Generation

NEWPORT BEACH — If the walls of this beachside jazz joint could talk, oh, the story they would tell. Those walls of The Blue Beet date back 100 years, but the music venue and restaurant near the Newport Pier over the years has been shaped by much more than just jazz and steaks, said Scott Lewis, the general manager. "It's been around for a long time, serving as a hangout in one way or another," said Lewis, 32, whose father bought the Blue Beet in the early 1980s, sold it, then re-purchased it in the late '90s.

So this is what it was like nearly 60 years ago. Dec. 7, 1941: The day of infamy. This is what our mothers and fathers, our grandfathers and grandmothers felt when this nation's heart was "suddenly and deliberately" ripped from its chest on that winter morning. When they were forced to stop their lives and defend the mantle of freedom. We -- my generation -- didn't know nor could we feel what they knew and felt and still remember. Our only connections to that day, when our country's freedom was assaulted, are their stories and our history books and that infamous piece of black and white film of the USS Arizona exploding in a towering plume of smoke.

If you were to tune out the din of numerous voices talking shop this weekend at the National Assn. of Realtors Conference & Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center, which is expected to draw nearly 18,000 people in the real estate business from all over the nation, you'd hear some new voices. "Hey, bra, you check out the latest home price index? It's sweet!" That's not so far-fetched if you happen to be listening Matt Clements with Prudential in Laguna Niguel. To hear him you'd almost think he was channeling Keanu Reeves' surfer dude character in "Point Break.

Every American knows who won the presidential election this year. But what were voters thinking when they went into the polling booths? That’s the question national pollster John Zogby spent more than an hour on as the first speaker this season in UCI’s Chancellor’s Distinguished Lecture Series. His answer? They just wanted someone who could get the job done. “There’s a critical mass of voters, over 80%, telling us they want a problem solver,” he said.

It was with disbelief and a heavy heart that I read the May 31 letter by Tami Chapman regarding the elimination of Sandy Finestone’s position at Hoag Hospital’s breast center. Those of us who have experienced the shock of being told we had the disease followed by operations, chemotherapy and radiation would have fared far worse without the constant caring always available from Sandy. She had the answers to questions our doctors might not have the time for or we felt were too intimate to share with anyone else.

Mark my words, 2009 in will go down as the year of the bailouts and no matter what anyone says or does there will be no way to stop the flood of handouts that are about to happen. If President Bush could bail out Wall Street and Detroit with 700 billion taxpayer dollars, there is no way to argue against the $1 trillion President-elect Barack Obama wants to bail out homeowners with “toxic loans,” states that agreed to cover pensions they could not afford and any failing business that can say with a straight face, “It is not my fault.

With Generation Y establishing itself in the workforce, there are new challenges that employers must face when hiring the 18- to 29-year-olds. But those challenges can also translate into positives for the hiring company as the new breed of professionals brings with them a heightened awareness of technology and education, local business leaders said. First the bad news: Gen Y workers are more focused on themselves and less likely to stick with a company for long periods of time.

I laugh all the way to the bank when I think of the alleged consumer advocates' attack on utilities, which are the victims, not the cause, of our power crisis. I receive a royalty for electricity generated from geothermal steam. It is now more than three times the amount I received during January and February of 1999. The cost per kilowatt hour purchased by Southern California Edison is more than it charges its customers. It does not take much brains for an honest man to see that this is unfair and won't continue for long.

Alex Coolman Move over Y2K bug, here comes the apocalypse. As if it weren't difficult enough to plan for New Year's Eve, this year the religiously minded have to cope with the additional concern that the turn of the millennium will not simply see a few technical glitches, but will be an event of a somewhat greater magnitude: the end of the world. It may not appear to every interpreter of world affairs that the seven trumpets of Revelation have been blowing, that the four horsemen have been out riding around and that the seven seals have been opened, signaling the advent of End Times.

I had been planning to write something snarky about the breathless media coverage of Britain's royal wedding, and plea for a return to focusing on the important stories of our time, like Lindsay Lohan's shoplifting trial. I considered the obsession with Prince William's nuptials to be a royal pain, filled with overblown pomp and pomposity, anachronistic traditions, and ridiculous Lady Gaga hats. Why should we — in the land of the self-made — care so deeply about what is largely an antiquated symbolic display of inherited privilege?

Having a movie shown at a film festival is no small feat, but imagine being a fledgling filmmaker still in college - or even younger. The Newport Beach Film Festival gives the next generation's Woody Allens or Francis Ford Coppolas their start with dedicated screening time during the festival's week-long celebration. The festival hosts a youth film showcase that screens short films made by students 18 or younger, a "teen screen" for filmmakers older than 14 and a collegiate showcase featuring student shorts.

IRVINE - Go big or go home sounds good in principle, but it's not always the most effective course of action on the volleyball court. UC Irvine sophomore outside hitter Jeremy Dejno is still a firm believer in the aggressive mentality that allows him to continually hit the ball as hard as he can. Whether the solidly built 6-foot-4 Wisconsin native is at the service line or soaring skyward at the net, it's his intention to bang with abandon....

NEWPORT BEACH — If the walls of this beachside jazz joint could talk, oh, the story they would tell. Those walls of The Blue Beet date back 100 years, but the music venue and restaurant near the Newport Pier over the years has been shaped by much more than just jazz and steaks, said Scott Lewis, the general manager. "It's been around for a long time, serving as a hangout in one way or another," said Lewis, 32, whose father bought the Blue Beet in the early 1980s, sold it, then re-purchased it in the late '90s.

Newport Beach residents may have noticed more restrained New Year's celebrations, thanks to the relatively new Loud and Unruly Gathering ordinance. To date, $26,166.66 has been collected from citations issued under the ordinance, which affected 25 homes in 2011, according to the city. So far, 55 tickets have been issued to a tenant, responsible party or landlord. Of those, 23 have been paid in full, four were voided, one is on a payment plan, and 15 are awaiting payment or in collections.

NEWPORT BEACH - Waves at The Wedge are legendary for hurling bodysurfers into the air and sweeping tourists off their feet. But they also have a more practical purpose: producing electricity. A pair of Newport Beach entrepreneurs have been testing a wave-powered turbine near Newport Harbor's entrance for the past couple years. They recently approached city officials to set up a more permanent prototype, possibly off one of the city piers. But because of strict regulations and high costs, they say it will be a long time before their generators can be used for commercial purposes in the U.S. Mark Holmes and David New, partners in Green Wave Energy Corp., design and build their renewable energy contraptions from the Basin Marine Ship Yard, near Harbor Island.

If you were to tune out the din of numerous voices talking shop this weekend at the National Assn. of Realtors Conference & Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center, which is expected to draw nearly 18,000 people in the real estate business from all over the nation, you'd hear some new voices. "Hey, bra, you check out the latest home price index? It's sweet!" That's not so far-fetched if you happen to be listening Matt Clements with Prudential in Laguna Niguel. To hear him you'd almost think he was channeling Keanu Reeves' surfer dude character in "Point Break.

IRVINE — In the 1960s when the rock 'n' roll craze was sweeping the nation, 17-year-old Fred Mlakar responded by taking up the accordion and forming a polka band called the Mlakar Brothers. "In my culture, the accordion was a real macho thing," Mlakar, 59, whose grandparents emigrated from Slovenia. "All the young men tried to outdo each other. " While that early band didn't last, Mlakar continued playing his squeeze box. The skill was taught to him as a child by his father, Joe Mlakar, a Polka Hall of Fame accordionist and bandleader for his Cleveland-style polka.

COSTA MESA — A community task force will work with a private developer known for building small-scale replicas of Major League Baseball stadiums to remodel and take over operations at TeWinkle Park. The agreement approved Tuesday by the City Council with Big League Dreams USA is expected to save on maintenance costs and generate revenue for the city. Though exact forecasts were not available, one scenario predicted City Hall would earn about $300,000 annually from the deal.

IRVINE — In one swoop that both generates more than $12 million for the school district and worry among some residents, the City Council cleared the way this week for 48 homes to replace a former elementary school. The resolution to change the zoning designation of the former Alderwood Basics Elementary School site from institutional to residential was approved unanimously by the City Council after a two-hour staff presentation and public hearing. "We believe that the project is very compatible with the surrounding community, and it represents a type of housing that the community told us that they would like to see built on the site," said Ken Coulter, spokesman for William Lyon Homes, the developer of the project.

I had been planning to write something snarky about the breathless media coverage of Britain's royal wedding, and plea for a return to focusing on the important stories of our time, like Lindsay Lohan's shoplifting trial. I considered the obsession with Prince William's nuptials to be a royal pain, filled with overblown pomp and pomposity, anachronistic traditions, and ridiculous Lady Gaga hats. Why should we — in the land of the self-made — care so deeply about what is largely an antiquated symbolic display of inherited privilege?