New Center

Today will be a time for new beginnings at Vanguard University. A graduation ceremony for about 400 undergraduate and graduate students will be held on the athletic field at 10 a.m. At 2:30 p.m., the campus will celebrate breaking ground on the new Heath Academic Center for Religion and Business. It will be the official launch of the university's ambitious capital campaign -- "Vanguard 21." The campaign envisions a comprehensive university serving more than 3,000 students by 2010.

The economy stinks, as we all know, but deflation has some advantages. Initially, city officials figured the new Oasis Senior Center in Corona del Mar would cost about $20 million. But the bids came in low enough to knock the price down to about $16.5 million. That meant the city won’t need to borrow money to finance it for now. The better news, of course, is that our seniors will finally have a new center worthy of them. They’ve gotten by since the 1970s with an old-school building on Marguerite Avenue.

The Oasis Senior Center hopes to see its membership grow from about 4,000 to anywhere from 6,000 to 8,000 when it moves into a new 36,500-square-foot building in Corona del Mar this fall, officials said. “We anticipate a lot of people will want to come check it out because it’s something new,” said Scott Paulsen, president of Friends of Oasis, which raises money for the senior center. Construction on the $16.5-million building on Marguerite Avenue is on schedule, and the center could be moving into its new digs by October or November, center Director Celeste Jardine-Haug said.

After one year of fundraising, Oasis Senior Center is about $500,000 away from its $5-million goal to build the new 36,500-square-foot senior center, officials said this week. Construction on the new $20-million building is slated to begin early next year. “What a difference a year makes,” Friends of Oasis President Evelyn Hart said. “When we first heard that we would have to raise that much money, it seemed a little daunting, but we have had a great many generous donors.

Workers rushed around Newport Coast Community Center Friday morning, putting the finishing touches on the 17,000-square-foot, $8.5 million building. The center will host a grand opening dedication at 10 a.m. today. “As with any grand opening, everything is up to the last minute,” said Wes Morgan, director of the city’s Recreation and Senior Services Department. “But at least the paint is dry.” The focal point of the new center is a gymnasium with an indoor-outdoor stage.

Construction crews began bulldozing the old Oasis Senior Center in Corona del Mar this week to make way for a new, $16.5 million state-of-the-art facility. The senior center has run its programs out of an old school building on Marguerite Avenue since the 1970s. The new, 36,500-square-foot center will feature a fitness center and a library and computer room and will utilize recycled materials from the old senior center in the construction. The project was originally slated to cost about $20 million, but construction bids came in so low that officials announced earlier this year that the city won’t need to borrow any money to finance the project for the time being.

Michael Miller Fariborz Maseeh, a Newport Beach businessman and philanthropist, pledged $2 million to UC Irvine this week to help the campus establish a center for Persian studies. The Dr. Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture, set to open this fall, will be the first center in the UC system devoted entirely to Persian issues. Maseeh, who founded the IntelliSense manufacturing firm in 1991 and currently runs the nonprofit Massiah Foundation, envisioned the new center as an opportunity to educate students about a little-known culture.

“Goodbye old friend,” Oasis Senior Center member Lin Tallman, 86, wrote on the cinder block wall of the Oasis cafeteria Friday. Tallman began attending classes at Oasis after her husband died 20 years ago. Today she enjoys taking ukulele and singing classes. When Tallman broke her hip a few years ago, she got back in shape by taking chair aerobics classes at the center. “It’s given me a whole new life,” Tallman said. “I hope I’m still around in two years when they open the new center.

COSTA MESA — A gym and community center proposed for an apartment complex would hurt the view and lower home values in the surrounding Mesa Verde neighborhood, residents and a longtime real estate agent argued this week. The proposed 44-foot-tall fitness and community center in the Villa Venetia apartments off Adams Avenue and Mesa Verde Drive East was approved by the city Planning Commission earlier this year. The building's proposed height exceeds the city's 27-foot limit for the property, so the owner needed approval from the Planning Commission.

NEWPORT BEACH — The City Council voted Tuesday night to build a $2-million pedestrian bridge linking two portions of its planned Civic Center. Despite criticism from some who said the bridge would be a waste of money, a 4-3 majority approved the addition. The Civic Center construction project swelled over the years into a $130-million plan, and during the tight economy the City Council has made a priority of trimming costs. The council majority decided Tuesday to add what some called a vital component.

The Newport Beach Civic Center construction project could cost an additional $2 million if the City Council decides Tuesday to revive a proposal for a pedestrian bridge. Public Works Director Steve Badum plans to present the latest construction costs and recommend the council add the bridge, which would connect two halves of a park bisected by San Miguel Drive. Criticized for building the $130-million Civic Center in the midst of a recession and a shrinking city staff, the council in February voted to hold off on the bridge to save costs.

COSTA MESA — City and school officials unveiled a new teen center Monday at Costa Mesa Middle School. About two dozen middle-school students gathered for the grand opening ceremony and ribbon cutting, which took place after school let out for the day. As soon as the center opened, middle school students made themselves at home playing board games, table sports, musical instruments and making arts and crafts. "It seems like a lot of fun," said seventh-grader Kate Piatti, 12. "Everyone's having a good time.

COSTA MESA — The City Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to amend its zoning code to make it tougher to open recycling centers citywide. The vote follows the recent revocation of the Garcia Recycling center permit on 19th Street. The business has operated in Costa Mesa for more than 20 years without any violations. Planning Commissioner Steve Mensinger had called for a review of the center's operations and had suggested closing it down due to complaints about noise and the type of customers attracted to the center, such as the homeless.

Brandon Liesenfelt heard the pop, then looked behind and saw an explosion about 400 yards away. That happened more than three years ago, when he was patrolling the streets of Fallujah as a corporal in the U.S. Marines. Today, he's logging onto computers in the quietude of the new Veterans Center at Vanguard University of Southern California. Liesenfelt, a Georgia native, hopes to earn a bachelor's in business administration from the Christian university in Costa Mesa. His tuition is virtually free, thanks to the G.I. Bill drawn up by former President George W. Bush because, as Liesenfelt put it, "The president knew we were going to be going where the heat was."

The Oasis Senior Center hopes to see its membership grow from about 4,000 to anywhere from 6,000 to 8,000 when it moves into a new 36,500-square-foot building in Corona del Mar this fall, officials said. “We anticipate a lot of people will want to come check it out because it’s something new,” said Scott Paulsen, president of Friends of Oasis, which raises money for the senior center. Construction on the $16.5-million building on Marguerite Avenue is on schedule, and the center could be moving into its new digs by October or November, center Director Celeste Jardine-Haug said.

Newport Beach hopes to keep the cost of the massive new civic center project on Avocado Avenue at about $105 million by downsizing the design, according to a new city report. City officials hope to lower the project’s cost by eliminating plans for emergency operations in favor of putting the facility in the basement of City Hall. The city also will do away with photovoltaic cells planned as part of the project, and a 275-seat community meeting room has be reduced in size to 175 seats.

Newport Beach City Manager Dave Kiff will give a presentation on the new Civic Center project at the next Speak Up Newport meeting today at the Newport Beach Yacht Club. A reception with appetizers and a cash bar begins 5:30 p.m. The program will start at 6 p.m. The yacht club is at 1099 Bayside Drive. Newport Beach has plans to build a new city hall and parking structure next to the central library on Avocado Avenue. The project also will include a 16-acre park, adding as much as 17,000 square feet to the library.