Websites

College textbook prices have been growing at four times the rate of inflation since 1994, according to a nonpartisan public interest group; but there are ways to save money. While there is one Assembly bill pending that publishers advocate and another bill on the governor’s desk that would address the rising cost of textbooks, students are turning to computers and libraries to lower their book budgets. “In some years I spend $900 on textbooks. That’s 20% of my course fees,” said Ching-Yun, a UC Irvine student.

Two men, including a UCI police dispatcher, who allegedly took photographs of area high school water polo players that were posted on gay sex websites will not face criminal charges, a UCI official said today, although a university investigation is ongoing. Scott Cornelius, 44, a UCI police department employee, remains on paid administrative leave as the university’s investigation continues, UCI spokeswoman Cathy Lawhon said. The Orange County District Attorney’s office has decided not to press charges against the two men after a four-month investigation found the men did not break any laws, Lawhon said.

IRVINE — Pulling out his black iPhone, Luke Stanback called up an app for "Alien Invasion" and started blasting space invaders from a ship. The game is pretty challenging, but Luke knows all the "cheats. " That's because the 11-year-old created the game over the last four days. "It's pretty cool," said Luke, "especially since it's on my iPhone. " Luke was just one of many kids working diligently on computers Thursday morning at the weeklong iD Tech Camp in UC Irvine's Mesa Court Community Center.

Orange County prosecutors are considering whether any laws were broken when a UCI police dispatcher allegedly photographed local high school water polo players and then posted the images on gay pornographic websites, authorities said. If the Orange County prosecutors find laws were broken they will launch a full investigation, spokeswoman Farrah Emami said. “Right now, we’re considering the circumstances and looking at the law,” Emami said. “It’s not an investigation yet,” and it may not become one, she added.

The city of Costa Mesa is providing its show to websites and bloggers, and is giving away "I heart Costa Mesa" bumper stickers. For the videos, Costa Mesa created a widget that sends "Costa Mesa Minute," a daily news show hosted by Dane Bora and Christine Cordon, to interested websites, which can modify the widget to fit their space. The widget can be found at www.costamesaca.gov . The city is also offering residents free bumper stickers in the city clerk's and spokesman's offices.

The Daily Pilot asked sixth-graders at Newport Elementary School, "What do you like to do on computers?" "I play games. I go on websites."   Morgan Mexia, 11 Newport Beach "I e-mail my friends a lot." Dana Siegel, 11 Newport Beach "I do a lot of e-mailing and instant messaging, and I like to go on Club Penguin to play games." Lexi Newport Kunkle, 12   Beach "I usually get a lot of my tickets there, because I go to sports games."

A UCI police dispatcher will receive another month of paid administrative leave while investigators continue to look into his alleged connections to photographs of Newport Harbor High School water polo players on gay pornographic websites, university officials said Monday. Scott Cornelius, 44, was placed on paid administrative leave in January after accusations surfaced that he had posted photos of unsuspecting high school-aged male water polo players on websites with gay pornographic content, authorities said.

The groups that sponsor candidate forums in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa are to be thanked for arranging these meetings. In order, however, to have attendees get to know how the candidates really think and how they would react in certain situations, it is important for the queries to move away from “website questions.” A website question is any question that can be answered by visiting the candidate’s website. Having sat through two Costa Mesa forums thus far and extensively reviewed one Newport Beach forum, it is imperative that future meetings heed the following request: Please do not ask any more questions that can be answered by visiting the candidates’ websites.

For the month of March, I'll be working on improving the social media presence of our newspapers on Twitter and Facebook, which are two ways readers can find links to our websites and interact with our content. I hope to make lasting changes that improve the way we disseminate digital content and enhance the online conversations we have with readers every day. We've been using those platforms for quite sometime, but now it's time to step up our efforts. Social media users can expect vast improvements, including livelier discussions, more frequent posts, clearer tweets with easier-to-use links and content they won't find on our sites or in print.

?When Mr. Del Real tells us to go to a website, I?ll go where he tells us. If he tells us to have fun, we?ll have fun. It?s pretty awesome having a laptop.? ? ?I?m going to use it for helping me with my homework and going on websites like dictionary.com and it will keep me entertained when I?m bored at home.? ? ?I?m going to use it for education things like writing and poetry.? 10, Newport Beach ? ?Probably when we know how to do everything we?

Costa Mesa spent nearly $700,000 in legal fees through the end of January to defend itself from a lawsuit filed by its employees, invoices show. Total fees have reached $692,379, according to invoices obtained this week by a Daily Pilot public records request. That figure is $186,000 higher than the $505,399 reported on the city's website earlier this week. Such a disparity online was a mistake, however, as the total did not account for the months of July, August or January, according to city Assistant Finance Director Colleen O'Donoghue.

When he's not working as a paramedic for the Orange County Fire Authority, Steve Islava invents devices that prevent physical and emotional injuries. Twenty-five years ago, after delivering a Spanish speaker's baby, he created a handbook of crucial Spanish phrases for English-speaking EMTs and firefighters. Then came an easy-to-use ladder used for escaping a fire-engulfed home. And there was also an inflatable splint. But with his latest creation - a neon-orange toy named Laffy Laffalot - the Newport Beach resident is using a portion of the sales to raise money for cancer research.

For the month of March, I'll be working on improving the social media presence of our newspapers on Twitter and Facebook, which are two ways readers can find links to our websites and interact with our content. I hope to make lasting changes that improve the way we disseminate digital content and enhance the online conversations we have with readers every day. We've been using those platforms for quite sometime, but now it's time to step up our efforts. Social media users can expect vast improvements, including livelier discussions, more frequent posts, clearer tweets with easier-to-use links and content they won't find on our sites or in print.

COSTA MESA — The City Council on Tuesday rejected pleas from residents who wanted to delay a vote on a proposed city charter until November and possibly have it redrafted by a citizens commission. And Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer, considered the architect of the charter proposal, said he was merely acting on behalf of residents who support the proposal but did not attend the meeting, which was crowded with opponents of the proposed reforms who were against placing them on the June ballot.

A federal grand jury has indicted six foreign nationals, alleging they ran an elaborate money-laundering operation that scammed hundreds of customers out of more than $4 million in fake Internet car sales on reputable websites. Several state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Costa Mesa Police Department, provided substantial assistance during the investigation, according to a Department of Justice news release. The 24-count indictment accuses the four men and two women of offering vehicles for sale on eBay Motors, Auto Trader, Yahoo!

The city of Costa Mesa is providing its show to websites and bloggers, and is giving away "I heart Costa Mesa" bumper stickers. For the videos, Costa Mesa created a widget that sends "Costa Mesa Minute," a daily news show hosted by Dane Bora and Christine Cordon, to interested websites, which can modify the widget to fit their space. The widget can be found at www.costamesaca.gov . The city is also offering residents free bumper stickers in the city clerk's and spokesman's offices.

NEWORT BEACH - As a child, Angie Wisdom used to tie a string around her finger to remember simple things like homework assignments and household chores. It worked. And now into adulthood, the string has been replaced by an elegant bow set in white gold. The ring, which adorns her right hand, holds an even simpler message - to be kind, wherever and whenever possible. "Everyone is capable of being kind - being kind is the easy part," the 37-year-old Costa Mesa resident said.

COSTA MESA — The city has changed its website address to http://www.costamesaca.gov and workers' email addresses have changed as well. Costa Mesa employee email addresses are now formatted as firstname.lastname@costamesaca.gov , city officials announced. Emails sent to old addresses will automatically be rerouted to the new ones. Online users will be rerouted to the city's new site if they use the old website address. — Joseph Serna Twitter: @josephserna

In response to concerns raised about the Costa Mesa city website's recent upgrade from an F to A-plus, the city spokesman said he supplied, and publicly disclosed, his contributions to the graders' Wikipedia-style website. Bill Lobdell, however, pointed out that editors of the Sunshine Review, a government transparency advocacy group, came to their own conclusions after reviewing his contributions to the city website - including easier access to Costa Mesa city employee compensations - and then gave it their highest-possible grade.

What happens when you use math to figure out California's best cities for walking? The answer is Costa Mesa gets labeled the most pedestrian-friendly city in Orange County, leaving the coastal pearls of Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach far, far behind - according to a Seattle-based website, at least. In a statewide ranking of walking-friendly cities by WalkScore.com, the "City of the Arts" placed among the Golden State's top 20. Mind you, this elite group is a jumbled-together, motley set whose winners include the comparatively pristine San Francisco, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills and the grittier blue-collar Artesia, Gardena and Huntington Park.