THE WEEK IN REVIEW

The court’s official stamp was barely dry on a lawsuit filed by

Crystal Cove residents to halt their evictions from state-owned land when

the two sides settled.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, followed 30-day eviction notices that the

residents received on Monday. But, in the latest of a series of

head-spinning developments, the state’s parks department agreed to sit

down and talk with attorneys for the residents.

That news came Friday, along with an announcement out of the highest

office in the state, Gov. Gray Davis, that a deal had been struck to buy

out the San Francisco developer who had proposed an unpopular $35-million

luxury resort.

State parks officials are scrambling to secure bond funding from two

successful March ballot measures to pay Freed up to $2 million and

replace potentially leaking septic tanks under the 46 cottages in the

historic district.

From controversy to a new home

It was a week to remember in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.

The district was rife with controversy as the week began. Tuesday’s

school board meeting was packed with parents. Some demanded that trustees

not put books in the hands of children that they felt were indecent;

others insisted that the materials should not be withheld.

In question were two novels -- “Snow Falling on Cedars” and “Of Love

and Shadows” -- that one board member felt were inappropriate for

teenagers. A third novel, “The French Lieutenant’s Woman,” and a

sociology textbook were also on the list to be approved.

Despite the vocal opposition, the board upheld the teachers’ request

for all of the books with a 5-2 vote.

After only one day of quiet, there was excitement again Thursday, when

four of Newport-Mesa’s schools appeared on a state list of schools

eligible to apply to receive some free money. It was the third round of

Academic Performance Index incentive money, which this time will go to

teachers. Of those four schools, it looks like Sonora Elementary School

in Costa Mesa can expect to see some dough.

And excitement hit a fever pitch for many on Friday, when

Newport--Mesa’s 30th school greeted it’s first students. A trial run of

Newport Coast Elementary School ended the week on a high note.

Finally, a sale

It’s older than many of Costa Mesa’s kids. For their whole lives, it’s

been standing empty and desolate.

But this week, word came that the Pacific Federal Savings Plaza had

finally sold.

Details are still sketchy about how much the building -- a year ago

valued at $30 million by its owner -- sold for or what exact tenants

might be filling its hallways.

One thing’s for sure: the corner of 19th Street and Newport Boulevard

won’t be on the city redevelopment list, a process that began in City

Hall last week.

Four or five areas, mostly on the Westside, are being looked at by

city staff to see if they meet the legal definition of “blighted” and

what that definition is, exactly.

Going from yellow to green

They’ve been at it for almost two months now. But after Tuesday’s City

Council study session, it became clear that Newport Beach’s elected

leaders are getting close to putting Greenlight to work.

Technically speaking, the new slow-growth law’s been in effect since

the middle of December. It’s the guidelines the council members are

expected to adopt before the end of February that will fine-tune the

initiative.

At least six of the city’s seven elected officials have to vote in

favor of things such as definitions for “floor area” or “peak-hour

trips.”

Greenlight, passed by voters in November, requires citywide elections

on any general plan amendment for a project that adds more than 100

peak-hour car trips or dwelling units, or 40,000 square feet more than

the general plan allows.

Council members seem to agree on one of the more controversial

guidelines so far. They’re likely to adopt a 2000 starting date for the

law’s “look-back provision,” which adds up prior general plan amendments

in a particular area to determine if a project crosses the threshold and

triggers an election.

This should make the city’s developers happy, since it will likely

cause fewer elections in the years to come.

Not too wet after all

The wet, driving weather that kicked off the week wreaked havoc

throughout Orange County but somehow let Newport Beach and Costa Mesa

slide by with just a few accidents and downed trees.

Marc Allen Lewis, 31, of Irvine wasn’t so fortunate. The so-called

“Soda Jerk Bandit,” who would pick up a bottle of Dr Pepper before

robbing area convenience stores, pleaded guilty Wednesday to more than a

dozen thefts. The Newport Harbor High graduate faces 12 to 67 years in

prison.

-- Deepa Bharath covers cops and courts. She can be reached at (949)

574-4226 or by e-mail at [email protected].