Radio

'Radio' is heartwarming "Radio" is a classic Hollywood effort at real family values entertainment. It's based on a true story from a small town in South Carolina. It crosses racial lines in a very positive way and is politically correct in all areas. While it cannot shake the feel of a made-for-TV movie, it still rises above its own limitations with a fine screenplay and A-list acting by its principal characters. Cuba Gooding Jr. makes the most of a difficult role as a mentally disabled young man whose single mom is a hard-working nurse at a local hospital.

Ahoy, It's a great weekend to get out on the water with 3-foot swells, 70-degree ocean water temperatures, plus great weather. As always, you will need to be prepared for morning and evening fog when the inland areas' air temperatures are this hot. Next week we will see what effects hit the Southland from Hurricane Dean, which is beating a westerly path across the Caribbean. Tropical Depression Erin has made landfall in southern Texas and is heading northwest, which will bring us muggy weather with high clouds along the coast.

Radio broadcast veteran Warren Duffy will speak at St. James Anglican Church at 7 p.m. Wednesday as part of the church’s “Steadfast in Faith” lecture series. For a decade, afternoon drive-time radio listeners in Southern California tuned in to hear the daily talk program “Duffy and Company — Live From L.A.” A free dinner will be served before the lecture at 6 p.m. Offerings will be accepted at the event. St. James Anglican Church is at 3209 Via Lido.

They say news is never convenient. It wasn't this day either, as I was finishing up a very long Sunday shooting the annual Spirit Run and final round of Toshiba Senior Classic. I literally had just hung up the phone after making dinner plans with the family when, in the background, I heard radio talk about a structure fire in Costa Mesa. I was waiting for the normal response of "nothing showing, investigating," which is a majority of fire calls. I was gathering my stuff to leave when the radio dispatcher warned units racing to the scene that several calls continued to come in about the fire.

The nearly one-acre lot at 2400 Santiago Drive in Newport Beach is unassuming and barely noticeable as you approach it. It doesn’t give up much from the street view, shielding its house and yard from peering eyes. The house is tucked deep in the rectangular lot and was built by contractor Ken Bone in 1956. The all original home is done in a style of architecture similar to the French Quarter in New Orleans. The property not only enjoys a great location, it boasts a rich and storied past.

For three hours a night, anyone with a radio dial or an Internet connection can get a glimpse into the mind of John Ziegler. Weeknights from 7 to 10 p.m., he hosts a no-nonsense talk radio show on KFI-AM (640). Those who think Ziegler's biting sarcasm and straightforwardness on air is an act need only listen to his answering machine for evidence to the contrary. "Hi, you have reached the voicemail of John Ziegler from KFI," the message says.

Noaki Schwartz COSTA MESA -- A spokesman for Dr. Laura Schlessinger said Thursday there may still be hope for a resolution in her lawsuit against Beach Access owner Thomas Moore. Despite Schlessinger's filing in Orange County Superior Court claiming $1 million in damages, Allan Mayer said the escalating situation could be deflated if Moore is "willing to apologize for calling [Schelssinger] a liar and take responsibility." The bitter war of words between the radio personality and the business owner began nearly two months ago when Schlessinger took her son shopping at the South Coast Plaza store and saw a copy of Big Brother, a skateboarding magazine published by Larry Flynt.

-- Compiled by the Daily Pilot staff There are some days when the adrenaline is really pumping in the newsroom. You know, it kind of happens on days when we have freeway crashes, robberies and fires happen all at once. It's even harder to figure out what's going on when you don't have the luxury of eavesdropping on local police and fire officials using a radio since the departments went digital this year. We still get some sporadic information from the radio.

Services for Ray Ortlund, a prominent local religious leader who died Sunday evening, are set for Friday and Saturday. Ortlund, who hosted a radio program for many years and wrote or co-wrote more than 25 books with his wife Anne and others, was well-known locally for his Newport Beach-based Renewal Ministries. "He was the kind of guy who hung out with Billy Graham. I knew Ray first through his radio personality," said Ric Olsen, lead pastor of the Beacon in East Orange. Olsen knew Ortlund for 10 years and considered him a mentor.

Lolita Harper COSTA MESA -- The attacks on Pearl Harbor left a vivid image in the minds of many. But unlike the Sept. 11 attacks, visions of Japanese fighter pilots raiding the U.S. Navy were replayed in the minds of Americans, not on their television screens. On Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, television had not even been invented. People turned to radio programs for not only news and events, but entertainment. Donald Baird, 82, said he was living in New York when Pearl Harbor was attacked and remembers when the radio announcer interrupted the program with updates about the invasion.

Four-time Tony Award-winning original musical "Memphis" rides the airwaves into Costa Mesa for a two-week engagement at Segerstrom Center for the Arts next week. "Memphis," two hours of fast-paced action and 19 high-energy song and dance numbers, is set in the segregated 1950s with blues and early rock 'n' roll the vehicle for a tale of fame and forbidden interracial love. The first national touring company features original Broadway cast members, including Bryan Fenkart as Huey Calhoun, a role he understudied and performed more than 200 times, ensemble member Jill Morrison said.

If you've heard a ska band on the radio or live, Tazy Phyllipz probably had something to do with it. After helping bands like No Doubt and Sublime find their place on the musical map for more than 20 years, Phyllipz, an Irvine resident, is hoping to get something back so he can fund a tell-all book about his musical adventures. Phyllipz is looking to hire an editor and co-writer for the upcoming memoir. He hopes to raise $35,000, an amount he said may be too high for the positions he is hiring.

KNX 1070 will take a closer look at the city of Irvine on Aug. 24, broadcasting live from the Irvine Spectrum as part of its "KNX on Your Corner" series. Streaming from the Corner Bakery Café at 91 Fortune Drive, the segment will focus on major issues and success stories Irvine's had over the past 30 years. Featuring guest appearances from community leaders and city officials, including Mayor Sukhee Kang, the program will look specifically at the city's growth and future plans, in addition to its places of interests, such as the Orange County Great Park.

A Costa Mesa radio station shut down its weekly program on medical marijuana Sunday amid concerns that the show's host presented a one-sided view on a contentious topic, representatives said. Not long before it was to air, the nonprofit KOCI 101.5 FM pulled the plug on "Cannabis Community," hosted by Robert Martinez, a former marijuana dispensary owner and Army veteran. However, a station official said the show had actually been canceled a week prior. Controversy surrounded "Cannabis Community" after a Jan. 8 broadcast from a bar owned by Costa Mesa Mayor Gary Monahan, who said on air that he supports legalizing and regulating the pot dispensaries operating in the city.

SANTA ANA - Leigh Steinberg's visit to Morton's The Steakhouse at the South Coast Plaza Village was billed as, "Lunch With A Legend. " Steinberg, the renowned sports agent and Daily Pilot columnist, delivered a legendary-type shot while on 710 ESPN Radio with Max Kellerman and Marcellus Wiley Thursday. Kellerman served up the topic of Frank McCourt to Steinberg and the 62-year-old slam dunked it. "He needs to go back to Boston," Steinberg said of the infamous Los Angeles Dodgers owner.

For the past nine seasons, John Ireland has been the Los Angeles Lakers' sideline reporter for KCAL 9 television. But that has changed because the Corona del Mar High alumnus will now be calling the action. Ireland, a 1981 graduate of CdM, will be the play-by-play announcer on 710 ESPN radio alongside commentator and former Laker Mychal Thompson, it was announced Tuesday. Ireland, 47, who has been with KCAL since 1995, replaces Spero Dedes, now with the New York Knicks. Corona del Mar High must be proud of its alumni.

COSTA MESA — A 23-year-old pedestrian has died of head injuries sustained when she was struck by debris from a car crash near South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa police confirmed Wednesday. Jessica Hoke, a recent UC Irvine graduate and Santa Ana resident, died Friday — three days after she was hit in the head by debris at 8 a.m. as she was standing at a corner and waiting to cross the street, police said. The Nov. 30 crash allegedly was caused by a 17-year-old driver who ran a red light in a pickup truck and collided into two cars near the intersection of Sunflower and Stevens avenues.

A taped forum hosted in Costa Mesa this week by public radio station KPCC sought to address conflicts between the Muslim and Jewish communities at UC Irvine. But in the end, the discussion seemed only to distill the political disagreements that have them at loggerheads. Former campus student leaders, community members, and Muslim and Jewish organization leaders met at South Coast Repertory’s Julianne Argyros Stage in front of an audience of 100 people to also find ways for students to interact more constructively.

A taped forum hosted in Costa Mesa this week by KPCC, the public radio station, sought to address tensions between the Muslim and Jewish communities at UC Irvine. In the end, though, the discussion only seemed to distill the political disagreements that have them at loggerheads. Former campus student leaders, community members and Muslim and Jewish organization leaders met at the South Coast Repertory’s Julianne Argyros Stage in front of an audience of 100 people to discuss the ongoing tensions between Muslim students, supporters of Israel and the UC Irvine administration and to find ways for students to engage with another more constructively.