Ducks

June Casagrande This is your duck. This is your duck on drugs. This is your duck being driven to a farm miles away from Newport Beach. This is your new stink-free Grand Canal. Any questions? Thursday was D-Day, as City Councilman Steve Bromberg put it: Duck Day. While about 20 residents, including Bromberg, looked on Thursday morning, representatives from three government agencies and a private contractor carried out a coordinated search-and-don't-destroy mission to round up about 60 ducks.

June Casagrande NEWPORT BEACH -- A tough ordinance restricting feeding and breeding ducks doesn't go far enough, City Councilwoman Norma Glover said, suggesting the law might even be broadened to include pigeons. "I intend to bring this back," Glover told the council, which unanimously supported a preliminary move on Tuesday to put the law on the books. If the ordinance passes at the council's Jan. 8 meeting, it will forbid people from all but the most small-scale feeding of ducks, terns and other waterfowl.

Lindsay Sandham It's a good thing the Sidley family of Corona del Mar isn't accustomed to using the family swimming pool this time of year. Saturday, a mother duck and her eight ducklings moved in, and they don't appear to be leaving any time soon. The duck family first appeared in Karen Tringali's yard. She heard bird noises and assumed it was the usual springtime birds nesting in a nearby tree. "I was out cutting roses," the Corona del Mar resident said.

As the Ducks begin their Western Conference semifinal round against the Dallas Stars today, they are one step closer to the Stanley Cup. The Ducks were able to dispose of the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings by pulling out the brooms and sweeping them away in four straight. The confidence that Anaheim gained in that series will be instrumental as they continue their quest for the cup. Things don't get any easier for the Ducks, as they now face the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

This Saturday Ducks fans can get their chance to really celebrate their team's Stanley Cup at the Honda Center, but if you want to get started early take a gaze up at the sky Friday night for some fireworks. At about 9 p.m. the public can see a 10-minute fireworks display that will be launched from an ocean barge, Newport Beach City Manager Homer Bludau said. The Ducks won the NHL championship, 6-2, Wednesday night against the Ottawa Senators. The official fan celebration will take place at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Honda Center.

Ten long days. That is how long the Ducks had to prepare for the opener of the Stanley Cup finals, and it appeared not to be worth the wait. The Ducks were certainly a little rusty and seemed to be out of sync all game long. Although there seemed to be good energy and fast-paced play early in the game, it eventually, and rather quickly, was taken control of by the New Jersey Devils. Having to wait that long between games is very difficult in the post-season because you are gaining momentum with each victory and are ready to roll from one series to the next.

We believe Newport Beach should have the right to round up the ducks and to move them to an undisclosed place ("Displaced ducks put city in fowl mood," Feb. 20). They are dirty. The swimming pools take a very strong beating in the area because of the presence of the ducks. People feeding them just add to the problem. If the feed was not so readily available, I think half the ducks would go away. ED AND ROSEMARY STAPLETON Newport Beach In regard to the city's latest duck solution.

Tod Ridgeway Newport Beach got a bit of attention when city crews and others nabbed 60 ducks from the Grand Canal ("Ducks -- ducks -- vamoose," Aug. 23). The relocation effort brought chuckles from even the most hard-core clean water supporters among us -- because we know that duck droppings contribute to poor water quality, but we also know how silly grown men look when chasing down ducks. Duck roundups -- while being visible and attention grabbing -- are a very small part of Newport Beach's overall clean water effort.

Before a photographer snapped a picture of Scott Niedermayer's family, the former star Ducks defenseman directed a stern, yet calm order to one of his four sons. "Sit up straight," Niedermayer said. For 18 years, Niedermayer was looked to as a leader on his teams. Now he's mainly the leader of his family. That family, which includes wife Lisa, and sons Logan, 12, Jackson, 11, Joshua, 8, and Luke, 3, has been grateful that Niedermayer is now away from the game. They follow his direction.

PETER BUFFA Got ducks? We do. Not a lot. Just a few. Every so often, I catch a glimpse of one or two ducks strolling down our street, a quiet cul-de-sac in Mesa Verde. Is it shocking? No. But it is a little surprising. A duck in the park? Fine. Ducks on a lake? Of course. But a duck, or two, strolling down your basic residential street is different. That's why an item about ducks at South Coast Plaza caught my eye. Apparently, a small family of ducks has staked out an area at one end of the Bridge of Gardens on Bear Street.

Before a photographer snapped a picture of Scott Niedermayer's family, the former star Ducks defenseman directed a stern, yet calm order to one of his four sons. "Sit up straight," Niedermayer said. For 18 years, Niedermayer was looked to as a leader on his teams. Now he's mainly the leader of his family. That family, which includes wife Lisa, and sons Logan, 12, Jackson, 11, Joshua, 8, and Luke, 3, has been grateful that Niedermayer is now away from the game. They follow his direction.

Organizers called it "Center Ice White Out," as the mighty Anaheim Ducks held their annual casino night raising needed funds for the Orangewood Children's Foundation and for Court Appointed Special Advocates of Orange County, better known as CASA. The handsome athletes proudly known as the Ducks took their calling seriously and showed up dressed in all white with an occasional splash of orange at their home turf, the Honda Center. The gentlemen mingled with the crowd of some 650 donors surrounding a sea of gaming tables, ultimately raising $100,000 for the two charities dedicated to serving foster children in Orange County.

Ryan Getzlaf chuckles when he reveals where he keeps his gold medal. "In the drawer of my nightstand," said Getzlaf, the Anaheim Ducks captain who was on Canada's gold-medal winning team at least year's Winter Olympics. "I want to put it in a case. I just moved into a new house in September. It's kind of tough to do anything during the season. I have work to do. " Getzlaf, a Tustin resident, probably won't have his gold medal encased anytime soon. That's because he'll be busy with his inaugural Getzlaf Golf Shootout.

Somewhere "up there" Hans Christian Andersen probably is looking down at South Coast Repertory's latest Theater for Young Audiences production and musing, "This seems vaguely familiar. " The show in question is "Lucky Duck," a satirical treatise on Andersen's classic "The Ugly Duckling," by Bill Russell and Jeffrey Hatcher. It's presented in 21st-century terminology and set to a terrific musical score by Russell and Henry Krieger. And it's not just for the kids. Parents will appreciate the show's takeoff on "American Idol" and the various movie references ("Gone With the Wind," "Oklahoma!"

The Anaheim Ducks may start flocking to the Orange County Great Park in Irvine. The NHL team, and its representatives H&S Ventures LLC, are in negotiations with the park to create a community skating rink. The item was presented during Thursday's Great Park board meeting. Park Chief Executive Mike Ellzey has been authorized to move forward on the agreement. "An ice facility developed in partnership with the Anaheim Ducks would make a tremendous addition to our sports park," Ellzey said in a prepared statement.

COSTA MESA — Their presence creates a scene from a wildlife painting. They wobble and wiggle, following one another en masse. But the ducks, geese and other water fowl at TeWinkle Park are polluting and damaging the park, requiring thousands of dollars in cleanup and repair costs. In response, the City Council voted last month to make it illegal to feed ducks, fish and other wildlife in or around the lake at TeWinkle. The ordinance is scheduled to come back to the City Council Tuesday for a second and final vote before adoption.

COSTA MESA — Scott Niedermayer was easy to miss Tuesday afternoon at the Costa Mesa Farm Sports Complex. The NHL veteran defenseman is a four-time Stanley Cup winner, two-time Olympic gold medal winner and Anaheim Ducks team captain. He is one of two coaches on the Pegasus School third- and fourth-grade silver division team at the Daily Pilot Cup. On the soccer field with sunglasses on, Niedermayer can be more incognito while he watches his son, Jackson, play on the pitch. "I'm not as famous out here," he said.

Editor’s note: This is the first of three parts. Sweatshirts bearing Australia’s flag have replaced cardinal red and gold spirit attire at Estancia High School. A didgeridoo, the indigenous Australian instrument, lay in a corner of the Costa Mesa school’s administrative office. “Australian Youth Ambassadors Arrive January 16, 2010,” a banner on the school’s website announces. On Saturday, Estancia will open its doors to seven exchange students from the land Down Under.

  The Anaheim Ducks Street Team and their official mascot Wild Wing will be at HomeAid Orange County’s 18th Annual Project Playhouse®  on Sunday, Aug. 30 from noon to 6 p.m. in Giant Wheel Court at Irvine Spectrum Center®. Wild Wing and the Ducks Street Team are inviting Anaheim Ducks and Project Playhouse fans to enjoy their inflatable slap shot cage and Ducks Prize Wheel.                In addition, the Project Playhouse Village will be open for tours.

IRVINE — At first glance, freshman third baseman DJ Crumlich is the soft touch of the UC Irvine baseball batting order. But, like everything else about the backyard nugget from Irvine High, a deeper look reveals a presence, both offensively and defensively, that Anteaters’ Coach Mike Gillespie finds anything but hard to appreciate. So when Crumlich, who entered the game hitting .280 — exactly 63 points fewer than the aggregate of rest of his fellow starters — left the on-deck circle with one out in the eighth inning and runners on first and second in a 4-4 deadlock, against Oregon closer Drew Gagnier, Gillespie was more than optimistic.