New Century

TODAY Artist Workshops Pierside Gallery, 327 Marine Ave., Newport Beach, offers Artist Workshops for adults and young students on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The two-hour sessions are taught by Disney artist Margie Tabor Zuliani and are $45 each. For more information, call (949) 675-5225. Free Tour Of OCPAC The Orange County Performing Arts Center's docents will lead free public tours of the center's concert halls, including Segerstrom Hall, the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall and Samueli Theater.

December 31, 1999. It's 4:27 p.m. and the sun is just setting on this last day of the century. I'm sitting on a bench at Gate 86 in Terminal 7 of the Los Angeles International Airport. The Muzak is extra loud, perhaps to make up for the lack of hustle and bustle normally found on a Friday afternoon. It feels more like the middle of the night here, with janitors mopping and shining and airline workers yawning and stretching. The few travelers are either anxious or sleepy, like walking zombies, waiting for the apocalypse and Jesus to rise from the dead.

In the upper left-hand corner of the electronic page on which I began writing today's column, I typed what, in newspaper lingo, is called a slug. A slug is simply a conglomeration of letters and numbers that identify the article, date and author. In this case: "fredcolumn for tues 010400." However, the history of newspaper slugs, though quite fascinating, is not today's momentous news. Nor is the fact that I have ground out yet another column. The gasp here is the date: "010400," shorthand for Jan. 4, 2000.

TODAY Special Brew Meal The Crow Bar and Kitchen, 2325 Pacific Coast Hwy., Corona del Mar, offers a special three-course meal paired with Stone Brewing Company and Firestone Walker Brewing Company beers. For more information, visit www.thecrowbarcdm.com. Roasted Crab At AnQi AnQi at South Coast Plaza offers the Crustacean's Famous Roasted Crab each Tuesday. For more information, call (714) 557-5679 or visit www.anqirestaurant.com. Three-Course Beer Dinner The Crow Bar and Kitchen, 2325 Pacific Coast Hwy., Corona del Mar, offers a three-course beer dinner on Tuesdays.

For the past 10 weeks, the Daily Pilot gave our readers a glance back at the last 100 years. It was an interesting lesson as to where we came from. What we learned is remarkable. Our Newport-Mesa forefathers were pioneers and trendsetters who foresaw the creation of the largest pleasure harbor in the nation and the preservation of one of the state's largest nature reserves. They were able to envision beautiful communities with some of the best parks, beaches, schools, glimmering shopping malls, libraries and performing arts centers in the state and nation.

Art Linkletter, 91, came to town to honor John Huffman, senior minister of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Newport Beach. It was the annual Salvation Army awards dinner, held at the Hyatt Regency, Irvine, bestowing upon Huffman the Spirit Award, which is the highest honor given by the Salvation Army. Past recipients of the Spirit Award are Newport's Donna Crean, Congressman Chris Cox, Betty Beldon Palmer, Peter and Mary Muth and David and Judy Threshie.