THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:

Candidates for Costa Mesa’s City Council will be grilled about the 55 Freeway among other issues at a forum sponsored by the Eastside Costa Mesa Neighbors’ Group Inc. tonight.

The coalition of Eastside residents thought that the first candidates’ forum did not delve into some issues that are important to that side of town, and the freeway directly adjacent to the neighborhood is the biggest of those concerns, according to organization President Jeff McConville.

For this reason, tonight’s debate will start with every candidate answering specific questions about the freeway and the traffic that it generates when it ends downtown.

After that, seven to 10 more questions centering on other city issues will be drawn from a hat full of questions written by the group’s board of directors, McConville said.

The forum will be moderated by an Eastside resident who volunteered for the duty and will start with a candidates meet and greet at 6 p.m. at the Costa Mesa Neighborhood Community Center with the formal proceedings following at 7 p.m.

MANSOOR DECRIES FOLEY’S COMMENTS

Costa Mesa Mayor Pro Tem Allan Mansoor on Tuesday bashed Councilwoman Katrina Foley for publicly stating her displeasure with how long it’s taking to come up with a long-term solution for traffic congestion on the 55 Freeway.

In recent meetings, Foley has expressed frustration with the amount of time it is taking for the Orange County Transportation Authority to study possibilities for changing the freeway’s layout.

When OCTA unveiled the results of the first phase of a multi-phase study on the issue, Foley said the process was being bogged down in unnecessary bureaucracy.

Costa Mesa’s staff and the OCTA’s findings both indicate that an underground extension of the freeway below Newport Boulevard would produce the most desirable outcome, and Foley said she wants to expedite the process of getting the project done.

In-depth studies that take a lot of time are a necessary part of designing any project as extensive as altering a heavily used freeway, Mansoor said.

He believes that Foley’s comments are counterproductive.

“It takes time to do things like this,” Mansoor said. “It’s a huge project.”

Foley defended her comments.

“We need to show some strength to make something happen,” she said.

OTTING GIVES AWAY WAIKIKI VACATION

Newport Beach City Council hopeful Dolores Otting is hoping voters buy a raffle ticket or two in addition to voting for her Nov. 4 at the polls.

The District 7 candidate is giving away the chance for contributors to her campaign to win one of three vacation packages for $25 per ticket.

The getaways include a weekend in the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego, two days and nights in Cancun, Mexico and a six night stay at a condo in Waikiki, Hawaii.

The condo stay was donated to Otting’s campaign by Cal State Fullerton professor Linda Orozco and her mother, campaign disclosure statements show.

“We were looking for a way to raise money and she offered her mother’s condo to me,” Otting said.

The six-night Hawaiian getaway does not include airfare.

SENIOR CENTER DETAILS REVEALED

Drawings of the new Oasis Senior Center in Corona del Mar unveiled this week show a 42,000-square-foot building featuring a fitness center and reading and computer rooms among other amenities.

The center also will have a health station for blood pressure and other tests, and a modern kitchen where Meals on Wheels trays can be assembled for delivery.

The center’s library currently lacks a computer and has only minimal fitness equipment.

The Marguerite Avenue senior center is now housed in a former school building that’s more than 50 years old and serves about 10,000 people each month.

The city has pledged $10 million to the project and about $5 million will come in the form of development fees from the Irvine Co.

The rest of the project will be paid for with private donations.

ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at [email protected]. BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at [email protected].