Dirt

"Stop.” Like, right now? “Yah, right here.” I suppose under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t second-guess professional road-race driver Owen Trinkler about anything — absolutely anything — that has to do with four wheels. But this is anything but normal and in no way resembles the asphalt tracks that Trinkler knows like the back of his hand. A few moments before, there were actually only three wheels on the ground, or dirt in this case, and now, here we are, staring straight down at a deep dugout ditch that passes for a cow path out here.

There are precious few places in Newport Beach left where one can walk along a dirt path. Over the years, we have suburbanized the hills and great walking trails where Fashion Island and Promontory Point now sit. Gone are the dirt walking paths along the Castaways, and now the City Council is considering doing away with the dirt walking paths along the Back Bay, the last such trails in the city. Such a move is out of step with the community and, contrary to what a small handful of proponents say, would not be a popular or necessary plan for preserving the Back Bay. In fact, it would be just the opposite.

Andrew Glazer COSTA MESA -- The Planning Commission is scheduled to decide tonight whether concrete trails belong in Fairview Park. The city's plans for the park call for several of the dirt paths to be paved with asphalt or concrete. But hundreds of residents living near the park signed a petition started by Tim Cromwell, who owns a house on the park's northern boundary, saying the trails should remain dirt. "All the bumps and jumps on the hills that mountain bikers use would be history," said Cromwell, who said he enjoys running on the dirt paths.

Editorial writers mostly use their space to identify, and often rail against, problems. But on occasion we like to laud a job well done. Today is one of those days. So here's a hat tip to Newport Beach, which finished the dredging of the Rhine Channel a month ahead of schedule. The work was performed by Dutra Dredging, which transported some 90,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment to Long Beach, where the local port will use it as fill dirt for a construction project. The partnership with Long Beach resulted in generous cost savings for Newport, which would have otherwise had to truck the dirt inland for expensive disposal.

I am opposed to the expansion of St. Andrew's Church. The expansion will bring more noise, traffic and pollution to an already congested neighborhood. I am particularly concerned about the massive effects of construction. Our direct concern is for the persons subjected to airborne particles due to demolition and grading. The draft environmental report shows significant impacts. A hundred days of digging, grading and hauling dirt is much too much for a residential neighborhood to bear.

LOLITA HARPER Glamis. The word alone lights a spark in motocross enthusiasts' eyes. "Heck ya, I ride at Glamis," said 33-year-old Alex Chavez as he loaded his dusty dirt bike into the bed of his Ford F250 truck outside a Costa Mesa motorcycle shop. "I just got back from there this weekend." Chavez is lured by the expansive, rugged terrain, the feeling of wind rushing through his helmet, and the adrenaline rush he gets from riding and the overall serenity of camping under the stars at the Glamis Dunes campground.

1 "I think the dirt paths are good for the kids. I'm in favor of keeping them. It's nature. They're nice. I think certain paved trails are necessary in order to serve everyone." DAVID GOSS Costa Mesa 2 "I think it's good to have both. Sometimes my wife comes out here to ride a bike after the rains and it's a real mess. The main straightaways should be paved. But not the trails that extend off of them. Kids who do jumps could fall and get hurt."

The Newport Harbor High School PTA wasn’t going to let a little rain get in the way of its biggest fundraiser of the year Saturday morning. As parents and volunteers gathered at Davidson Field at 5 a.m. to set up the 21st annual Harbor Heritage Run, the stadium’s dirt track had nearly turned to mud in the ongoing shower. The PTA persevered, however, moving equipment from the dirt to the grass and even getting a construction vehicle to move heavier items. The Heritage Run, which drew more than 1,000 participants, included a 5K run and a 2K course for running or walking, with both paths covering the neighborhood around Newport Harbor High.

Construction crews are tearing up the field where many memorable moments unfolded for the Orange Coast College baseball team in its run to the state final four just a few months ago. Mounds of chocolate-colored dirt and dump trucks occupy much of the space where players slammed home runs and made sliding grabs not too long ago. But while OCC enjoyed one of its most successful seasons last spring, the field and...

Lofts not a look to like in Cannery Village This is to applaud the recent letter by James Person regarding Cannery Village ("Cannery Lofts create blight at community's expense," March 15). I am a resident of the area and look with dismay at the lack of concern by the Newport Beach Planning Department and City Hall for this neighborhood. From the exhibits on display at the sales office for this project, the powers that be have allowed "ticky tacky" military barrack-type structures to be erected in the heart of a unique, quaint village area.

Editorial writers mostly use their space to identify, and often rail against, problems. But on occasion we like to laud a job well done. Today is one of those days. So here's a hat tip to Newport Beach, which finished the dredging of the Rhine Channel a month ahead of schedule. The work was performed by Dutra Dredging, which transported some 90,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment to Long Beach, where the local port will use it as fill dirt for a construction project. The partnership with Long Beach resulted in generous cost savings for Newport, which would have otherwise had to truck the dirt inland for expensive disposal.

Chris Welsh is the kind of man little boys dream of becoming, a rare, boundary-pushing breed whose life is full of exploration, derring-do and far-off places. He's a nerves-of-steel guy who flies planes and helicopters, races boats, goes on off-road dirt bike journeys and swims with great white sharks. Now Welsh is poised to embark on the adventure of a lifetime, a solo ride to the deepest reaches of the ocean, a project so startlingly daring that Welsh convinced Sir Richard Branson — the British billionaire whose resume also includes the title "adventurer" — to help foot the bill.

In what city officials are calling a potential win-win for Newport Beach, the Port of Long Beach will begin accepting applications next month from cities looking to dump underwater sediment into that port as part of its expansion project. "If we don't get into this window the Port of Long Beach is opening for us, it's going to hurt us financially," said Harbor Resources Manager Chris Miller. "It's a win-win. We're not taking a risk. We have nothing to lose." In what may prove to be a fortunate coincidence for Newport Beach, the Port of Long Beach is undergoing its $750 million Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project that would connect two shipping terminals divided by water into one giant wharf at the same time that Newport Beach is dredging its harbor.

  Editor’s note: A memorial service for Ken Millard will take place Friday at noon at the Mesa Verde United Methodist Church in Costa Mesa, 1701 West Baker Street. Those who knew Ken Millard, the former Estancia High baseball coach and physical education teacher who died Monday at age 76, said he had a story for everything. He also generated more than a few, some of which those who knew him will remember him by. Here is a sampling:  Bob Flint, who coached against Millard’s Estancia teams and coached with him at Irvine and Woodbridge high schools, said his introduction to Millard when his Irvine team played Estancia in the 1980s, was memorable and less than benevolent.

Yes, it is that time once again: The awards have been announced. Not the Oscars. That doesn’t happen until Feb. 22. We’re talking about the Darwin Awards. The voting is done, the ballots have been counted, except for Florida, and the 2008 winners have stepped into the history books. They’ve also stepped into the afterlife, since that’s how you earn a Darwin in the first place — by doing yourself in a startlingly dumb fashion. Are the 2008 Darwins the best ever?

A Costa Mesa man named Kevin Doane made it perfectly clear to the City Council that he was not going to pay a $400 citation the city issued him for allowing what was once a lawn in his front yard to dry out, die and turn into a dirt patch. “No. 1, I will not pay that — ever — and you can do whatever you want to do,” the brusque, bearded man told the council Tuesday night. Although he acknowledges that he’s violating a city ordinance that requires homeowners to landscape their front yards, he says he was encouraged to do so by Councilwoman Wendy Leece, who constantly tells residents from the dais to cut their water usage because of the impending drought.

"Stop.” Like, right now? “Yah, right here.” I suppose under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t second-guess professional road-race driver Owen Trinkler about anything — absolutely anything — that has to do with four wheels. But this is anything but normal and in no way resembles the asphalt tracks that Trinkler knows like the back of his hand. A few moments before, there were actually only three wheels on the ground, or dirt in this case, and now, here we are, staring straight down at a deep dugout ditch that passes for a cow path out here.

Parks and Recreation Commissioner Bob Graham has been told repeatedly by the Costa Mesa City Council, the city’s public services department and fellow commissioners that it’s not a good idea to put up a wall or a staircase at one of the minor entrances to Fairview Park right now, but he’s not satisfied. Graham wants a staircase to be installed at the end of Canary Drive, where the street dead ends into a steep dirt hill, covered by plants. He says the unpaved path is a safety hazard, and he proposes a wooden staircase to take its place, which he says would cost about $20,000.

A closed-off plaza in the middle of Costa Mesa’s Mesa Del Mar neighborhood that residents say attracts transients, drug dealers and curious kids will be demolished within 30 days if everything goes as expected at tonight’s city council meeting. The council will vote on whether to give the property’s owner, Oxbow 101, an extra year to turn the shuttered El Camino shopping center into residential property. The plaza was supposed to be redeveloped by the beginning of this month, but the owners are asking city council members for a one-year extension.

Has Costa Mesa Mayor Eric Bever ever jaywalked? Does Councilwoman Katrina Foley recycle? Inquiring minds want to know. A Costa Mesa blogger is offering cold hard cash in exchange for the goods on City Council members and candidates for office in the upcoming municipal election. The blog CM Watchtower, penned by a quasi-anonymous local political junkie who goes by the name John Smith, claims the reward money is ?no joke.? ?It?s a bona fide offer that would be paid, once the information is verified.