Goat Hill

Send AROUND TOWN items to the Daily Pilot, 330 W. Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627; by e-mail to luis.pena@latimes.com; by fax to (949) 646-4170; or by calling (949) 574-4298. Include the time, date and location of the event, as well as a contact phone number. TODAY The Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center will host a parent-and-child playtime event so children 3 to 4 years old can learn how animals see, hear, taste, smell and feel from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. at 2301 University Drive, Newport Beach.

Jennifer Kho COSTA MESA -- When Bob Wilson moved to the city in 1948, it was just flat land with dirt roads, small animals and people getting around on horses. "You'd call it a goat hill," said Wilson, 83. "We had lots of skunks, rabbits and coyotes, and we had brown water that smelled terrible and left half your clothes yellowish brown when you washed them. East of Irvine [Avenue] there were mostly yams and sweet potatoes." Costa Mesa's struggle in becoming the City of the Arts was a story that Wilson, a three-time former mayor of the city, said he thought more people should know.

Don Cantrell Some highly respected names out of sports yesteryears dealing with Newport Harbor High are inclined to believe it may be time to set the record straight on the old yarns dealing with the terms, "Goat Hill," and, "Mackerel Flat." In fact, many oldtimers feel it should be observed as simply the work of some comic promoter from the mid-40s who churned up the action. The basic yarn was that Harbor High athletic rivalries eventually sparked a scene where Costa Mesa students were called, "Goat Hillers," and that Newport students were labeled as, "Mackerel Flatters."

COSTA MESA — A 27-year-old Fresno man has been arrested on suspicion of stabbing a 44-year-old Westminster man five times outside a Costa Mesa bar, police said. Stephen Frea was arrested Sunday after a fight earlier that morning at the Goat Hill Tavern's parking lot, Sgt. Ed Everett said Monday. Police received a call at 2:17 a.m. after an altercation between Frea, the victim and several others. As the victim was leaving the Newport Boulevard bar, he and his group of friends were confronted by Frea, whom they did not know, Everett said in an email Tuesday.

COSTA MESA — Robert "Zeb" Ziemer, owner of the famed Goat Hill Tavern and landlord of The Helm next door, says he's not going down without a pint, er, fight. The Helm, whose owner told the Daily Pilot he was shuttering the dive bar on Newport Boulevard at the end of August, is being sued by John F. Fackler under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Fackler's lawsuit accuses The Helm of violating the act, enacted in 1990, and has named Ziemer, 80, and Helm owner Myron Miller as defendants.

COSTA MESA — A Costa Mesa man and his friend who successfully got the city to hand over police personnel records for their defense on resisting-arrest charges outside of a Newport Boulevard bar have pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in September. At their sentencing scheduled for Sept. 14, Patrick Donald Binder, 27, and his friend Michael McKee, 27, will have their misdemeanor convictions for resisting arrest from Costa Mesa police dropped if they stay out of trouble for the next 60 days and write a letter of apology to the city, said Binder's attorney, Lewis Crouse.

COSTA MESA - It's a rarity in Orange County, the kind of place where a game of pool, a few songs on the jukebox and a beer with friends costs less than $10. It won't be around for long, though —- Newport Boulevard dive bar The Helm is scheduled to close at the end of August, according to owner Myron Miller. Miller said landlord Robert "Zeb" Ziemer, who also owns Goat Hill Tavern next door, decided to stop renting to the Helm and replace the bar with a more upscale lounge.

Click on the links below to access your local city governments and schools or read the latest blog commentary . LOCAL BLOGS Itchingpost Bubbling Cauldron CM Press OCblog.net Goat Hill Harper POLITICS Smartvoter.org Orange County Republican Party Orange County Democratic Party Orange County Green Party Orange County Libertarian Party Peace and Freedom Party Orange County Registrar of Voters Polling Places Election Results State of California Voting Results CITY GOVERNMENT Newport Beach Costa Mesa PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS Newport-Mesa Unified School District Harbor Day School Waldorf School Sage Hill High School Catholic Schools COLLEGES Orange Coast College Vanguard University University of Phoenix Whittier Law School CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce

ELECTION 2006 Daily Pilot Election Coverage Daily Pilot Endorsements Election Night Photo Gallery Orange County Registrar of Voters Polling Places Election Results State of California Voting Results POLITICAL BLOGS AND SITES Smartvoter.org Orange County Republican Party Orange County Democratic Party Orange County Green Party Orange County Libertarian Party Peace and Freedom Party Itchingpost Bubbling Cauldron CM Press OCblog.