Rancho Santa Margarita

COSTA MESA - The AYSO Region 120 boys under 13 APP soccer team defeated Rancho Santa Margarita, 2-1, last weekend. Adrian Jiminez led the offensive attack with a goal and an assist, while Brian Henriques added another goal. Goalkeeper Kyle Eckmann kept numerous shots out while the defense was led by Ian Lamb, Jordan Kalke, Nick Juarez, Michael McDaniels, Evan Van Geem and Nick Arant. Danny Perez, Andy Sussman, Keith Eldridge, Scott Braunsdorf and Kane Curran were strong at midfield.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department is continuing to investigate the fatal shooting of a Newport Beach owner of a bail bonds company, a department spokesman said. Dean Patrick Maldonado, 49, was shot at least twice by an unspecified type of handgun shortly before midnight Saturday at a private residence in Rancho Santa Margarita, said Jim Amorimino, public information officer for the Sheriff's Department. The Los Angeles Times reported that Maldonado entered the home on the 21300 block of Stonetower Lane through an unlocked sliding glass backdoor.

COSTA MESA — Bob Sladek, a former principal and associate pastor, is the new head of school at Mariners Christian School. During the summer, after a nearly year-long search, the board of directors at Mariners Christian chose the former principal of Mission Hills Christian School and associate pastor of Mission Hills Community Church to lead the Costa Mesa campus this academic year. The Mission Hills church and its school are in Rancho Santa Margarita. Sladek took over in July from Todd Perkins, who led the campus during the 2009-2010 year as the interim head of school.

Prosecutors will not charge a man for shooting and killing a Newport Beach bail bondsman during an argument in Rancho Santa Margarita last year. After a five-month investigation, Orange County District Attorney investigators determined there was "insufficient evidence" to file criminal charges against Brian Scott Ostrom for killing Dean Patrick Maldonado on July 17, 2010, according to a letter from prosecutors dated Dec. 8. The letter did not say if prosecutors considered the shooting self-defense.

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA - Estancia High's Nathan Thaler, a senior wrestler in the 215-pound weight class, won the CIF Southern Section Division IV title at Santa Margarita High. He earned a 6-4 overtime decision over Steve Gonzales of St. John Bosco on Saturday. Corona del Mar senior Aaron Hacker (152 pounds) finished third after a major decision victory, 10-2, over Noah Harrison of Diamond Ranch. Thaler and Hacker will try to advance to the state championships as they wrestle in the Masters meet, Friday and Saturday, at Fountain Valley, where the top eight in each class qualify for State.

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA - The Orange Coast College men's golf team lost to Saddleback, 374-399, Thursday, in Orange Empire Conference action played at Tijeras Creek Golf Course, par 72. Jason Woodrome led the Pirates (14-6, 7-6 in conference) with a 77. Other OCC golfers included Brian Winston (78), Costa Mesa High graduate Lou Carrasco (80), Clay Wright (81), Newport Harbor grad Jake Allanach (83) and Mike Akahoshi (84). Former Sailors' golfer Kevin Olson (73)

Cherrie Dolloff of Costa Mesa and Howard Dolloff of Wichita, Kan., have announced the engagement of their daughter, Jennifer Nicole Dolloff of Costa Mesa, to Andrew Wayne Morrell of Costa Mesa, son of Kenny and Carol Morrell of Rancho Santa Margarita and Ronnie Carr of Carlsbad. The bride-to-be is a graduate of Costa Mesa High School and OCC. She will attend the University of Nevada, Reno this fall. The groom-to-be is a graduate of Murrietta High School and will attend the University of Nevada, Reno this fall.

Home goods retailer Linens ‘n Things, which went into bankruptcy protection in May, plans to shutter its Metro Pointe store in Costa Mesa as part of a new round of closures. The store is one of 59 in the country slated to shut down; one other Orange County shop, in Mission Viejo, was also on the list. The company originally planned to shut down 87 stores in its second wave of closures. Three other Orange County locations began liquidation sales in May. The Fullerton, Tustin and Rancho Santa Margarita stores were some of the worst underperformers in the company, and were among 120 stores on the original chopping block.

MEN’S GOLF Big West Championship RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA — UC Irvine junior Sean Shahi led the field with six-under-par 138 after 36 holes in the Big West Conference Championships Monday. Defending champion UC Irvine was tied for first with UC Davis through 36 holes at Tijeras Creek Golf Club. Pacific was in third place with 588. UC Davis and Irvine were tied with 571. ‘Eaters sophomore John Chin was in second place with five-under-par 139 after shooting six-under-par 66 during his afternoon round.

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA - The Newport Harbor High girls' water polo team had to put up with the elements on a rainy and foggy Saturday afternoon at Santa Margarita High. Putting up with Santa Margarita senior center Emily Loughlin, who plays on the U.S. women's youth national team, is more difficult. Loughlin was constantly double-teamed by Newport senior Avery Peterson and sophomore Rachel Whitelegge. The Sailors also ran a drop defense on her. "[Loughlin] is so strong that you've got to drop from the outside and hope that their outside shooters don't have a good day," Coach Bill Barnett said.

BOYS' BASKETBALL Santa Margarita 61, Corona del Mar 51 RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA - Max Stone scored 17 points for the Sea Kings in the season-ending loss in the CIF Southern Section Division 3A quarterfinals Tuesday night. Joey Calise added 12 points for No. 5-seeded CdM (18-10). Blake Grable added 11 points. Senior guard Wolfie Wood scored a game-high 25 points for No. 4-seeded Santa Margarita (17-13). CdM Coach Ryan Schachter said the Sea Kings played hard, but had a bad second quarter, when the Eagles outscored them, 15-3.

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA - The Newport Harbor High girls' volleyball team played inside a gym Tuesday that felt more like a sauna. The Sailors didn't really have to sweat much out to get past another top-10 CIF Southern Section Division I-AA team. Even with a makeshift lineup, fifth-ranked Newport Harbor went into eighth-ranked Santa Margarita and recorded a 25-22, 25-13, 25-19 sweep. Coach Dan Glenn applauded his team's effort, which resulted in a second straight set win against a top-10 opponent in six days.

While many films show what a dose of good luck can do for someone, "The High Cost of Living" reveals how a matter of seconds can change the course of someone's life indefinitely and not always for the better. Starring Zach Braff and Isabelle Blais, the Newport Beach Film Festival flick examines how two lives that would have never intersected in normal circumstances become inextricably intertwined after a car accident. It's the first film by director Deborah Chow, who received high marks at the Toronto International Film Festival, winning Best Canadian First Feature.

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA — Maddie Schwartz made her return to game action Thursday for the Corona del Mar High girls' water polo team. It turned out to be great timing for the Sea Kings. They definitely needed their senior captain — and every single one of their other players, for that matter — to hold off Santa Margarita, 10-9, in a wild nonleague game at Santa Margarita. The San Diego State-bound Schwartz hadn't played in nearly a month, after suffering a broken right index finger in practice Jan. 4. She said she's built up her rehabilitation, from swimming with her left arm to swimming with both arms and, more recently, shooting again.

Prosecutors will not charge a man for shooting and killing a Newport Beach bail bondsman during an argument in Rancho Santa Margarita last year. After a five-month investigation, Orange County District Attorney investigators determined there was "insufficient evidence" to file criminal charges against Brian Scott Ostrom for killing Dean Patrick Maldonado on July 17, 2010, according to a letter from prosecutors dated Dec. 8. The letter did not say if prosecutors considered the shooting self-defense.

COSTA MESA — Bob Sladek, a former principal and associate pastor, is the new head of school at Mariners Christian School. During the summer, after a nearly year-long search, the board of directors at Mariners Christian chose the former principal of Mission Hills Christian School and associate pastor of Mission Hills Community Church to lead the Costa Mesa campus this academic year. The Mission Hills church and its school are in Rancho Santa Margarita. Sladek took over in July from Todd Perkins, who led the campus during the 2009-2010 year as the interim head of school.

Jeff Coburn felt a bit nervous entering the final round of the Costa Mesa City Championship Sunday at Costa Mesa Country Club. The UC Irvine alumnus was determined to find his comfort zone. Fortunately for him, that came a little easier than most, as he's a member of the club. In addition to getting comfortable, Coburn also wanted to represent CMCC well. He did just that. One of the club's own won the top prize. Coburn shot four-under-par 68 on the Los Lagos course to win the championship flight by four strokes to runner-up Will Tipton, a Newport Beach resident.

Whether a 51-year-old man will be charged for shooting and killing a Newport Beach businessman inside a woman's home two weeks ago will come down to if the shooting was in self-defense, homicide investigators said Tuesday. Dean Patrick Maldonado, 49, who lived in Newport Beach and owned Dean Maldonado Bail Bonds, died of gunshot wounds just before midnight July 17 in Rancho Santa Margarita. He was killed inside Linda Shaw's home, where he had lived in the past, according to police and confirmed by property records.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department is continuing to investigate the fatal shooting of a Newport Beach owner of a bail bonds company, a department spokesman said. Dean Patrick Maldonado, 49, was shot at least twice by an unspecified type of handgun shortly before midnight Saturday at a private residence in Rancho Santa Margarita, said Jim Amorimino, public information officer for the Sheriff's Department. The Los Angeles Times reported that Maldonado entered the home on the 21300 block of Stonetower Lane through an unlocked sliding glass backdoor.