly after 10 a.m. on Court 2, when top-seeded Andre Begemann of Germany, currently ranked 286th in the world, of Germany faces Croatian Roko Karanusic in the first match of the main draw.

Costa Mesa resident Reese Stalder won a boys' 14 doubles title Tuesday at a USTA national tournament at Woodbridge Tennis Club in Irvine. Stalder won with his partner, Rafael Lenhard of Carlsbad. The No. 2 seeds defeated No. 7-seeded Max Pham of Newport Coast and Ryan Cheng of San Marino, 8-6, in the championship match. Stalder is ranked No. 3 in Southern California in boys' 14 doubles. He will be a freshman at Newport Harbor High in the fall. His older sister Samantha, who will be a junior at Harbor, is in the semifinals of the Chapman tournament this weekend.

On Jan. 21, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5 to 4 to overturn limits that had been in place for a century on how much money corporations could spend on influencing voters in federal elections. The court’s conservative bloc ruled that corporations have the same right to free speech as do individuals, so the government cannot place limits on how much corporations spend on helping out their preferred candidates. Democrats and the Obama administration criticized the court’s decision, saying it was a victory for big-money special interest groups that allows such interests to spend freely in federal campaigns and "drown out the voices of everyday Americans."

June Casagrande NEWPORT BEACH -- Many remember her from the days when there was little more than four tennis courts and a card table. She remembers when there was nothing there at all. After 36 years as one of Newport Beach Tennis Club's most central characters, Carole Johnson, is retiring. Amid hundreds of members and well-wishers, the club co-founder and longtime employee said her goodbyes this week over salad and iced tea. "We'll really miss you," Cathie Hall told Johnson at the well-attended, casual goodbye luncheon Thursday.

The Mesa Verde Tennis Club is starting to catch up with the Mesa Verde Country Club in terms of redesign and renovation. Last March the golf clubhouse received an $8.1 million renovation. This May the tennis courts were resurfaced with Plexipave, the same surface used at Flushing Meadows, N.Y., for the U.S. Open. But between the beautiful courts and the pristine clubhouse lies the tennis clubhouse. "It was a temporary building when it was built 40 years ago," said Rolf Jaeger, chairman of the tennis committee.

SANTA ANA — An attorney for pink-slipped Costa Mesa employees urged a three-judge panel Wednesday to keep in place a court-ordered injunction that prevents the city from starting to implement a plan to outsource some workers' jobs. But attorneys for the city argued in the Court of Appeal that city hall is well within its rights to find less expensive ways to serve residents. "If a city has the power to provide a service, it has the power to contract it," argued Richard J. Grabowski, a Jones Day law firm attorney representing the city.

SANTA ANA — A Costa Mesa man accused of killing two Orange Coast College students pleaded not guilty and denied sentencing enhancements during his arraignment Friday morning. Daniel Patrick Wozniak, 28, is scheduled to go back to court May 25 to set a trial date. Prosecutors have charged him with two counts of felony murder, with sentencing enhancements that include murder for financial gain, and felony use of a firearm. Wozniak, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, appeared unshaven before Orange County Superior Judge Craig Robison.

A UC Irvine medical school teacher is suing Johnny Depp, alleging that the actor's bodyguards restrained and injured her during a concert at the Hollywood Palladium. The assistant professor, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, alleges that Depp's bodyguards bearhugged her from behind and restrained her at a Dec. 1 Iggy and the Stooges concert before they pried her iPhone from her hands. The plaintiff claims they then handcuffed one of her wrists, dragged her through the Hollywood Palladium and exposed her buttocks to other patrons, according to a copy of the civil complaint filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The former chief financial officer of an Irvine technology company is expected to appear in U.S. District Court on Monday after being indicted last week on two counts of wire fraud related to a $16-million embezzlement scheme, according to authorities. Jean Joseph Ibrahim, 33, has been in federal custody since his arrest last month when he reentered the country at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. He was returned to California on Wednesday and was originally expected to make an appearance in court Friday, authorities said.

The family of a man who died after being transferred from a Newport Beach recovery clinic is suing the clinic for wrongful death. Brandon Jacques was 20 when he died of cardiac arrest last April after leaving treatment at Morningside Recovery, according to his family's civil complaint, filed March 29 in Orange County Superior Court. His family is seeking an unlimited amount in damages. Jacques first sought treatment for his alcoholism and bulimia at A Sober Way Home in Prescott, Ariz., but only made headway in addressing his drinking while there, his family said in the lawsuit.

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.

Costa Mesa City Clerk Julie Folcik was repeatedly reminded by election officials of the deadline to get a proposed city charter initiative on the June ballot, emails show. The exchanges, obtained by the Daily Pilot through a California Public Records Act request, could cast doubt on the claim that Folcik was merely mixed up about the 5 p.m. March 9 deadline — an argument she made in a failed attempt last week to put the initiative on June's ballot even though she missed the deadline.

ORANGE - Dennis Rodman hasn't rebounded from his personal and financial woes. The former NBA star, whose loud parties once riled his Newport Beach neighbors, made an appearance Tuesday at the Lamoreaux Justice Center, where he faced possible jail time for unpaid spousal and child support. However, the 50-year-old saw his sentencing moved to May 29, pending a court decision in which is his attorney, Linnea Willis, is seeking to vacate the ruling on four counts of contempt of court.

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman faces up to 20 days in jail Tuesday for failure to pay spousal and child support, according to an attorney for his ex-wife. The Hall of Fame player, whose years as a West Newport resident drew the ire of neighbors and the attention of police, is scheduled to appear at a contempt of court hearing Tuesday in Orange. As of March 1, Rodman, 50, owed $808,935 in back child support for the 9- and 10-year-old children that he had with his third wife, Michelle Rodman, said her attorney, Jack Kayajanian, in court documents.

COSTA MESA — Dante Saleh, a 16-year-old from Newport Beach, secured another victory Monday on his bid to gain a main draw entry into the Costa Mesa Pro Classic at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center. Saleh defeated Deiton Baughman, 6-1, 6-2, then Alejandro Moreno Figueroa, 6-2, 6-2. Saleh faces fifth-seeded Dennis Novikov in the final qualification round Tuesday. Four of the CMTC courts will host 16 matches throughout the day, the highlight coming shortly after 10 a.m. on Court 2, when top-seeded Andre Begemann of Germany, currently ranked 286th in the world, of Germany faces Croatian Roko Karanusic in the first match of the main draw.