Litter

Students in the surf and environmental class at Newport Harbor High School will try to persuade the city of Newport Beach to crack down on littering and smoking on beaches. In collaboration with the Earth Resource Foundation, the students are seeking signatures for a petition asking the city to step up enforcement. They hope revenue from citations will help pay for beach cleanups and more educational efforts. The group will gather at 10 a.m. today at the Newport Beach Pier, at Balboa Boulevard and 21st Street.

Mathis Winkler NEWPORT BEACH -- Two happy-looking dolphins smiling at a message that reads "Please don't litter -- Thanks." Over and over again. That's what Newport Beach's early morning beachgoers could see in the future if city officials decide to acquire a sand-stamping machine. Already in service on several New Jersey beaches, the device consists of a barrel that gets dragged behind beach-cleaning machines. A rubber mat stamps images, such as the dolphins, into the sand as the barrel rotates.

"Juliette" may have found her Romeo, but 13 kittens later, the consequences of that rendezvous aren't any better for the Siamese cat in this story than they were for the lovers in Shakespeare's tale. DiAnna Pfaff-Martin, founder of Community Animal Network, which rescues animals and places them for adoption, said, "In the history of Community Animal Network we have never witnessed or heard of a mom cat having over 10 kittens." "That's crazy," said Kelly Wright, a veterinarian at the Cat Clinic of Orange County in Costa Mesa, when she heard there had been a litter of 13 kittens.

With a black garbage bag in hand, second-grader Hayden Marshbank led the way at morning recess Friday for more than a dozen of her peers over the blacktop and onto the field in search of litter. Hayden not only leads, but founded Adams Elementary School's Trash Pick-Up Team, which goes out during recess in search of any trash their peers at the Costa Mesa campus might have left behind. "I did this because I thought it would help our Earth be more clean," the 7-year-old said.

Q: We bought our 8-year-old dog, Callie, from a local family, and we're still in touch. I've often wondered if Callie would recognize a sibling. Is this possible? — J.K., Cyberspace A: All these years later, the chance your dog would recognize a litter mate is a definitive "maybe. " Veterinary behaviorist Dr. Lore Haug, of Houston, explains: "Siblings most certainly can recognize one another. But when they're separated at a young age, there's no way to consciously remember.

The Community Animal Network has a large selection of cats that are available to be adopted in pairs to give each a pal at home. Gucci and Versace are 6-month-old Flame Point Siamese brothers who look like identical twins. Maki is a 1-year-old Siamese cat hoping to live with her best friend, Tiger Lily, who is a tabby cat. Probrecieto is a black and white 4-month-old whose friend is a calico named E.T. “Most kittens in a litter have picked friends in their litter group that give them comfort and are playmates,” network founder DiAnna Pfaff-Martin said.

Admitting that Lyndon Johnson is one of my favorite presidents has never gotten me anything but strange looks from both Democrats and Republicans. One of my fondest memories of the Johnson administration was not the Vietnam War, the civil rights act or the war on poverty. It was the first lady's war on litter. In almost no time flat, the president's wife, Lady Bird Johnson, made public sloth seem to the rest of us to be a capital offense. The name of the campaign was Keep America Beautiful, and it was thriving long before anyone heard of the organizations that sprouted during the nation's green years in the late '60s and early '70s.

Lolita Harper Five miles of beach have been swooped up by private entities in less than two weeks, and city officials are thrilled. About two-thirds of the shoreline from the Santa Ana River to The Wedge has been claimed by residents, organizations and businesses through the Adopt-a-Beach program, city officials said. The Adopt-a-Beach program, which officially kicked off May 22, is sponsored by the city of Newport Beach and Earth Resource Foundation in Costa Mesa.

-- Story by Amy R. Spurgeon; photo by Brian Pobuda A happy ending might be in store for the sad story of a litter of kittens abandoned with their mother last week in Garden Grove. Thanks to Beverly Hardy, a Costa Mesa resident and volunteer with the Newport Beach-based Community Animal Network, the kittens have a safe place to call home for now. Hardy agreed to foster the litter after she learned that they were living in a single cage at a local animal hospital.

Two Orange County surfers have taken their passion for water activities and transformed it into a passion for the water's health. Mark Ward, 46, from Laguna Beach, and Billy Dutton, 51, from Newport Beach, returned from a 13-day, 350-mile "electric surfing safari" Saturday. During their trip, they traveled in a 22-foot solar-powered electric Duffy boat and surveyed the amount of plastic along the California coast, aiming to spread awareness about pollution in the ocean and the effects it can have.

With a black garbage bag in hand, second-grader Hayden Marshbank led the way at morning recess Friday for more than a dozen of her peers over the blacktop and onto the field in search of litter. Hayden not only leads, but founded Adams Elementary School's Trash Pick-Up Team, which goes out during recess in search of any trash their peers at the Costa Mesa campus might have left behind. "I did this because I thought it would help our Earth be more clean," the 7-year-old said.

Q: We bought our 8-year-old dog, Callie, from a local family, and we're still in touch. I've often wondered if Callie would recognize a sibling. Is this possible? — J.K., Cyberspace A: All these years later, the chance your dog would recognize a litter mate is a definitive "maybe. " Veterinary behaviorist Dr. Lore Haug, of Houston, explains: "Siblings most certainly can recognize one another. But when they're separated at a young age, there's no way to consciously remember.

An environmental group that studied beach litter in Crystal Cove State Park for seven years has found less trash over time and that most debris comes from inland or is dumped onto the beach, rather than washing up from the sea. Volunteers from Coastkeeper Orange County surveyed a 200-yard stretch of beach just south of Pelican Point. Starting in 2003, they collected trash many times a year and analyzed results. While they found everything from lobster traps to condoms, the most common items were made of plastic and came from landlubbers.

Braving soggy weather and toting metal trash pickers and plastic bags, more than 50 volunteers slogged through the streets of Newport Beach on Saturday to pick up trash out of gutters and on local beaches. The effort was part of the group ZeroTrash Newport’s fourth monthly First Saturday beach and street cleanup. “It’s pretty simple. We’re trying to promote personal responsibility,” said Eric Chevalier, one of the organizers of the Saturday cleanup effort.

The Newport Beach City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to send a West Coast Highway taco stand’s dreams of expansion back to the kitchen, even after the eatery dropped its controversial plans to serve beer. Concerns about inadequate parking, parking lot litter and the sticker-covered exterior of Chronic Tacos, 4525 W. Coast Hwy., sank the restaurant’s expansion plans, which included a sit-down dining area and two television sets. At the last minute, the eatery did away with a request for a license to serve beer, but it wasn’t enough to sway the City Council.

PETCO is celebrating the grand re-opening of its recently expanded and remodeled store at NewportNorthShopping Center.  Located at MacArthur and Bison, PETCO is hosting a variety of activities for pet owners and their pets Friday, January 23 through Sunday, January 25. On Friday, there will be free PETCO mouse pads for the first 50 P.A.L.S., ("PETCO Animal Lovers Save", the company’s exclusive membership program, which offers savings and invitations to events.)   In addition, there will be a Pet Photo Contest where customers can submit photos of their pets, and from 5 to 7 p.m. the first 50 P.A.L.

The Community Animal Network has a large selection of cats that are available to be adopted in pairs to give each a pal at home. Gucci and Versace are 6-month-old Flame Point Siamese brothers who look like identical twins. Maki is a 1-year-old Siamese cat hoping to live with her best friend, Tiger Lily, who is a tabby cat. Probrecieto is a black and white 4-month-old whose friend is a calico named E.T. “Most kittens in a litter have picked friends in their litter group that give them comfort and are playmates,” network founder DiAnna Pfaff-Martin said.