Newport-Mesa Unified School District (NMUSD) recognized and honored six high school seniors for their character and  leadership traits.

“We have a wealth of incredible students and it is gratifying to annually recognize a few of them,” said Superintendent Dr. Fred Navarro. “Getting to know students and their genuine good natured approach to life is something I look forward to each year,” he added.

The Character Trait Award Programs aims to highlight six seniors, one from each high school, who symbolize one of the six pillars of character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.

Staff members from the six NMUSD schools nominate a student for each category and the final award choices are decided on by a small committee steered by Superintendent Dr. Fred Navarro.

Kaitlynn Kistler, Early College High School – Trustworthiness

Selected for the Character Trait Award of Trustworthiness, Kaitlynn is a dedicated, thoughtful, and hardworking student. She is a member of the National Honors Society and dedicates her time to assist struggling classmates and goes above and beyond to offer her support.

Ryan Kassel, Corona del Mar High School – Respect
Selected for Character Trait Award for Respect, Ryan is unfailingly courteous, kind and respectful to his peers, teachers, and coaches. He is captain of the Varsity Cross Country team and participates as an intern in the Biorobotics Lab at UC Irvine.

Menzin Echols, Back Bay High School – Responsibility
Selected for the Character Trait Award for responsibility, Menzin has maintained excellent attendance, stellar grades, and earned the respect and friendship of his peers as well as the Back Bay faculty and staff.

Clarissa Barragan, Estancia High School – Fairness
Selected for the Character Trait Award for fairness, Clarissa is good-natured, open minded and patient. She is respectful toward peers and staff and carefully listens to others viewpoints to ensure fairness among peers.

Peyton Espley-Jones, Newport Harbor High School – Caring
Selected for the Character Trait Award for Caring, Peyton regularly displays a caring, positive, optimistic approach to things. She is personable, compassionate, and driven to succeed. She is president of a student body of more than 2,500 students and consistently spends time and energy to improve the lives of others through her genuine caring nature.

Nora Vartanian, Costa Mesa High School – Citizenship

Selected for the Character Trait Award of Citizenship, Nora maintains a 4.3 GPA, while balancing her academic activities and activities outside of school. She is a member of the Madrigal Choir and the varsity cheer team. She advocates for the needs of herself and others and is active in her church and numerous community service activities.

The winning high school seniors reflect strong leadership traits and exuberate kindness.

Winners are applauded with a six foot banner showcasing their photo, winning character trait and school they represent displayed in the district lobby for one year. Students will also be recognized at a special ceremony June 7, 2016 at 6 p.m. in the Corona del Mar High School Performing Arts Theater.

CityView, a premier investment management and development firm focused on urban multifamily real estate in the Western United States, and Red Oak Investments, an urban redevelopment company active in Los Angeles and Orange County, held a naming ceremony Thursday for Baker Block, their new apartment community located at the corner of Baker and Pullman Streets.

The ceremony for Baker Block featured speeches by Mayor Steve Mensinger, Sean Burton, CEO of CityView,  Henry Cisneros, Founder and Chairman of CityView and the former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Joe Flanagan, Principal and Co-founder of Red Oak Investments.

The attendees were also treated to lunch by the Lime Truck, a popular food truck service.

When completed in mid-2017, Baker Block is expected to feature 240 residential apartments and a six-story above ground parking structure. Planned amenities include a rooftop deck, a fitness center with yoga room, a conference room, a Wi-Fi lounge, a dog park, a dog wash station, a club room with a kitchen, a bike storage and maintenance area, and multiple outdoor spaces with a resort-style pool, BBQ grills and fire pits.

“This is really a cruise ship,” Mayor Mensinger said of the development and its extensive amenities. “But it also means jobs and it means housing and this is where the next generation of Costa Mesa lives. And hopefully they will stay here for life.”

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Secretary Cisneros complimented the Costa Mesa city staff and leadership for their hard work in getting this development done.

“We need to keep up with housing of all types,” Cisneros said. “It is immensely foresighted of the leaders of Costa Mesa that they recognize that balance.”

CityView is creating the project along with its development partner, Red Oak Investments. The project sits on a 4.17-acre site previously occupied by an office building. The project is the first of significant scale to be re-zoned for residential use in the area adjacent to the South Bristol Entertainment & Cultural Arts (SoBECA) District, which is commonly known for its low-density office buildings and light manufacturing facilities.

Burton said his company is glad to be in Costa Mesa.

“Orange County is an important market for CityView as it is now entering the redevelopment phase, where obsolete structures are being converted into housing,” said Burton. “These urban infill projects are typically complex, so they are often overlooked by other investors. We are able to overcome these challenges by working with local partners who know the local market better than anyone else. The Red Oak Investments team has been instrumental in bringing Baker Block to fruition, and I thank them for all of their hard work.”

Construction for Baker Block is being led by Johnstone Moyer, Inc., one of the top-10 multifamily builders in California. The building was designed by Architects Orange.

Costa Mesa’s State Sen. John Moorlach will be part of a Town Hall discussion on Sober Living Homes tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Laguna Hills Community Center.

Moorlach will be joined by state Sen. Pat Bates and Assembly Members William Brough and Matthew Harper as they discuss the laws governing residential recovery facilities as well as what cities like Costa Mesa have done to address the issue.

Also presenting tonight will be Costa Mesa’s Assistant City Attorney Tarquin Preziosi, who has played a key role in the enactment and enforcement of the city’s single family and multi-family ordinances.

The Association of California Cities Orange County chapter as well as the Orange County Association of Realtors are partner sponsors of the event.

Click here to see the entire agenda.

The Community Center is located at 25555 Alicia Parkway in Laguna Hills.

Costa Mesa Fire and Rescue Chief Dan Stefano announced that Travis Johnson and Justin Horner, two firefighter/paramedics, were both promoted to the position of fire engineer, a personnel move that has not taken place in the department in over eight years.

“Travis and Justin represent the best of our organization and each has respectively contributed in a variety of areas, while serving the community with extraordinary passion, pride, and professionalism,”   Chief Stefano said.

Johnson brings over 10 years of fire service related experience to his new role, inclusive of his most recent nine years split between his current assignment here with us at the City of Costa Mesa and his previous assignment with the City of Escondido, serving as a firefighter/paramedic.

His mechanical savvy, positive attitude, and ability to adapt well in challenging circumstances are characteristics that will serve him well in his new role and will add to the extraordinary strength of the entire Engineer group.

Horner has been a member of the Costa Mesa team since 2005, preceded by service to the Garden Grove and Alhambra Fire Departments as a firefighter/paramedic.

Horner’s contributions to the organization, in particular as it relates to EMS, have been instrumental in helping the department move forward and his professionalism is to be commended. He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from California State University, Fullerton as well as an associate degree from Orange Coast College and was awarded the CEO’s Leadership Award in 2014.

The sound of music in the Costa Mesa High School Performing Arts Center is now many octaves improved with the addition of a Yamaha C6 Grand Piano donated through the efforts of a prominent alumni, a local family and the school’s foundation.

The piano was unveiled Tuesday night during a Costa Mesa High School Choir concert at the performing arts center.

Speaking to the concert crowd, Costa Mesa High School Foundation President and Councilmember Katrina Foley credited the school’s music director Jon Lindfors for asking the foundation to purchase the piano that was sorely needed to enhance the school’s musical performances.

“This year it is no surprise that the Costa Mesa High School Foundation awarded Mr. Lindfors with our first ever Visionary Award,” Foley said. “It’s through his vision that Costa Mesa High School breeds an environment of innovation, culture and creativity.”

In addition to the foundation donation, the piano was made possible by a $25,000 gift from Costa Mesa High class of 1992 alumnus Lane Merrifield and local residents Bob and Sue Denton.

Merrifield is notable for being the co-founder of Club Penguin, a hugely popular virtual online gaming site for children.

“My Costa Mesa High School music and drama experiences were so critical to me during my time there,” Merrifield told Lindfors in a written note. “I am confident that without the artistic outlet and foundation in my life that you and others provide, I would not have enjoyed the success I have today.”

Costa Mesa High Principal Jacob Haley thanked the donors for the gift to the school.

“A piano such as this is a once in-a-lifetime purchase and will serve students and audiences to come for many decades,” Haley said.

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As part of an agreement the city has reached with a voting rights advocate law firm, City Hall will be hosting three Meet the Expert meetings as it prepares for a voter district formation initiative headed for the November ballot.

The meetings to be held in Conference Room 1A are the first of many that will take place before the measure goes to vote.

The Meet the Expert meetings are designed to be small, face-to-face events with no more than two or three people at a time.  Members of the public will meet with a technical consultant, David Ely of Compass Demographics, who will give community members the opportunity to use geographic information system tools to better understand how boundaries are developed.

In order to participate in the Meet the Expert sessions please call the City Clerk office at 714-754-5225 to schedule an appointment.  The first meeting will be held this Friday, May 6, beginning at 10 a.m. The next two meetings are schedule for Thursday May 12, beginning at 10 a.m. and Saturday May 14, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

There will also be two rounds of community meetings in the month of June and those dates will be forthcoming.

On Tuesday May 3, Mayor Steve Mensinger presented the Mayor’s Award to Tammy Guadagno, the operator of the Chick-Fil-A restaurant on Harbor Boulevard, citing the organization’s strong support for local schools and community groups.

“It’s exciting to see Tammy’s passion for our community and how she has ingrained that into her team of employees,” Mayor Mensinger said. “We are grateful for Chick-Fil-A’s investment in the Costa Mesa community and the positive impact they are having on the local economy.”

Guadagno thanked Costa Mesa and said she gives back so much because the community takes care of her and her employees. In turn, she wants to return the favor and take care of Costa Mesa in any way she can.

“It is one of the best communities I’ve ever been involved in,” she said. “I’ve lived in a lot of places and I’m not going anywhere. Costa Mesa is where I’m staying forever. It’s an amazing city.”

The City of Costa Mesa filed a public nuisance complaint against the New Harbor Inn, a rare civil abatement move that, if successful, will bring the blighted and crime-infested motel on Harbor Boulevard under court control.

“As we saw with a recent stabbing at a local motel, these establishments continue to be a detriment to our community and are havens for prostitutes, drug users and other criminal elements,” said Costa Mesa Mayor Steve Mensinger. “By taking this action against this public nuisance, the City Council is trying to eliminate the unlawful use of the property.”

Since 2010, the New Harbor Inn generated nearly 1,800 calls for service and it is a known locale for drug storage and sales and multiple narcotics arrests. The motel is the source for a disproportionate amount of police calls.

Click here to see a copy of the complaint.

In addition to the criminal activity, inspections at the New Harbor Inn have turned up multiple code violations over the years including substandard property maintenance and health, life and safety violations.

In March of 2014, 79 violations were found in 33 rooms and in August of 2012, the property received fire code violations after it was discovered that 30 rooms had no smoke detectors, there were improper exits, non-operational fire extinguishers and fire hazards caused by extension cords.

According to the complaint filed in Orange County Superior Court Central Division, the city is asking for myriad remedies enforceable by the court including but not limited to:

• Shutting down the hotel temporarily or permanently.
• Appointing a receiver or court officer to take over operations and assume management and control of the property.
• Requiring the property owner to comply with existing law and completely revamp its business procedures, hire armed security guards and improve lighting and other areas of concern.

Recently, the city and Costa Mesa law enforcement have had to increase enforcement efforts on motel operators whose properties have multiple calls for service and are the venue for criminal activity such as drug use and sales and prostitution.

In a unanimous vote, the city council voted in closed session to take this legal action against the New Harbor Inn. If the court grants the city’s request to shut down, or place a court-appointed receiver over  the New Harbor Inn, that would be a major victory for residents and business owners who regularly have to deal with the criminal activity.

“Costa Mesa works hard to encourage and support our local businesses and residents,” Mayor Mensinger said. “But this drastic intervention is necessary given the pattern and practice of bad business operations.”

After a string of dumpster and small brush fires throughout the weekend, Costa Mesa Fire and Police personnel conducted an arson investigation that led them to a 13-year old male Costa Mesa resident.

The boy was arrested for the related arson incidents and later booked at OC Juvenile Hall.

Click here to read the press release of the arrest.

SMART Camp, which is a collaborative program between the City of Costa Mesa and the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, will be back again this summer. The free summer camp will be held Monday through Thursday July 5 – Aug. 4 on the campus of Costa Mesa High School.

The Sports Camp will include: Aquatics, basketball, cheer, football, soccer, softball, tennis, track, volleyball and wrestling. The Music Camp will include jazz band and orchestra lessons and the Arts Camp will include two and three dimensional visual art projects and theatrical acting.

A new acting component has been added to the Arts Camp as well.

In an effort to increase participation, organization and registration, this year’s SMART Camp registration will be available online through the City’s ActiveNet registration software as well as in person at City Hall, Balearic Community Center, Neighborhood Community Center, and Downtown Recreation Center.

Progress continues in the preparation of the construction documents for the reconstruction of Fire Station No. 1.  The station was originally built in 1961 and is currently experiencing foundation settlement causing structural damage. The station is not built to current building codes and standards, and does not provide efficient multi-gender accommodations.

The Public Services Department in coordination with the Fire Department is working with WLC Architects to complete the construction documents for a state of the art Fire Station.

The new station will be equipped with a three-bay and double-deep apparatus room, ten fire fighter dorm rooms, administrative offices, kitchen, dining room, day room, physical training room, EMS training room, mechanic shop area, and emergency medical supply room within the 11,675 square foot building.  Additional site features include an emergency generator, fuel station, hose drying tower, and a City emergency supply storage unit.

The new station will provide direct access to Adams Avenue in an effort to minimize emergency response time and improve traffic safety. The floor plan is being designed and coordinated to ensure that usability and circulation are maximized.

The new station will achieve LEED Gold certification and exceed California Title 24 Energy Code requirements by at least 15%. The attached architectural concept was approved by the Planning Commission in January. It is anticipated that bidding on the project will begin in the summer of 2017 with award of the contract by the council in October of 2016. Construction is anticipated to begin in January 2017.

About 80 students from Costa Mesa, Estancia, Newport Harbor and Early College high schools took over City Hall on Wednesday morning April 20 to take part in the inaugural Youth in Government Day.

The students got a behind the scenes look into how city government works, spending time with public services, police, fire, city administration, parks and community services and finance teams to learn the intricacies of the job.

The students were welcomed to City Hall by Mayor Steve Mensinger, Councilwoman Katrina Foley and City CEO Tom Hatch.

Mayor Mensinger talked to them about the importance of being a leader and how the city needs more people to step up into leadership roles.

“You being here today makes you a part of that group,” he said. “We are looking forward to having you as future leaders.”

Councilwoman Foley told the group how important it is to vote and how much local government can change things.

“Costa Mesa City Hall is the place where you can effect the most change that you can see in your daily lives,” she said.

Next, CEO Hatch talked about the importance of local schools, which he called the “lifeblood of the community.” He also told the students how he was attracted to a career in government because it is a place where you can quickly solve problems.

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After the morning welcome session, the students split up and spent time in their assigned groups where they learned about finance, policing, fire service, city administration and parks and recreation.

After an afternoon lunch, which included a presentation by County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley, the students filed into the council chambers to hold a mock City Council meeting.

The council members included Mayor Maraide Green, of Estancia High School, Mayor Pro Tem Andrew Ghobrial, of Costa Mesa High School, Council Members Jennifer Contreras, of Costa Mesa High School and Council Members Roman Giglio and David Coreas from Early College High School.

Also on the dais were City CEO Catherine Pimentel from Costa Mesa High and City Attorney Julia Paluch from Estancia. Estancia’s Abby Dunham played the part of City Clerk and Tia Gordon of Costa Mesa was a staff presenter. Andrew Garcia of Costa Mesa and Ulises Rodriguez from Early College were public commenters.

The mock council heard a presentation by Architect Steve Johnson of the firm Johnson Favaro regarding the plans for a new teen area in the city’s soon to be re-built Donald Dungan library. After hearing the presentation and asking great questions, the council approved the plan 5-0.