Newport Mesa Unified School District

Daily Pilot columnist William Lobdell appears to take a somewhat cavalier attitude in his announcement that Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard should be placed on administrative leave ("Lobdell: Hubbard should be placed on leave," Jan. 14). What would this do to enhance the education of the students of Newport-Mesa? Hubbard has performed and continues to perform his duties as superintendent of Newport-Mesa Unified School District at a high level. While he has this unfortunate situation with his previous district to resolve, and I too hope it is resolved quickly, he has not missed a beat in his goals to move our district in a positive direction.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Former Los Angeles Times staff writer Patrice Apodaca, a Newport Beach resident, has agreed to write a weekly column for the Daily Pilot. Her column will appear on Saturdays. This past holiday season provided me a few excruciating exercises in waiting. I waited for my son to make it home for Christmas. A UCLA student who had been studying for a semester in Rome, he became stranded in London when bad weather resulted in a near shutdown of Heathrow Airport.

Nicolas Jaber is now a member of the jet set. The junior at Newport Harbor High School will serve on the California School Board Assn. as a student representative for its legislative committee. Translation: At 16, Jaber will occasionally fly to Sacramento to review legislation that affects school districts across the Golden State, including his own district, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. "Basically, the legislative committee looks over legislation that affects schools throughout California and it lobbies either for it or against it on behalf of the school board association," Jaber said in a phone interview Tuesday.

LOS ANGELES — Newport-Mesa Unified Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard pleaded not guilty Monday to two felony counts of misappropriation of funds related to his previous job as schools chief in the Beverly Hills Unified School District. Judge Keith L. Schwartz set a preliminary hearing, where evidence will be introduced, for Jan. 18 in Department 142 at the Los Angeles County Superior Court's Airport branch near Los Angeles International Airport. The case will be heard before Judge Mark E. Windham.

It's time for the inaugural year-end version of "Newport-Mesa Jeopardy!" And here's your host, Alex Trebek! Alex: Let's get right to it. The categories are: All's Fair, Schooled, Newport Traditions, Politics As Usual, What's in a Name? and Headaches. Remember, your response has to be in the form of a question. Contestant No. 1: I'll take All's Fair for $100, Alex. Alex: And the answer is: They will be the only real winners in the ongoing battle to take control of the 150-acre Orange County Fairgrounds.

I usually think about Stephen Wagner — Newport-Mesa's most accomplished embezzler of public money — only when I happen to pass by his former upscale home in Newport Beach's Dover Shores neighborhood. My stream of consciousness goes something like this: mink-lined tuxedo, Rolls Royce, the island of Nevis. What a sad, tortured and short life. Last week, a house wasn't needed to trigger thoughts of Wagner. He immediately came to mind when the news broke that Jeffrey Hubbard, superintendent of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, had been charged with two felony counts of misappropriating public funds.

In all but one case, voters in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa favored incumbents and well-known community leaders over a host of newcomers in elections for City Council and school board, according to final election results released Wednesday. In the race for Area 2 of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Education, voters threw out Trustee Michael B. Collier, an advocate for Westside schools, and ushered in Costa Mesa Councilwoman Katrina Foley, who took 54.5% of the vote to the incumbent's 45.5%.

Editor's note: This removes the Island Hotel mid-week specials, which are no longer offered, according to a hotel spokeswoman. TILL NOV. 21 'Becky Shaw' South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, presents Gina Gionfriddo's comedy "Becky Shaw" at the Segerstrom Stage. For showtimes and ticket information, visit http://www.scr.org. TILL JAN. 2 'Peter Pan' J.M. Barrie's classic tale "Peter Pan' flies into the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, offering viewers a unique 360-degree experience.

COSTA MESA — School board Clerk David Brooks recently suggested that the Newport-Mesa Unified School District revisit the idea of allowing booster clubs to sell Fourth of July fireworks on Costa Mesa school properties. The ban on sales at school sites has had "unintended consequences," he said, meaning that campus programs are not benefitting as much as they can from the sales because they must compete with other programs at fireworks stands that line city streets. "We need to create the beginning of some dialogue to help the booster clubs," Brooks said.

Ensign Middle School will hold a fundraiser Sunday in hopes of raising money to offset Newport-Mesa Unified School District cuts, which led to a reduction in the counseling staff. The goal is to raise about $110,000, significiantly more than the school's usual annual effort. Allison Olmstead, who's marketing the event for the school, said the dinner and silent auction will take place from 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the American Legion Hall on the Balboa Peninsula at 215 E. 15 St., Newport Beach.