Hoag

Newport Beach city officials acknowledged Wednesday that they were unaware of the plumes of vapor and exhaust a Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian power plant would emit when it was first approved in 2002. “If I were a mechanical engineer, I would have known; but we’re not engineers — we’re planners,” Newport Beach Senior Planner James Campbell told the City Council Wednesday. Campbell spoke during a special hearing to discuss whether Hoag has been a good neighbor to condominium residents, who say the power plant is an eyesore that emits opaque plumes of steam and exhaust that block their views of the ocean.

Neighbors of Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian said Thursday they were not satisfied with plans to curb plumes of steam and exhaust from a hospital power plant by one-third. “Nobody was listening, and they didn’t care,” said Tarek Zeitoune, who has lived at the Villa Balboa condominium complex next to the hospital since 2000. “I really feel like we have no value in this city.” The plumes are visible from Zeitoune’s balcony, he said. The Newport Beach City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to approve Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian’s proposal to shift 225,000 square feet of building space from its lower to upper campus to build a 300,000-square-foot tower.

Newport residents who want Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian to clean up plumes of steam and vapor from a hospital power plant will face off with hospital officials tonight at a special city council meeting. In a written statement to the city council, Hoag officials claim plumes from a hospital cogeneration plant are only visible in the mornings for a few days a year, typically during the winter — a claim residents dispute. “It’s just a patently false statement, it’s misleading and not worthy of Hoag to say things like that,” said Erik Thurnher, co-chairman of the community groups Friends of Sunset View Park and the Villa Balboa-Hoag Liaison Committee.

-- Deepa Bharath Veteran fund-raiser Ronald D. Guziak was named executive director of Hoag Hospital Foundation this week. He joins Hoag after serving as president of Little Company of Mary Hospital Foundation in Torrance and San Pedro Peninsula Hospital Foundation. As president of these foundations, Guziak doubled their annual number of donors, quadrupled revenue and achieved a 100% reduction in costs of fund-raising. Hoag Hospital officials said Guziak will be a tremendous asset to them at a time when the hospital is in the process of vigorous expansion.

Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks did not make the screening of "The In-Laws" last week in Newport Beach, but the rest of the town turned out in support of Hoag Hospital. It was the annual 552 Club Movie Screening. More than 1,000 locals went to the movies, raising a record $140,000 for Hoag -- specifically earmarked for the Hoag Women's Pavilion. The new facility is scheduled to open in 2005 adjacent to Hoag Hospital. "Once again, the community has helped make this event a huge success," event co-chair Jim Edwards said.

Richard Dunn Cast among stars from the world of sports and surrounded by USC pageantry, the usual pomp of Mr. Irrelevant's center stage walked to the beat of a different drum Thursday night at the Heisman-meets-Lowsman banquet at the Anaheim Marriott. In the headline event of Irrelevant Week XXVIII, Ryan Hoag, the former NCAA Division III wide receiver, was presented the annual Lowsman Trophy from Irrelevant Week founder Paul Salata, who served as master of ceremonies and chief host of the madcap roast and toast to celebrate the dead-last pick in the NFL draft in front of a record crowd of more than 1,200.

Michael Miller Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian has won the American Hospital Assn.'s Circle of Life Award for its end-of-life care program, making it one of three sites in the country to receive the honor this year. The award, given to three hospitals annually, celebrates programs that deal with patients in the final stages of life. Hoag, which nominated itself for the first time last fall, has actively expanded its end-of-life care program since establishing it in 1999.

Members of the Minuteman Project are expected to protest this morning against illegal immigration and health-care reform in front of Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian. “We call upon the citizens of Orange County, as well as across the nation, to take action — become proactive — by visiting their local hospitals and calling upon the medical staff of hospitals to petition [President Obama] to deny illegal [immigrants] hospital services and the medical services that is [sic]

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian has received a $1 million gift earmarked for the expansion and renovation of its emergency department, the hospital announced Tuesday. Newport Beach residents Walter and Mary Frome extended the gift both to support the hospital and challenge other donors to supplement the project. “There are so many wonderful things going on at Hoag — the research, the care. Everything that goes on at that hospital is wonderful,” Mary said.