Newport Beach

Phone Line Planned: Latchkey children in Newport Beach may soon have someone to call when they are frightened and alone through Phone Friend, a nonprofit phone service aimed at easing the minds of children and parents. The phone line will not be a crisis hot line but a “warm line,” aimed at preventing a crisis, project coordinator Milly Day said. A similar program has just been established in the Placentia-Yorba Linda area. About 50% of children in Newport Beach between the ages of 5 and 12 are alone in the house at some time, according to Day.