Garage Door

Costa Mesa police arrested a man early Saturday after he allegedly stole his mother's car and drove it through her garage door. Around 5:15 a.m., according to Lt. Dale Birney, officers stopped Ryan Stanford Smith, 43, near the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Fair Drive when they noticed sparks shooting from the undercarriage of his car. Birney said Smith told the officers that his mother was in the backseat of the car, which was untrue....

Newport Beach police are reporting a significant drop in vehicle break-ins compared to last year. So far this year, 481 thefts or burglaries from automobiles have been reported. That is a 28.42% decrease from last year when 672 were reported at this time. Newport Beach Police had 25 vehicle burglaries or thefts reported through Monday in the month of November. During the same month last year 78 similar crimes were reported. The numbers for October were still lower at 32, in comparison to 65 last year.

Two men, at least one armed with a gun, carjacked a Costa Mesa resident Friday afternoon in the alley behind his apartment, Lt. Bob Ciszek said Saturday. The incident occurred about 4:20 p.m. in the 1000 block of Mission Drive. Ciszek said the victim, a 41-year-old man, had pulled into the alley and was smoking a cigarette with his car still running when a man opened the driver’s side door and forced him out. The suspect, described as a man in his 20s with a white T-shirt and jeans, threw the victim against a garage door, drew a handgun and ordered him not to move.

NEWPORT BEACH — A piece of local history sits in the window at Balboa Island's newest boutique, so small and so colorless that it almost disappears amid the bright array of summer clothes. The undated black-and-white picture shows the old Balboa Island firehouse and police station, probably sometime in the 1930s, with an antiquated fire truck and police car surrounded by eight uniformed officers. The window display is a source of pride for the local firefighters, who sometimes wave and honk when they drive by the store.

Three proposed laws that would restrict parking in Costa Mesa neighborhoods have raised the ire of several residents who think the rules represent a government intrusion into their private-property rights. If the laws pass the City Council tonight, driveway sizes will be limited, the city will strictly regulate how residents can park RVs, boats, equipment haulers and other vehicles on their driveways, and large homes will be required to have extra garage parking spaces. Proponents of the added regulations say they were designed to improve neighborhood aesthetics, free up street parking and cut down on drug and alcohol recovery homes in the city, but some critics feel they go too far. After bringing similar measures to the council in October only to have them sent back, the Planning Commission unanimously agreed upon the present versions of the ordinances.

Melissa Matsuoka keeps mementos of her myriad athletic accomplishments in her bedroom. But perhaps the most prized piece of memorabilia representing the Corona del Mar High senior’s glorious tennis career sits hidden from view, tucked away, once again, in a family closet. That item is an old, now-antique tennis racquet that Matsuoka fished from the back of the closet nine years ago and began hitting a ball against the garage door. “It was a little mangled,” Matsuoka said of the outdated implement that triggered a passion that propelled Matsuoka to perennial heights in the sport, and, next fall, across the country to attend Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. “After a couple times of playing against the garage door, my parents took me to Sports Chalet and bought me a Wilson racquet.

Whether you're a new homeowner or a veteran handyman, there's always something you can do to preserve what is probably your biggest single tangible asset. If you haven't a clue about what to do, find advice about everything from removing mildew to maintaining plumbing in James and Morris Carey's new book, "Home Maintenance for Dummies." Along with room-by-room and system-by-system coverage of routine maintenance tasks, there are dozens of recipes for easily concocted cleaning formulas in this sequel to the Carey brothers' "Home Remodeling for Dummies."

Deepa Bharath and Paul Clinton NEWPORT-MESA -- On Tuesday morning, Bruce Garlich read the newspaper, did the crossword puzzle and went for a walk around the block. There was nothing else to do, really. At least for an hour and 15 minutes. Garlich and other Costa Mesa residents who live off South Coast Drive and Fairview Road were a few of the thousands of people in Southern California trapped between rolling blackouts Tuesday. "Being the first-ever blackout in this city, it did come as quite a surprise," Garlich said.

When I reach the current stage of the Christmas holidays — 15 more shopping days ’til Christmas — I tend to get morose. So much to do, so little time to do it. And not a few recriminations for allowing all this, as usual, to reach a crisis state. At such an impasse, I compensate by making lists, a fresh one every day, that offer a sense of progress without really accomplishing anything. Today‘s list, for example:  Get down the three boxes marked “Xmas” in the garage.

When I reach the current stage of the Christmas holidays — 15 more shopping days ’til Christmas — I tend to get morose. So much to do, so little time to do it. And not a few recriminations for allowing all this, as usual, to reach a crisis state. At such an impasse, I compensate by making lists, a fresh one every day, that offer a sense of progress without really accomplishing anything. Today‘s list, for example:  Get down the three boxes marked “Xmas” in the garage.

Melissa Matsuoka keeps mementos of her myriad athletic accomplishments in her bedroom. But perhaps the most prized piece of memorabilia representing the Corona del Mar High senior’s glorious tennis career sits hidden from view, tucked away, once again, in a family closet. That item is an old, now-antique tennis racquet that Matsuoka fished from the back of the closet nine years ago and began hitting a ball against the garage door. “It was a little mangled,” Matsuoka said of the outdated implement that triggered a passion that propelled Matsuoka to perennial heights in the sport, and, next fall, across the country to attend Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. “After a couple times of playing against the garage door, my parents took me to Sports Chalet and bought me a Wilson racquet.

Three proposed laws that would restrict parking in Costa Mesa neighborhoods have raised the ire of several residents who think the rules represent a government intrusion into their private-property rights. If the laws pass the City Council tonight, driveway sizes will be limited, the city will strictly regulate how residents can park RVs, boats, equipment haulers and other vehicles on their driveways, and large homes will be required to have extra garage parking spaces. Proponents of the added regulations say they were designed to improve neighborhood aesthetics, free up street parking and cut down on drug and alcohol recovery homes in the city, but some critics feel they go too far. After bringing similar measures to the council in October only to have them sent back, the Planning Commission unanimously agreed upon the present versions of the ordinances.

Two men, at least one armed with a gun, carjacked a Costa Mesa resident Friday afternoon in the alley behind his apartment, Lt. Bob Ciszek said Saturday. The incident occurred about 4:20 p.m. in the 1000 block of Mission Drive. Ciszek said the victim, a 41-year-old man, had pulled into the alley and was smoking a cigarette with his car still running when a man opened the driver’s side door and forced him out. The suspect, described as a man in his 20s with a white T-shirt and jeans, threw the victim against a garage door, drew a handgun and ordered him not to move.

Newport Beach police are reporting a significant drop in vehicle break-ins compared to last year. So far this year, 481 thefts or burglaries from automobiles have been reported. That is a 28.42% decrease from last year when 672 were reported at this time. Newport Beach Police had 25 vehicle burglaries or thefts reported through Monday in the month of November. During the same month last year 78 similar crimes were reported. The numbers for October were still lower at 32, in comparison to 65 last year.

NEWPORT BEACH — A piece of local history sits in the window at Balboa Island's newest boutique, so small and so colorless that it almost disappears amid the bright array of summer clothes. The undated black-and-white picture shows the old Balboa Island firehouse and police station, probably sometime in the 1930s, with an antiquated fire truck and police car surrounded by eight uniformed officers. The window display is a source of pride for the local firefighters, who sometimes wave and honk when they drive by the store.

Costa Mesa police arrested a man early Saturday after he allegedly stole his mother's car and drove it through her garage door. Around 5:15 a.m., according to Lt. Dale Birney, officers stopped Ryan Stanford Smith, 43, near the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Fair Drive when they noticed sparks shooting from the undercarriage of his car. Birney said Smith told the officers that his mother was in the backseat of the car, which was untrue....

Lolita Harper The screeching of tires, the clash of metal and a series of explosions woke Irvine Avenue residents early Saturday morning, as a sports utility vehicle veered out of control, crashed into a home and burst into flames -- miraculously avoiding injury everyone involved. "Imagine a four-ton missile crashing through support beams in the garage, traveling at about 30 to 35 miles per hour, and that is what you have here," said Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve Shulman.

Whether you're a new homeowner or a veteran handyman, there's always something you can do to preserve what is probably your biggest single tangible asset. If you haven't a clue about what to do, find advice about everything from removing mildew to maintaining plumbing in James and Morris Carey's new book, "Home Maintenance for Dummies." Along with room-by-room and system-by-system coverage of routine maintenance tasks, there are dozens of recipes for easily concocted cleaning formulas in this sequel to the Carey brothers' "Home Remodeling for Dummies."