Homes

Looking out from his balcony, Ira Botnick pointed toward the green, trimmed slope below. "See?" the Hazel Drive resident said. "It's all cut back and it doesn't look bad, does it?" Botnick is one of hundreds of Corona del Mar residents whose homes border Buck Gully, a bush- and tree-filled ravine leading to the ocean. For defense against fires, homeowners there are required to have space between their homes and the vegetation. Every two years, a city-hired company assesses the fire hazards that plants and brush pose to homes in the gully.

A downed electrical power line between 19 t h and 20 t h streets in Newport Beach briefly knocked out power to more than 4,600 homes Saturday, Southern California Edison officials said. About 9:26 a.m. a power line in an alley was severed when the connecting piece, called a "tap," failed and caused the line to fall, Edison spokesman Gil Alexander said. A tap connects power lines to continue the electrical current, he said. When the line dropped, 4,638 homes lost power.

June Casagrande Ginny's casa es su casa. At least that will be Virginia Furmanski's attitude when she is one of 10 people to fling open their doors for Balboa Island's fifth Holiday Home Tour. Furmanski has been a docent and organizer for the popular home tour for the last four years. This year, however, she and her waterfront home are part of the show. "It's a very Christmasy thing to do and it's a great fund-raiser for the island," Furmanski said, noting that money from the event goes toward sprucing up the island with things like plants and other decorations.

The third meeting of Newport Beach’s committee on group homes and drug and alcohol rehab houses is scheduled Thursday, but the real action may come at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. People who are concerned about the homes will continue to press for a moratorium, said Lori Morris, one of several residents who’s been active on the issue. In five days, they collected 300 signatures from residents supporting a moratorium on the homes. City Attorney Robin Clauson said last month she would look into whether the council could legally establish a moratorium.

Lolita Harper COSTA MESA -- Michael Schrock won't have to worry about meeting his neighbors after he moves into his house in the 200 block of Cecil Place. Acting as an informal "unwelcome wagon," many of them introduced themselves at the latest Planning Commission meeting where they vehemently opposed his plans to build two more houses on his large lot. "I had no idea my wife and I were going to get any grief at all," Schrock said. "I thought we were going to be heroes because we are bringing in more owner-occupied houses and not apartments."

A new ordinance aimed at regulating drug and alcohol rehabilitation homes in Newport Beach with use permits will go into effect Wednesday. Ordinance No. 2008-05 requires most sober living homes in the city get a use permit to remain open. The city has posted the 27-page use permit application on its website, www.city.newport-beach.ca.us/ IROC.html/ . The homes have until May 20 to apply or face being shut down by the city. The city also is seeking a hearing officer to evaluate the group homes during the permit process.

June Casagrande Residents whose homes were designed to be taller than they should have been because architect Andrew Goetz submitted wrong survey information will likely get the chance to keep their homes as is. The City Council approved Wednesday the first reading of an ordinance to give "special circumstances variances" for at least six homes under construction in the city that are taller than building limits would...

Lolita Harper C'mon mahn. Come inside, prop up your feet and don't worry, be happy in the Tommy Bahama Caribbean Hideaway, on display Saturday at Fashion Island for the Project Playhouse annual benefit. Cares melt away as you climb up the small steps leading into the elaborate playhouse. The "irie" palm fronds and delicate scallops on the roof of the pastel home transport your imagination to where the ocean is crystal blue, the breeze is cool and the nights are hot. The dainty yellow house was not only designed to ease the cares of its owner, it was made to help those in Orange County with no place to rest the feet.

A string of four residential burglaries since last week has police urging residents to make sure their homes are secure when they leave. Between March 24 and March 30, homes in Newport Beach were ransacked during daylight hours. In three of the four cases, the burglar broke a window or a windowed door to open the lock from the outside. In one instance, in the 2000 block of Commodore Road, the victim left their home open, possibly for an open house, and it was burglarized. Victims lost jewels and in one case, a vehicle key. The three other burglaries were in the 2200 block of Santiago Drive, 1900 block of Highland Drive and 1100 block of Kings Road, respectively.

  Spring is here and it's time for Costa Mesa's Mesa Verde Garage Sale, which is an annual garage sale of epic proportion. Each year residents in the Mesa Verde neighborhood join together for a one day sale that helps unite the community, attract shoppers, and clean homes.  This year the Mesa Verde Garage Sale will be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.   Torelli Realty, a Costa Mesa real estate company, hosts the event. Last year more than 150 homes throughout the Mesa Verde neighborhood in Costa Mesa participated, and this year the sale is on track for the same turnout or more.

IRVINE - Just like his teammate on Sunday, UC Irvine starting pitcher Evan Brock gathered himself following a rocky first inning to mow down a string of opposing hitters. But unlike Crosby Slaught, whose stabilizing act was later rewarded by an offensive outburst and a victory, the only fireworks to make an appearance later Monday night against UCLA were those in the postgame pyrotechnic show. The result was a 6-2 nonconference triumph for the No. 9-ranked visitors, who scored three in the first inning, then waited to expand upon their lead against UCI relievers.

A homeless encampment in Costa Mesa adorned with animal rights posters and graffiti could have been shelter to suspects connected to a recent rash of burglaries, police said Thursday. Costa Mesa police discovered the elaborate encampment beneath a San Diego (405) Freeway underpass where the Santa Ana River meets Moon Park, 3377 California St. Officers believe six to eight men have been living in the encampment for about two years, said Sgt. Vic Bakkila. The camp was discovered after an officer saw a suspicious-looking man go under the overpass, according to Bakkila.

SAN JOSE — Journalists from the Daily Pilot and its Orange County sister papers won statewide awards for writing, photography and page design, an industry organization announced this weekend. The California Newspapers Publishers Assn.'s (CNPA) annual Better Newspapers Contest pits the state's papers of similar size against each other. Winners were announced Saturday in San Jose. Pilot staff writer Mike Reicher took first place in education reporting for his "School Flight" series, an in-depth look at why affluent families from Costa Mesa's Mesa Verde have abandoned their neighborhood's schools.

Steve Conti and Steve Astor had their boys' volleyball teams trading blows in the Battle of the Bay Friday night. The coaches spent Saturday night together, watching another big match in Los Angeles: the NCAA Championship, UC Irvine vs. USC. This upcoming week, they'll begin the quest to guide their teams to the biggest match in their respective divisions of the CIF Southern Section playoffs. They learned their pairings Saturday morning. Sage Hill School, the Academy League champion, also made the playoffs.

Newport Beach officials and shipwright Dennis Holland came to an agreement Friday that, if approved by a judge, will allow him to keep restoring his 1916 wooden ship at his West Bay home. As long as Holland moves the Shawnee out of public view and follows the city's construction laws, he can rebuild the vintage ketch there, according to a statement by the city attorney's office. The agreement may end a protracted legal battle between Holland, the city and neighbors who contend the restoration has no place on their block.

BASEBALL UC Irvine 2, UC Riverside 0 IRVINE - Crosby Slaught and Race Parmenter combined for UCI's fifth shutout this season to help the Anteaters win the Big West Conference series Saturday. Slaught allowed one hit in seven innings and struck out four while walking three. The senior, who improved to 5-4 on the year, now has 21 career victories and moves into a tie for 11th in the UCI records. Slaught shares the spot with current undergraduate assistant Brett Smith (2002-04)

If you have been meaning to start some projects around the house, or learn more about even just basic woodworking, the Newport Beach Public Library has many new titles that can help! The library stocks many books on introductory information, orientation to various tools, wood identification, and projects of all kinds. "The New Woodworker Handbook" by Tom Hintz is a good starter book for would-be woodworkers. Hintz discusses workshop safety and organization, tool selection, buying tips, and maintenance, wood selection and finishing, and even basic joints.

BASEBALL Orange Coast 5, Irvine Valley 2 COSTA MESA - The Orange Empire Conference champion Pirates concluded their regular season with a home win Thursday at OCC. Joel Licon had a two-RBI single to left for OCC in the sixth inning, helping the Pirates (31-4-1, 18-3 in conference) rally from a 2-0 deficit. Eilert Meyers, Boog Powell and Stefan Sabol also had RBIs for OCC. Brandon Brennan improved to 9-1 after pitching five innings of relief. He allowed a run on three hits, striking out five and walking one. Josh Evans pitched a scoreless nitnh to earn his second save of the year.

COSTA MESA - By the time the third round rolled around, the Estancia High boys' tennis team had already clinched Friday's Orange Coast League match against rival Costa Mesa. The teenagers' interest was quickly diverted. A small, bright yellow bird followed Eagles junior Robert Marrone off the courts. Players and fans took turns admiring the bird and picking it up. Estancia Coach Carlos Beltran made a joke about feeding it to his cat. In the rivalry match at home, his Eagles devoured the competition.

Boys' basketball is back at Newport Harbor High. Principal Michael Vossen said the school has reinstated the program, three weeks after he suspended it because of criminal threats made against then-coach Larry Hirst and his wife. The question facing Vossen and the Sailors is what kind of an impact has a turbulent past four months had on the program. "We want to take the program into a positive place right now," Vossen said. "The first step in doing that is hiring a new coach.