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Patrick Laverty If Jen Thompson, the Newport Harbor High girls basketball coach, can bottle the way the Sailors played in the first five minutes of Thursday's contest against Foothill, Harbor should have no trouble competing for one of the top spots in the Sea View League. If the Sailors can play like they played in the final four minutes against Foothill, the same is possible. It's just the part in the middle that Newport Harbor needs to work on. The Sailors scored just eight points in the second and third quarters combined, losing an early lead and leaving themselves too large of a margin to make up despite an impressive late rally.

Deirdre Newman Planning Commissioner Katrina Foley and former Mayor Linda Dixon appeared to be on their way to victory Tuesday night with incumbent Councilman Chris Steel most likely going down in defeat, four years after his stunning upset. The third seat was still too close to call by press time, with Bruce Garlich barely edging out Eric Bever for third place, possibly knocking out another sitting councilman, Mike Scheafer, who was appointed to the office last year.

TORRANCE — Estancia High lost for only the second time this season. It cost the Eagles their boys’ soccer season. North Torrance came from behind to beat No. 4-seeded Estancia, 3-1, in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs Friday. Senior Rony Argueta gave Estancia (15-2-7) a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute. Argueta took a rebound off the post and shot it from just outside the 18-yard box to record the goal. Coach Gannon Burks said Estancia lost center midfielder Danny Martinez to a pulled groin right before going into halftime up, 1-0. “We came out a little flat,” Burks said of the start of the second half.

Amara Aguilar For once, senior guard Jerry Green was not the leading man for the UC Irvine men's basketball team. Although Green did play a significant role in the Anteaters' come-from-behind 75-69 victory over Long Beach State, it was Jordan Harris who stole the spotlight in UCI's Big West Conference opener at the Bren Events Center Saturday. Harris had a game-high 30 points and nine rebounds, followed by Stanislav Zuzak (16 points, seven rebounds)

I was stunned by Ms. Tsuchiyama’s shamelessly inappropriate and shockingly uneducated comments regarding the use of lead paint in toys (“Merchant blames parents,” Oct. 1). I’m sure we are all pleased that her mother told her not to put toys in her mouth, but her less-than-global view of the problem is mind-boggling. The use of lead in paint and other products (including gasoline) is illegal because lead is a poison and it poisons everyone, children and adults!

Jacob Folsom scored two touchdowns to lead the Costa Mesa Pop Warner Junior Pee Wee Green Mustangs to a 19-7 victory over Cypress Saturday. Folsom scored on runs of seven and 47 yards. Chris Gute also contributed on offense with a touchdown on a 34-yard punt return. The Mustangs improve to 4-4. In other Pop Warner football action: Pee Wee Mustangs 12, Cypress Cornhuskers 7 - Cody Matthews started the game with a 70-yard touchdown. He struck again in the third quarter by weaving through Cypress blockers and running for a 75-yard touchdown to give the Mustangs a 12-7 lead.

Bryce Alderton A third-place finish in the Estancia Coast Classic hardly came easy for the Edison High boys basketball team Monday night against the Eagles playing in their own gym. No, Estancia (10-3), the designated home team, made the Chargers (9-2) earn their 51-43 win at the free-throw line. Edison converted 15 of 22 shots from the line while Estancia only attempted two and missed both. The Eagles tightened up on defense in the second half, cooling down the Chargers to 5-of-14 shooting (35.7%)

You can never go home again. That phrase was in a Moody Blues song, but it rings true to the participants of the Corona del Mar High alumni basketball game. The stomping grounds may have looked the same, but none of the alumni were back home because none are the same players as when they were in school. "I talked to some of the younger guys from '02 and '03, and they were tired after two games," said CdM girls basketball coach Scott Kahawai.

NEWPORT BEACH - Hunter Alder had two hits, scored three runs and pitched three scoreless innings to lead the Diamondbacks over the Cardinals, 9-4, in Newport Beach Little League AA Division action last weekend. The Cardinals jumped out to an early 3-1 lead on key hits from Michael Bloom, Thomas Colton and Randall Nelson. After the D-Backs tied the game, Garrett Meau drove in Connor Bannan to give the Cards the lead back. The D-Backs took the lead in the fourth on a base hit by Aaron Ettl before adding three insurance runs in the sixth, thanks to key hits from Anna Palchikoff, Haley Alder and Mickey Miela.

NEWPORT BEACH - Angels pitcher Andy Rovzar threw a complete game, allowing one earned run on four hits to lead his team to a 7-2 victory over the Reds, in Newport Beach Little League's Majors division action Saturday. Rovzar recorded his eighth strikeout on his 100th pitch to end the game. Trailing 1-0 in the second inning, the Angels scored three runs with two outs on singles by Paul Fuler, Toney Barra and a double by Christina Mainero. Andrew Silva went 2 for 3 to lead the Reds, while Jake Lemmerman went for 1 for 2.

Cody Caldwell, a former Newport Harbor High star, led Loyola Chicago to its first NCAA Division I men's volleyball national title, earning the tournament MVP after the junior outside hitter finished with 20 kills and 10 digs in the host Ramblers' 25-17, 19-25, 25-19, 25-15 win against Stanford on Saturday at Gentile Arena. In the opening set, Caldwell produced nine kills and top-seeded Loyola (29-1) hit a blistering .696. Third-seeded Stanford (24-9) featured junior Spencer Haly, a former Corona del Mar High standout.

With two balls, two strikes and two outs in a 2-2 game, the deuces truly were wild for Fountain Valley High baseball senior Daniel Patzlaff on Friday afternoon. Patzlaff, who wears jersey No. 2 for the Barons, saw a pitch he liked in the top of the fourth inning. It was down and in, but he managed to hit it out to right field. The two-run home run was — you guessed it — Patzlaff's second round-tripper of the season. And it helped the Sunset League-leading Barons earn their second win over Newport Harbor in three days, 4-2, at the Sailors' field.

A vegetation fire that broke out near Newport Beach's Back Bay on Wednesday burned between 3 and 5 acres and caused a brief evacuation of a nearby apartment complex and car dealership, authorities said. Firefighters first responded to the blaze at Jamboree Road and the 73 Freeway around 4:30 p.m., said Jennifer Manzella, spokeswoman for the Newport Beach Fire Department. It was extinguished within an hour. There were no reported injuries or structural damage. "At this point, we feel like it's completely under control," said Newport police Lt. Jeff Brouwer around 6 p.m., when remaining fire personnel were knocking out hot spots in the brush.

While wading through his personal archive of film footage, Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali came upon a snippet of the band horsing around offstage. On the soundtrack, lead singer Kevin DuBrow can be heard boasting, "This is gonna be in a Quiet Riot movie in the theaters someday. I don't know how far in the future. " That footage was shot in 1983, and the "someday" that DuBrow promised has finally arrived. "Well Now You're Here, There's No Way Back," a documentary about the heavy metal band's history, is set to have its world premiere April 29 at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

Vanguard University junior first baseman Brittney Boggs is a repeat honoree on the All-Golden State Athletic Conference softball team to lead five Lions selected by coaches. Boggs leads the Lions (30-20, 10-10 in conference) heading into the GSAC Tournament, in which they open Thursday against Hope International at Concordia University at 9:30 a.m., with six home runs, 33 runs batted in and 12 doubles. She is hitting .360. Breanne Gomez, a junior catcher, earned her second All-GSAC recognition, having been honored as a freshman in 2012.

BOYS' SWIMMING Corona del Mar 105, Beckman 65 Senior Liam Karas won two events for the Sea Kings in Wednesday's Pacific Coast League meet at home. Karas won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:45.15, and the 200 IM in 1:54.47. CdM improved to 3-0 in league. — Calvary Chapel 86, Costa Mesa 84 Tyler Connors won the 200-yard individual medley and 100 backstroke for Mesa in Wednesday's Orange Coast League meet. Connors won the IM in 2:02.50, and the back in 55.56 seconds.

Q: I love your column. You're so open, honest and straightforward with your answers. I'm 61 (a widow for 35 years) and was raised Catholic. I watch the news each night and see the weather that's occurring in the U.S., people rioting, etc. I'm scared to death. Is the end of the world coming? How will we know? This is a great concern to me. I want to be with my family when it does. Could you please explain this to me? — J., North Branford, Conn. A: After seeing (and reviewing) the new movie "Noah" and living through this horrible winter in New York, I too have experienced some end-of-the-world mood swings, so your question resonated with me. My first suggestion for you is one I follow myself: Try watching a little less news on TV and go for a nice walk in the long-delayed but deeply welcome spring air. The change of seasons is the first and perhaps most powerful argument that the world is not about to end. In fact, the covenant God makes with Noah after the flood uses the images of springtime and nature to reinforce this promise and message of hope (Genesis 8:21-22)

UC Irvine senior Scott Kevorken was named first-team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in men's volleyball. Junior libero Michael Brinkley represented the Anteaters on the second team. Kevorken, a 6-foot-9 middle blocker, ranked second during MPSF competition in hitting percentage (.480) and hit better than .600 in eight matches. He is averaging 1.83 kills and 0.87 blocks per set. Kevorken was a second-team all-conference honoree in 2013 and was a member of the MPSF All-Freshman team in 2011.

We frequently read about the controversy between bikers and drivers as they struggle to share the road. I have the perspective from both sides of this controversy and have come to realize that bikers are not wrong, nor are drivers. People are the problem. People are becoming more self-absorbed, or there are more self-absorbed people on the road these days. Frequently the people who cause the problems that lead to accidents, road rage and fatalities are either inattentive, occupy more of the road than they are legally entitled, or willingly flaunt traffic signs and laws.

Kacie Kline seems to perfectly fit into her different roles on the Corona del Mar High girls' lacrosse team. The senior is an aggressive player, which makes her perfect for the position known simply as "attack. " Kline, who wears No. 3, is exceeding that number in terms of goals per game. She leads the Sea Kings with 42 goals this season. But Kline's leadership is just as valuable off the field. She takes her role as a captain very seriously, especially on a young CdM team that features five freshmen, many of whom play important roles.