Memorial Day

Some of the best water polo players in the world are coming to Newport Harbor High next weekend. With the weeks dwindling until the London Olympics, the Newport Beach Water Polo club is working on making it into a Memorial Day weekend to remember. The club is hosting a three-day, pre-Olympic water polo showcase at Newport Harbor starting Saturday. Three of the top men's national teams in the world — Team USA, Hungary and Croatia — will be participating. Robert Lynn can't wait.

Government offices will be closed and services canceled Monday in observance of Memorial Day. All post offices will be closed, and there will be no collection or delivery of postal items. FedEx and UPS stores will also be closed. The Department of Motor Vehicles offices will be closed, as will banks and courts. All public libraries will be closed. The Orange County public libraries will also be using the holiday to conduct maintenance on its online catalog, so service may be spotty.

Police across Orange County will ramp up enforcement this holiday weekend in an effort to dissuade people from driving drunk. DUI saturation patrols will be out Saturday and Sunday nights in Newport Beach, Irvine and Laguna Beach, according to a release from the Newport Beach Police Department. Sobriety checkpoints are scheduled for Anaheim, La Habra, Buena Park and Seal Beach. The California Highway Patrol will also deploy an increased number of officers to freeways and unincorporated roads through midnight Monday.

If you're heading to Big Corona State Beach this weekend, you may want to pack a picnic. The Big Corona Beach concessions stand, which has been shuttered since November 2010, won't be open in time for Memorial Day as the city and new owners had hoped. “Unfortunately no,” said Michael C. Cho, a lawyer for the owners, in an email. “We are still waiting on our equipment package to re-fixturize the space. The city has been great as well as health. We just need the equipment to be delivered so it can be installed and inspected.” ...Continue reading "Big Corona concessions won't be open by Memorial Day"

I would like to comment on the use of the word "holiday" in connection with Memorial Day. I know it has become standard usage, but it is not a "holiday." It is a solemn and sad day for many, and more so now, while our soldiers are dying in Iraq. Connecting it to a weekend of barbecues, fun days at the beach, etc., takes away from the purpose, which is to honor our dead. It is unfortunate that the original May 30 date is shuffled around to make a three-day weekend, thereby helping to lose the meaning in a round of fun activities.

"Many men have served God and country well in arms; they have been valorous in battle, magnanimous in victory, patient in defeat and capture and faithful in death." -- SHERWOOD ELIOT WIRT This column appears over the Memorial Day weekend. I read that it was originally called "Decoration Day" and was, and is still, a day to remember those who have died while serving our country. Apparently, there are differing stories about its true origin, as well as assorted places that claim to be the birthplace.

A year ago at this time, the community waited anxiously as its first servicemen started returning from Iraq. Marine Staff Sgt. Charles "Cass" Spence of Costa Mesa was the first, coming home after a four-month tour. He was greeted by his family, who alternated between smiles and tears as they welcomed him. Marine reservist Lance Cpl. Ian Voss of Newport Beach followed him. Then, U.S. Marine Cpl. Bryan Bergey returned -- but not whole. Days before his scheduled departure, Bergey was caught in an ambush.

This year's Memorial Day should not just be another vacation day. Instead, because of events in Iraq, it should be a day of remembering and honoring those who have given their lives for our country, this year and in years gone by. Before heading out to the barbecue or the beach on Monday, attend the 11 a.m. memorial service at Harbor Lawn Memorial Park, 1625 Gisler Ave. in Costa Mesa, or the 11 a.m. memorial service at...

An ever-present sun shined down on a somber Memorial Day commemoration yesterday at the Pacific View Memorial Park. Hundreds of visitors gathered to pay tribute to those who died serving in the U.S. military and to honor troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. While anti-war protesters held demonstrations at some Memorial Day events across the country, Monday's Newport Beach service was free of any demonstrators. "Politics should end at the entrance of this serene resting place," Brigadier General Ronald B. Flynn told the audience, many of whom came dressed in red, white and blue and watched the ceremony at the bottom of a small hill.

Andrew Edwards Today, a few good men can get a free dinner at the Arches restaurant in Newport Beach. Restaurant owner Dan Marcheano said an active-duty Marine eats for free on Memorial Day. "That's what you have to do," Marcheano, a retired Marine said. "They're the reason we have so much fun." Memorial Day -- a time for Americans to remember the deeds of fallen soldiers -- is part of a three-day weekend that has become one of the busiest travel days of the year and an unofficial start to summer.

If you're heading to Big Corona State Beach this weekend, you may want to pack a picnic. The Big Corona Beach concessions stand, which has been shuttered since November 2010, won't be open in time for Memorial Day as the city and new owners had hoped. “Unfortunately no,” said Michael C. Cho, a lawyer for the owners, in an email. “We are still waiting on our equipment package to re-fixturize the space. The city has been great as well as health. We just need the equipment to be delivered so it can be installed and inspected.” ...Continue reading "Big Corona concessions won't be open by Memorial Day"

Some of the best water polo players in the world are coming to Newport Harbor High next weekend. With the weeks dwindling until the London Olympics, the Newport Beach Water Polo club is working on making it into a Memorial Day weekend to remember. The club is hosting a three-day, pre-Olympic water polo showcase at Newport Harbor starting Saturday. Three of the top men's national teams in the world — Team USA, Hungary and Croatia — will be participating. Robert Lynn can't wait.

Now that Mom's been served breakfast in bed or treated to a day at the spa, why not look ahead to the next occasion and plan for something more meaningful to do than flipping burgers on a backyard grill this coming Memorial Day weekend? After all, the original intent of the holiday tends to get a bit lost these days, what with all the department store sales and the enticing whiff of summer on the way. Sometimes, a little perspective is in order. Memorial Day was declared a national holiday in 1971, but it arose out of an array of observances of our nation's war dead that took place in various places around the country since the Civil War. Throughout much of that history, it was more commonly referred to as Decoration Day, reflecting the intention that the occasion be used to decorate veterans' grave sites as a show of gratitude and respect.

A tree was planted this week to memorialize a 14-year-old cheerleader killed in a Memorial Day weekend car crash, the girl's stepfather said. The sapling was planted on a corner at the intersection of Culver Drive and Irvine Boulevard in Irvine, where Ashton Sweet died following a May 29 crash that also sent four others to the hospital. Thursday marked the four-month anniversary of Sweet's death, and her stepfather, David Pidcock, said the family visited the intersection and placed candles for his stepdaughter to commemorate the day. Pidcock said the city was helpful in reaching out to the family to find a tree befitting the permanent memorial.

A memorial at the site of where a drunk driver allegedly killed a 14-year-old Irvine cheerleader may be moved at the request of some residents, the victim's family said. Ashton Sweet was killed May 29 in a car crash at Culver Drive and Irvine Boulevard when a driver hit the Mercedes-Benz that she and three other friends were riding in after they left a birthday party. Soon after the crash, the corner's utility box and traffic signal were covered with farewell messages, while flowers and candles covered the sidewalk.

MIDWAY CITY — For Pete Carolan, the killing of Osama bin Laden was a full-circle moment. The Irvine artist spent almost two decades in the Navy SEALs, the specialized combat wing that conducted the May 1 nighttime raid on the Al Qaeda leader's Pakistan hideaway. In 2000, Carolan painted a 150-foot mural of military scenes in the American Legion Hall in Midway City, titled "For God and Country. " According to media reports, the ground commander of the SEAL Team 6 unit that carried out the mission uttered the same phrase in radioing in the news that his commandoes had killed "Geronimo," the operational code name for Bin Laden.

Police across Orange County will ramp up enforcement this holiday weekend in an effort to dissuade people from driving drunk. DUI saturation patrols will be out Saturday and Sunday nights in Newport Beach, Irvine and Laguna Beach, according to a release from the Newport Beach Police Department. Sobriety checkpoints are scheduled for Anaheim, La Habra, Buena Park and Seal Beach. The California Highway Patrol will also deploy an increased number of officers to freeways and unincorporated roads through midnight Monday.

Government offices will be closed and services canceled Monday in observance of Memorial Day. All post offices will be closed, and there will be no collection or delivery of postal items. FedEx and UPS stores will also be closed. The Department of Motor Vehicles offices will be closed, as will banks and courts. All public libraries will be closed. The Orange County public libraries will also be using the holiday to conduct maintenance on its online catalog, so service may be spotty.

There will be several Memorial Day observance ceremonies in the area, including one at 11 a.m. Monday at Harbor Lawn-Mt. Olive Memorial Park & Mortuary, 1625 Gisler Ave., Costa Mesa. Organizers will offer complimentary hot dogs and drinks to attendees. For more information, call (714) 540-5554 or visit harborlawn.com . The Newport Beach American Legion will hold two Memorial Day ceremonies with performances by the Mountain Fifes and Drums at 11 a.m. Monday at the Pacific View Memorial Park, 3500 Pacific View Drive, Corona del Mar, and at 1 p.m. at Newport Harbor Post 291, 215 E. 15th St., Newport Beach.

T anning salons are picking up business because of it, and some people are getting bummed by too much of it. It's that same old June gloom, when a marine layer descends over the ocean with too much consistency, and so you get the National Weather Service for Orange County and most of Southern California repeating itself: Patchy fog before 11 a.m. Patchy fog expected to last until the early afternoon. Patchy fog after 11 p.m. Sometimes, the fog doesn't let up. Because sunshine is a big draw in California, tourists are sometimes surprised by the gloom.