Ethics

HUNTINGTON BEACH — When Sara Noel Harris was in the Newport Beach Police Explorers program as a teenager, she had a reputation for not always listening to rules. Her supervisors hatched a plan one day to make her more docile. The officers in charge — including her father — appointed her sergeant over the other cadets, then, when Harris was out of the room, asked her classmates to disobey every order she gave them. The goal was to show the feisty teen how difficult it was to deal with rebellious types.

Assemblyman Allan Mansoor (R-Costa Mesa) was assigned to serve on four committees and one sub-committee for the 2011-12 regular session. The former Costa Mesa mayor will serve as co-chairman of the newly formed Assembly Ethics Committee with Assemblyman Richard Pan (D-Natomas). "I don't want to go after something for the sake of going after it," said Mansoor, who serves the 68th District. "But at the same time, if there's an issue of corruption or an ethics violation, I will take it seriously and work with Democrats and Republicans alike.

Twenty-five years ago, Jay Johnson applied to be an officer at three police departments: Long Beach, Irvine and Newport Beach. By the time Newport called him back for an interview, he already had a job offer from Long Beach. He took it. He stayed there and climbed the ranks. On Wednesday Johnson, 45, returned to Newport Beach — this time to be sworn in as chief of police. "Every decision that we make, path that we take, will be made with ethics and integrity," Johnson said, emphasizing the team mentality he pledged to encourage as chief.

People remember Lavonne Edwin Cox as precise, meticulous and strict. He was an overseer, making sure everything got done efficiently. “He was one that dots every ‘i’ and has every comma in its right place,” said Jean Aldrich, widow of Dan Aldrich, the first chancellor of UCI. Cox was the first employee at UCI. When former president of the University of California system Clark Kerr commissioned a new university to...

Newport Beach Councilman Rush Hill on Monday endorsed Councilwoman Leslie Daigle in her bid for state Assembly and strongly criticized one of her opponents in the race, Democrat Robert "Bob" Rush. Hill stated in a press release issued by the Daigle campaign that his peer on the council is best suited to represent the 74th District, which includes Newport, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach and Irvine. "I've worked closely with Leslie on the most important issues facing our city - cutting our budget to live within our means, pension reform, more effective approaches to service delivery, and encouraging economic growth - and she is serious about finding solutions and effective in forging alliances on the council," he said.

We have definitely ventured into a new era when women’s choice encompasses more than ever before. With octuplets and a 66-year-old women bearing children, it’s amazing and incredibly sad that we still have women of “child-bearing age” incapable of pregnancy. This is certainly a question worth struggling over. While I do think it is important and necessary for doctors to lay out potential problems, I think that women have a right to choose what happens to their bodies.

A Congressional ethics body is investigating whether campaign contributions to Rep. John Campbell (R-Irvine) and seven other congressmen influenced their votes on last year's financial regulatory reform bill. Campbell's spokesman confirmed Thursday that the congressman's office had received a letter requesting information about campaign contributions. "We have been approached by the Office of Congressional Ethics along with a number of other House offices for a preliminary review, and we are fully cooperative and we look forward to an expedient and favorable resolution," spokesman Brent Hall said.

Costa Mesa High School Les Miller Outstanding Student Awards MANDY NGUYEN GPA: 4.28 School Activities/Clubs: National Honor Society, California Scholarship Federation, ROP Emergency Medical Responder, ZOE academy Community: Mesa Verde Library, Heart of Jesus Retreat Center, part-time job at the Orange County Marketplace Honors: valedictorian, Balboa Bay Club Scholarship, Mustang Recognition Awards, Principal's Honor...

Vanguard president honored with award Vanguard University, in Costa Mesa, has honored their president, Murray Dempster, with the Ethics In America Award for ethical excellence in the Orange County business community at a reception that was held on June 10 in Newport Beach. The awards were presented by the Passkeys Foundation and Chapman University's Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics. Past recipients include: Thomas E. Yott, president of South County Bank; Sonance, an architectural audio business in San Clemente; Insight Health Services Corp.