Orange County

The numbers are mind-boggling. About 520 arrests in Newport Beach. At least 277 cases filed against him by prosecutors in Orange County. Plus an unknown amount in Hawaii, Los Angeles or any of the other places he landed after a stint in jail or rehab. But the number that's most important to those who knew Mark David Allen, or felt they knew him, is somewhere in the thousands. That's how many lives Allen touched through his documented story of a decades-long battle with alcoholism.

UC Irvine's Anteaters are about to start chowing down on a lot more oranges. Anteater athletes planted a grove of the citrus-bearing trees Wednesday afternoon near the Crawford Athletics Complex along West Peltason Drive. "They will grow there for years and years," said women's tennis team member Stephanie Hammel of the trees. "The fruit will give members of the community or athletes the opportunity to come here, pick the fruit and enjoy it. " The 24 trees were donated by the Orange County Great Park and are part of a project to upgrade the pool score board and beautify the surrounding area, said Cathy Lawhon, university director of media relations and community outreach.

A magnitude 3.5 earthquake hit the Newport Beach area early Thursday morning. The temblor occurred at 2:56 a.m. in the San Joaquin Hills area about two miles from Newport Beach and four miles from Irvine. It was felt over a large swath of Orange County, mostly notably Irvine and the South County region, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There were no reports of damage. —From LATimes.com Twitter: @LATimes

Summer on the Orange Coast is alive with people, parties and purpose. All that and amazing food and entertainment to go right along with the fun in the sun season. On Tuesday evenings in Newport Beach the venerable Ritz, in the capable hands of Ray Jacobi , features an amazing Southern barbecue and concert on the patio. On a recent Tuesday evening, the Fabulous Baker Boys in from Las Vegas entertained as the chef created the best barbecue this side of any Texas county line.

The Philharmonic Society of Orange County and New York's Carnegie Hall this fall will present JapanOC: a festival celebrating Japan's culture and arts at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, according to a news release from the Philharmonic. The festival is the second in a partnership that began last year between Henry Segerstrom and Clive Gillinson, executive and artistic director of the Carnegie Hall. Working together, the philharmonic society, Segerstrom and Gillinson brought Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: A Festival Celebrating Chinese Culture to Orange County.

PETER BUFFA Every two years, the world throws a party, and everybody comes. A few thousand athletes from a few hundred countries pack their bags and travel a really long way to wherever, compete like all get out for two weeks, then go home. It's called the Olympic Games. A few athletes are famous before they get there, or will be when they leave, but most will never be heard of, or from, before, during or after. Why do they do it? No one knows.

President Barack Obama’s staffers are eyeing the OC Fair & Events Center in Costa Mesa as a possible venue for a town hall meeting when the president visits Orange County on Wednesday, a Democratic party official said Saturday. “We haven’t gotten any confirmation yet, but there are rumors they are considering using the fairgrounds,” said Melahat Rafiei, executive director of the Democratic Party of Orange County. Obama will travel to Orange County on Wednesday afternoon, before heading to Los Angeles to spend the night, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said during a media briefing last week.

With only six days till Christmas, several toy drives across Orange County are in serious need of more donations, including the Spark of Love drive, run by Orange County fire departments, officials said Monday. The Orange County Toy Collaborative Warehouse gets toys to all the needy children served by the Spark of Love, Toys for Tots, Operation Santa Claus and St. Vincent de Paul toy drives. They pool their resources so that the different charity efforts don't duplicate their efforts.

The cable reality series “The Real Housewives of Orange County” is tossing a Newport Coast resident into the mix for season five of the hit series. Newport Coast resident Alexis Bellino, 32, will join cast members Tamra Barney, Lynn Curtin, Vicki Gunvalson, Jeana Keough and Gretchen Rossi for season five of “The Real Housewives.” Married to entrepreneur Jim Bellino, Alexis Bellino is a stay-at-home mom to 3-year-old son James and 20-month-old twins Melania and Mackenna.

Alex Coolman The use of pesticides in Orange County -- including some chemicals considered highly toxic and carcinogenic -- increased dramatically during the 1990s, according to a report released Wednesday by an environmental group. The report by Pesticide Action Network, a San Francisco nonprofit group, is a comprehensive study of pesticide use across California, with data broken down by region and by county. Between 1991-98 in Orange County, the group concluded that use of a class of pesticides known as "bad actors" increased by 51%. The "bad actor" class of chemicals includes acute poisons, carcinogens, reproductive or developmental toxins, neurotoxins and ground water contaminants.

The Philharmonic Society of Orange County has announced its 2012-13 season lineup that's going to be bringing a few A-list classical stars to local audiences. Among the highlights is cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Itzhak Perlman and the Los Angeles Philharmonic led by Gustavo Dudamel. The repertoire throughout the season continues in the multiyear Beethoven celebration. The Irvine-based nonprofit, now in its 59th season, is led by President and Artistic Director Dean Corey. He announced in a press release that he will be retiring in the summer of 2014.

UC Irvine's Anteaters are about to start chowing down on a lot more oranges. Anteater athletes planted a grove of the citrus-bearing trees Wednesday afternoon near the Crawford Athletics Complex along West Peltason Drive. "They will grow there for years and years," said women's tennis team member Stephanie Hammel of the trees. "The fruit will give members of the community or athletes the opportunity to come here, pick the fruit and enjoy it. " The 24 trees were donated by the Orange County Great Park and are part of a project to upgrade the pool score board and beautify the surrounding area, said Cathy Lawhon, university director of media relations and community outreach.

Nothing smells lovelier than the scent of orange blossoms. Just ask Gwyneth Paltrow, one of the many fans of 88 Orange, the Costa Mesa-based maker of clothing, body and home products infused with an orange blossom scent. "She loves our clothes and is addicted to our fabric softener," said Andy Drakeford, sales and marketing director for 88 Orange. Actress and model Molly Sims is another fan, according to Drakeford. Business has been good, she said, noting that the label has had mentions in big-name magazines like Allure and Every Day With Rachael Ray, with more press coming in the spring and summer in Travel & Leisure and Real Simple.

COSTA MESA — To the crashing of cymbals and beating of drums, a brilliantly adorned troupe of Lion Dancers at South Coast Plaza on Thursday heralded the arrival of the Year of the Dragon. The shopping center was kicking off its 13-day celebration of the Lunar New Year. A 40-foot red paper dragon coiled itself in the two-story space around Jewel Court, and a ring of holiday greetings from the balcony above proclaimed "Happy New Year" in English and the languages of four Asian countries marking the occasion: China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam.

A month-long investigation has led to five arrests and the seizure of more than $200,000 in marijuana, authorities said Thursday. Anthony Mave, 46, of San Clemente was arrested near Newport Boulevard and 16th Street in Newport Beach on Jan. 6 after he was found in possession of 24 pounds of "high-grade" marijuana, police said. On the same day, while serving a search warrant, Newport police found a complex marijuana-growing operation inside a Laguna Niguel residence. Detectives seized about 300 marijuana plants, four pounds of cultivated marijuana and cash there, according to Newport Beach police spokeswoman Kathy Lowe.

Fairview Community Church was filled Tuesday morning when mourners gathered to grieve and celebrate the life of Lee Daigle. Lee recently died of natural causes. He was 93. A 70-year member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Daigle was a giant in his union. He began as an electrician in Montana, but moved to Orange County in 1954. He laid lines in the young community and literally helped empower it to grow into what it is today. Present to honor and memorialize Lee's life were the executive director of the Orange County Labor Federation, Teferi Gebre; IBEW local 441 leaders Doug Mangione and Mike Paulsen; family; friends and members of his faith community.

The Los Angeles area's arts and entertainment industries lost thousands of jobs from 2007 to 2010, according to a study of the "creative economy. " The findings for 2010 commissioned by Otis College of Art and Design and compiled from state and federal government figures by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. showed a loss of 21,500 jobs and an 11% decline in employment in the three years. Known as the Otis Report on the Creative Economy of Los Angeles and Orange Counties, the study encompasses both traditional arts and entertainment categories and five additional fields that the researchers consider to be part of the region's broader creative economy.

SANTA ANA — An allegedly intoxicated driver who hit and seriously injured a Newport Harbor High School student was charged Thursday with felony driving under the influence with an enhancement for causing brain injury and paralysis. Marnie J. Lippincott, 38, of Costa Mesa was also charged with a misdemeanor count of driving with a suspended license. Her arraignment in Orange County Superior Court was delayed Thursday until later this month. Prosecutors said Lippincott was under the influence of drugs and alcohol Tuesday afternoon when her black Chevy Tahoe hit Crystal Morales, 17, as she crossed Margaret Drive in a crosswalk near of the school, which had just let out for the day. Morales suffered serious internal and head injuries.

"On Display in Orange County: Modern and Contemporary Sculpture," an exhibition of 20th and 21st century works commissioned over a half-century by Henry T. Segerstrom and then placed on public sites to enhance the cultural equation of Orange County at large, opened last week with considerable fanfare in Costa Mesa. Dignitaries from the world of visual art descended upon this community to pay homage to Segerstrom for what is considered a most unique collaboration between art and community, orchestrated by one patron for one region of the American landscape.

NEWPORT BEACH - Evan Snow's face was set in concentration as he tried to add a bag of rice to each cardboard box that slid past him on a conveyor belt. His arms barely reached over the top of the boxes, but luckily for Evan, 4, he had a solid slam dunk and a cheering team. "Go! Go! Hurry!" cheered father Steve Snow, helping Evan. "Last one!" The Snows, with 6-year-old Ben in a sideways baseball cap, were some of the 450 of PIMCO's Newport Beach employees and their families who volunteered their Saturday morning to fill up 5,000 boxes with more than 9,000 pounds of holiday food for Orange County residents in need.