Evelyn Hart

"The pen is mightier than the sword." When writings are based upon incorrect information, great and unwarranted damage can be done. Byron de Arakal's column on Jan. 10, "Random reflections on odd happenings in Newport-Mesa," made statements about Greenlight that were all wrong. There is absolutely no substance for his statements that development will nearly halt or there will be a large number of votes. The general plan of the city of Newport Beach still has room for approximately 20% more growth in the city without ever invoking Greenlight.

Former Newport Beach Councilwoman Evelyn Hart isn't getting an award for her hospitality, but perhaps she should. If you come to her house, Newport Beach's 2007 citizen of the year will make you a cup of coffee, and she may offer her services as surrogate granny for the entire city of Newport Beach. Hart learned Friday she's been chosen by past citizens of the year to be the 62nd recipient of the honor, which will be presented at a dinner in June. The award was founded by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce in 1949.

Evelyn Hart has played a prominent role in local politics and civic affairs. She served on the Newport Beach City Council in 1978, '82 and '86 and was mayor in 1983-84. She served as state director of the League of California Cities and as director of the Orange County Sanitation District. A Newport Beach resident since 1952, Hart was a founding member of the OASIS Senior Center and a member of the board of directors of the Youth Employment Service of the Harbor Area.

Evelyn Hart, the former mayor of Newport Beach, was honored Thursday evening by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce as its Citizen of the Year. Hart was the guest of honor at a dinner and cocktail reception held at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Spa. In April, the chamber announced her as its Citizen of the Year. She is the 62nd recipient of the honor, which was founded by the chamber in 1949. A Newport resident since 1951, Hart served as a city councilwoman and mayor during the 1980s and 1990s.

I remember being part of the negotiating team for Newport Beach many years ago on the first John Wayne Airport settlement agreement. We gave away a lot then. The county was supposed to find another airport for the long-term relief on Orange County air passenger demands. The county has not fulfilled its responsibility, while Newport Beach continues with degraded quality of life in the form of noise, jet fuel polluting the air and encroachments on the flight path, while more and more airplanes take off overhead.

I thought the Pilot editorial on Sunday, "Watching Greenlight," was fair and asked interesting questions. I will speak for myself as a Greenlight committee member, and I think my thoughts reflect those of other steering committee members. My potential power is nonexistent. I would never ask any candidate that Greenlight supports to vote a certain way on any issue. I would not support a candidate who did not endorse the concept of Greenlight. All candidates endorsed by Greenlight are independent candidates.

Your decision to explain Dennis Rodman's position on the 103 most influential list was more revealing and more damaging, than the original decision to include him (From the Newsroom, "Don't let Dennis Rodman's 103 list appearance upset you," Oct. 1). You explained "it is tinged with whimsy" and that anyone or anything may be included simply because they are a local joke. You argued that our newspapers needed more entertainment during these serious days, and you didn't want to give us "the same old stodgy news stories."

NEWPORT BEACH — In most cases, honoring a civic icon would be a warm and fuzzy affair. But when the council voted on Tuesday to name an event center after Evelyn Hart, it was done under a cloud of discontent. A former mayor who spearheaded the effort to raise funds for the OASIS Senior Center, Hart unwittingly became stuck in the middle of a debate about how to honor her efforts: Should the entire senior center be named after her, or just a building within the center?

S.J. Cahn's column on July 27 appears to take issue with the endorsements of my campaign for City Council from former Gov. George Deukmejian and Lt. Gov. nominee Tom McClintock (Politics Aside, "Our politicos' silence deafens at concert hall"). Deukmejian was known for his fiscal discipline and for presiding over a period of sustained economic growth in our state. McClintock is one of the leading fiscal conservatives in Sacramento. I have known George and Tom for more than 30 years, and I am proud to have their endorsements and to call them friends.

Noaki Schwartz NEWPORT BEACH -- A proposal to double Newport Coast Drive's toll fee to $1 has some city officials fearing that the rate hike could lead to extreme traffic congestion. "I think there will be some riders that will elect not to use Newport Coast Drive because of the increase in the toll," said Councilman Dennis O'Neil. "My main concern is through Corona del Mar, because there's a lot of traffic congestion." Orange County Transportation Corridor Agencies officials claim that this and other toll increases are necessary to pay their investors, who came up with nearly all of the funds to build the roads.

After almost 20 months writing about Newport Beach politics for the Newport Beach Independent, here I am "gracing" (a term I use liberally) the pages of the infamous Daily Pilot. If you're not familiar with my work, I'm sure you are reading this wondering who I am and why am I here. Fair questions. I grew up in Huntington Beach and went to college at UC Irvine and graduate school at the University of Hawaii. My accounting office is in Costa Mesa, and I live in Newport Beach.

CORONA DEL MAR —The Harbor Singers honored the Armed Forces on Friday with music and choreographed moves at the monthly Friends of OASIS meeting. The Orange County women's singing group performed showtunes and patriotic numbers with dance moves at the OASIS Evelyn Hart Event Center before a crowd of more than 250 seniors. "It was outstanding," said volunteer Evelyn Hart, for whom the center is named. "When you have talent as magnificent as they do, and with the amount of practice they put into every show, for them to come out and entertain us is really special.

NEWPORT BEACH — In most cases, honoring a civic icon would be a warm and fuzzy affair. But when the council voted on Tuesday to name an event center after Evelyn Hart, it was done under a cloud of discontent. A former mayor who spearheaded the effort to raise funds for the OASIS Senior Center, Hart unwittingly became stuck in the middle of a debate about how to honor her efforts: Should the entire senior center be named after her, or just a building within the center?

NEWPORT BEACH — Although the soon-to-open OASIS Senior Center on top of a man-made hill with an ocean view came in $4 million under budget, one council member said a cloud will continue to hang over the building for the near future. That is because there has been a grassroots push to rename the center after a beloved community matriarch — Evelyn Hart, a former mayor who spearheaded the effort to raise funds for the center. And there has been some pushback, as city policy forbids naming such public buildings after individuals, and some officials want that tradition upheld.

Community organizer Evelyn Hart traded hugs and pats on the back with Newport Beach City Council members as they donned hard hats and shovels Tuesday at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Oasis Senior Center in Corona del Mar. Construction is slated to begin this month on the new senior center, which is estimated to cost about $16.5 million. “We worked as long and as hard as we could,” said Hart, who helped raise several millions of dollars for the project as president of the group Friends of Oasis.

With a $10 million commitment from Newport Beach, putting together a plan to rebuild the Oasis Senior Center was half the battle for center supporters. The other half will be the additional $10 million the center is expected to cost. The preliminary design for the new center was unveiled this week. New features include an exercise room and health station for blood pressure and other tests, a modern kitchen where Meals on Wheels trays can be assembled for delivery, and a better library.

Evelyn Hart, the former mayor of Newport Beach, was honored Thursday evening by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce as its Citizen of the Year. Hart was the guest of honor at a dinner and cocktail reception held at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Spa. In April, the chamber announced her as its Citizen of the Year. She is the 62nd recipient of the honor, which was founded by the chamber in 1949. A Newport resident since 1951, Hart served as a city councilwoman and mayor during the 1980s and 1990s.

Last Friday at lunchtime, I was sitting in a room full of dignitaries at the Balboa Bay Club. Well, dignitaries in the Newport Beach sense. They all had one thing in common. They were all past Citizens of the Year. Former Hoag Hospital chief executive Michael Stephens was there, as was library matriarch and former Councilwoman Lucille Kuehn. City Manager Bob Shelton, fishing magnate Art Gronsky, realtor and activist Dayna Pettit, Ford dealer Bob Robins, Malarkey's owner Bill Hamilton, former mayor and Councilman Dennis O'Neil, and ferry owner Seymour Beek were all in attendance as were several more.

Former Newport Beach Councilwoman Evelyn Hart isn't getting an award for her hospitality, but perhaps she should. If you come to her house, Newport Beach's 2007 citizen of the year will make you a cup of coffee, and she may offer her services as surrogate granny for the entire city of Newport Beach. Hart learned Friday she's been chosen by past citizens of the year to be the 62nd recipient of the honor, which will be presented at a dinner in June. The award was founded by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce in 1949.

Former mayor wants to see ethics in City Hall I just wanted to say that I appreciated Tom Johnson's Oct. 6 Fair Game column, "Newport can stop the dirty politics." The one thing that we really must do is get back to some ethics in the city of Newport Beach. That is so important to us, and I just want to say thanks for that column. EVELYN HART Newport Beach EDITOR'S NOTE: Evelyn Hart is a former mayor of Newport Beach. Daigle fought crime, earned a vote I live in Santa Ana Heights, which is in City Council District 4. Leslie Daigle is our councilwoman.