Mater Dei High School

Andrew Edwards The French Riviera and Newport-Mesa have more than sand and tourists in common. Seven high school students and one teacher from Antibes, France, arrived in Newport Beach on Saturday to spend 12 days in California, as part of an exchange-student program with the Newport Beach Sister City Assn. The group landed at Los Angeles International Airport and was shuttled to Newport, where they met their hosts at the city's central library.

Marianne McDaniel remembers when she emceed the annual Balboa Island Parade and saw the military band march right past where it was supposed to stop. When she looked back, she understood why. The band finished so that a war veteran in the parade stopped before the American flag, where he stood — stiff as a flag pole, missing a foot — saluting the flag during the National Anthem. “It’s evolved into a real patriotic, wonderful experience,” McDaniel said.

Lolita Harper Children who live at the Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter in Costa Mesa stay in apartments that are not their own, play with toys that are shared and often wear secondhand clothes. Garrett Zimmerman, 18, said the least he could give them was a place they could call their own. Zimmerman, an Orange Coast College freshman, built a playhouse at the shelter for his Eagle Scout project. "The houses are so crowded, and it's cool for the kids to have their own space," Zimmerman said.

Deirdre Newman Newport Beach high school students got a firsthand taste of the nuances of politics and procedure as they held a mock City Council meeting, complete with controversial issues and mundane details. Forty-eight students assumed the personas of various city officials and debated issues like the John Wayne Airport settlement agreement as part of Youth Government Day last Wednesday. While the procedure proved more problematic than the politics, most of the students showed an adroit grasp of the issues.

Boys Hope Girls Hope’s 11th Evening of Hope Raises $75,000 and Featured the 2008 Broadway Musical, The Color Purple   Costa Mesa , CA  – November 23,  2008  Boys Hope Girls Hope of California hosted its annual “Evening of Hope” at the Orange County Performing Arts Center to see the 2008 Broadway musical  The Color Purple with a pre-reception at the Westin South Coast Plaza .  150 attended the...

Engstrom-McCarthy Dana Jennifer Engstrom and James Cornelius McCarthy exchanged wedding vows in the Arbor at The Hyatt Newporter in Newport Beach on May 24. The bride, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. David Ralph Engstrom of Newport Beach, wore a formal strapless gown of white silk duchess satin with white satin-faced organza trim. She wore a satin-edged cathedral veil adorned with a tiara and carried an arm bouquet of white calla lilies. Her maids of honor were Teri Ann Peters, Maria Dayaw and Claudia Carnesella.

  Boys Hope Girls Hope of Southern California Celebrates its 12th Annual Evening of HOPE featuring Monty Python ’ s Spamalot. Costa Mesa, CA- On Saturday , October 18th, Boys Hope Girls H ope of Southern California will be holding its 12th annual Evening of Hope, featuring Monty Python ’ s Spamalot, starting John O’Hurley from Seinfeld and Dancing with the Stars, as King Arthur. It will be held at the Orange County Performing Arts Center at 6:30 p.m. A pre-show dinner and cocktail reception will be held at the Westin Hotel starting at 4:30 pm. The new musical comedy lovingly ripped off from the film classic Monty Python and The Holy Grail , Spamalot tells the tale of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table as they embark on their quest for the Holy Grail.

Luis Pena The drizzle and the clouds on Sunday morning didn't stop more than 27,000 runners and walkers and 10,000 volunteers, friends and family from attending the 12th annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure at Fashion Island. Nancy Brinker founded the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation more than 20 years ago as a promise to her dying sister to fight breast cancer. "As always, it's exciting because we have thousands and thousands of people here," said Aletha Anderson, president of the Orange County Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Deepa Bharath Plaintiffs, attorneys and Catholic Church officials expressed relief on Friday after a two-year legal tug-of-war between the Diocese of Orange and victims of clergy abuse ended in a historic settlement late Thursday night. Terms of the settlement, which included a monetary settlement and other agreements, were not revealed because of a court-issued gag order. The amount of the settlement and other terms will likely be released late next week.

NEWPORT BEACH — If you ask Scott McKnight, it's less like a retirement and more like moving to a new team. On June 1, when the Newport Beach police lieutenant walks away from the department after 28 years, he'll be turning in his badge and uniform for a clipboard and whistle with JSerra Catholic High School football in San Juan Capistrano. McKnight, who turns 50 this month, will coach the budding program's defensive backs and special teams. "It's a full swan-dive. I'm starting one and finishing another," McKnight said.