Retirement

Orange Coast College is offering the community the chance to prepare themselves for retirement. OCC is hosting two, two-day retirement planning workshops starting Saturday morning on campus. The seminars are $59 a session and come with a 226-page illustrated textbook. The first session is 9 a.m. to noon Saturday and Sunday and the second is 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. June 21 and June 28. Parking is free for the weekend classes, but weekday students must park in metered spots.

I've been retired for four years. On the whole, I like retirement a lot. It has its downsides, however, like not being able to remember what day it is. Recently my wife, Hedy, and I were having dinner at a Newport Beach restaurant after taking in "The Hunger Games" at the Regency Lido Theater. Hedy, a former schoolteacher, has been retired for 3½ years. We had a particularly good server that night. When she stopped by our table to collect her gratuity, Hedy said, "Thank you so much, and have a wonderful weekend.

The Newport-Mesa Board of Education approved an early-retirement incentive budget of up to $150,000 at its Tuesday meeting to benefit those who give early notice of their retirement. The program is limited to employees considering retirement at the end of the current school year; it would give up to $1,200 for each full-time worker who gives retirement notice by Jan. 15. There will be a cap on the number of participants in the first-come, first-served program. The district also approved an agreement to provide confidential student data to the Orange County Department of Education in order to receive grant funds for Davis, Pomona and Whittier elementary schools.

Public retirement is out of control. Private sector employees are working longer. Public employees are retiring earlier because of the retirement formula that gives them 2% of their salary at age 50 to 55, which used to be put off until age 60. That combined with cafeteria health plans, sick leave and vacation, excess cash-outs means most public employees, especially fire fighters and police officers, can retire at...

Amy R. Spurgeon Finding a life after retirement at the Oasis Senior Citizens Center wasn't a challenge for 80-year-old Nathalie Goldstein -- it was a calling. The Corona del Mar resident hustles around the sprawling facility on Marguerite Avenue each day, racking up 1,440 unpaid hours per year. She runs the gift shop, keeps track of the growing membership roster and helps in the kitchen. "If you ask my husband, I am here more than I am at home," Goldstein said.

Andrew Edwards Newport Beach Police Chief Bob McDonell is retiring July 1. But don't expect the longtime peace officer to hang up his badge. If the City Council approves a plan proposed by City Manager Homer Bludau, McDonnell's retirement would only be a formality. McDonell could continue to serve as police chief under a contract that would allow him keep working at his existing salary while drawing a pension from the state's retirement fund. Mayor Steve Bromberg anticipates the council will approve Bludau's proposal.

Deepa Bharath Many memories are fresh in Doug Wilson's mind. The Costa Mesa fire captain, who retired on Saturday, said his 28-year career with the city flashes in his mind's eye as he hangs up his heavy boots and yellow suit. There was the toughest call he ever took -- in 1981, when an airplane crashed in the middle of Victoria Street, killing four people. "I was a fire engineer then," Wilson said. "It was a difficult call because the scene was pretty devastating, with body parts scattered everywhere."

Mel Lindsey, owner of the Giant Step Learning Center in Costa Mesa, recently sold the school in an effort to slow down and officially retire. Lindsey, 78, retired from the Long Beach School District 19 years ago. He and his wife then bought the center, which at that time consisted of about five students, a sandbox and a couple toys. It has since become a preschool and kindergarten facility for children ages 2 through 6. There are now a slew of wheel toys, playhouses and a large outdoor play area, with tire swings and basketball hoops.

The new contract that Costa Mesa’s City Council approved for its firefighters Tuesday night enhances retirement benefits in order to encourage 12 firefighters to retire early. Politicians, activists and observers have different opinions on whether it will save the city money in the long run, though. Here’s the city’s math: Allowing firefighters to retire at age 50 instead of 55 will cost the city an extra $700,000 a year. The city will save $660,000 per year because the firefighters have agreed to forgo a scheduled pay raise of 4.9%.

Newport Beach's Ed and Mary Chavez were living the dream of retirement, reaping the benefits of a lifetime of hard work. Ed Chavez retired in 1993, and the couple bought their retirement home -- a beautiful town house with a picturesque view of the Back Bay. They also bought a camper and spent much of their time traveling the Southwest. Without the restraints of a schedule, they were able to spend as much or as little time in any one place as they wanted.

The men and women of the Costa Mesa Police Department are sticking to their guns. At least, that's what they want to do. Up for approval during Tuesday night's City Council session is a resolution that would allow, at the police chief's discretion, honorably retiring officers the chance to buy their department-issued service weapon. "This would allow sworn members of the department who have faithfully served a full career to be considered, with stringent approvals, the opportunity to purchase, at fair-market value, their service weapon," said Police Chief Tom Gazsi in a prepared statement to the Daily Pilot.

A retired Newport Beach police officer has filed the latest in a string of lawsuits initiated by various parties over the past few years alleging that the department had been riddled with corruption and favoritism. Robert Morton, in his lawsuit filed Wednesday in Orange County Superior Court, alleged that department leaders retaliated against him after he reported illegal promotional practices and questioned lucrative side agreements for former Police Chief Bob McDonnell, among others, that allowed them to "double dip" into public coffers.

A Thursday morning ceremony captured the Costa Mesa Police Department's recent highs and lows. Family members joined police at the front of Council Chambers for a ceremony recognizing several promotions and two retirements. And there was also a more somber moment — a slide show set to music honoring 32-year department veteran Mike Delgadillo, who died after an off-duty car crash. In honor of those retiring, Police Chief Tom Gazsi presented the wives of Capt. Allen Huggins and Lt. Tim Schennum with flowers, thanking them for supporting the men during their nearly 30 years of service.

IRVINE — In his fourth year in the UC Irvine baseball program, Kyle Hooper knows that there are consequences to less-than-stellar pitching. Among them is a conversion, more of a monologue really, with Anteaters' veteran coach Mike Gillespie. Such was the case after Hooper's last outing on Thursday at BYU, in which he allowed two runs in one-third of an inning. Tacked on to his previous appearance on March 2 against Portland, Hooper had given up six runs on seven hits in his last six innings.

A murder victim's father described a detective who was as caring as he was skilled. Cops remembered a field officer who mentored rookies. An off-the-job buddy recalled a quick-witted jokester. And the police chief praised his charge's work but took a moment to laud his off-duty role as a "caring father" of four. These were just some of the words used to describe Costa Mesa Police Det. Mike Delgadillo, a 32-year department veteran who died Wednesday following an off-duty, single-car crash the night before.

At 85, Pope Benedict XVI is the first to resign the papacy in centuries, citing his age and health concerns. But a relatively young Orange County bishop Benedict appointed just months ago may carry on his influence in the diocese for years to come. "He's younger than I am," the Rev. Enrique Sera of Costa Mesa's St. Joachim Catholic Church said about Bishop Kevin W. Vann, 61. Benedict chose Vann to lead the Orange County Diocese in September. Vann was welcomed in a ceremony at UC Irvine about two months ago. Sera, who said he comforted parishioners Tuesday morning, the day after Benedict announced his retirement, had similarly glowing words for the pope and the bishop.

A national trade group recently presented several awards to a planned retirement community in Westside Costa Mesa. During a conference in late January, the National Assn. of Home Builders recognized Vivante on the Coast, a 185-unit retirement complex at 1640 Monrovia Ave. with an expected completion date of October. The Washington D.C.-based association's 50+ Housing Council gave Vivante silver awards for its 50-plus online marketing strategy and 50-plus market-rate rental community, and a gold award for an "on the boards" assisted-living or special-needs community.

Sixth in a series of profiles about those in the trenches of Costa Mesa's political battles. * Billy Folsom grows his goatee distinctively long in memory of a fellow Costa Mesa employee whose suicide became the tragic emblem of a city in turmoil. In his last chat with 29-year-old Huy Pham before his fatal jump from City Hall amid widespread layoff notices, Folsom remembers hearing Pham speak of his relative, who had such long facial hair that he could stroke it in times of thought.

The Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce will host a reception Feb. 27 for recently retired President and Chief Executive Richard Luehrs. Luehrs, who ran the chamber for three decades, passed the reins to former Newport City Councilman Steve Rosansky in mid-January. The event, which will recognize Luehrs' service to the business community, will be from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Island Hotel. A $40 ticket includes appetizers and a no-host bar. To make reservations, contact Kathleen Sanchez at (949)

I retired five years ago this week. Unbelievable. Time flies when you're having fun! I was 63 when I closed my office door for the final time and walked off into the sunset. But it was time to go. I stepped down after 37 years as Orange Coast College's director of community relations. I had several different job titles over the years, but it was always essentially the same task: public relations. And I loved it! I wasn't happy about retiring when I did, but I honestly believed it to be the proper move for me. I'd been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease two years earlier, and felt I owed it to myself and to my employer to bow out gracefully before my skills began to erode.