Storyteller. Spokesman @CypressCollege. Recovering journalist. Hockey Dad.
NEAR EL TORO MARINE BASE, CA — While U.S. Marine aviators rocket above in F-18s, amateurs soar through computer-generated skies in mock F-111s, F-14s, and F-16s in a warehouse that’s a hybrid between arcade and NASA training center.
Fighter Town, USA is based on realism, but geared for entertainment. Continue reading “FighterTown: Part Arcade, Part NASA Simulator”
North and South. Some of the most classic battles have been divided that way: The Civil War, the NCAA’s all-star football games and just about any issue in Orange County.
In the late 1980s, a slow-growth initiative — that would have capped development in South Orange County — failed at the ballot box. More recently, the North approved the El Toro airport measure.
But a more subtle battle has been won by the North.
Never has a South County resident sat on the Board of Supervisors.
Seems hard to imagine, especially considering the five-member body is elected by geographic area.
But, the basic boundaries — that put Fullerton and Rancho Santa Margarita in the same district — were inked long before the Mission Viejo Co. began attracting residents to its artificial-lake-side community. Continue reading “Representation on Orange County’s Board of Supervisors Yet Another Classic North vs. South Battle”
IRVINE — Been through the El Toro Y at night lately and confused it with the drive into Las Vegas? Don’t worry, it’s just the Irvine Entertainment Center.
With more than five miles of neon lights, the 21-theater, restaurant-laden complex opened to star-struck eyes this week. Continue reading “New Edwards Theaters Light the Way”
RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA — It’s four minutes until 6 a.m. and Tim Barnett walks up to a bus stop at the corner of Santa Margarita and Antonio parkways — a backpack slung over his shoulder and a skateboard in tote under his arm.
So begins the daily trek into his Irvine office. Some 40 minutes will elapse between the time he starts his 1.5-mile, skateboard-powered, downhill trip from home to the bus shelter until he gets off the 17-seat mini-bus. Continue reading “Bus Riders May Get Route Awakening”
LAKE FOREST — Look out the window of the Del Taco on the corner of El Toro and Trabuco roads and across the street you’ll see … another Del Taco.
Relax, there’s no need to rush to the optometrist. Continue reading “Dueling Del Tacos”
LAKE FOREST — Some crimes are so heinous, they’re destined to change the dynamics of a community.
The rape of a 9-year-old girl who was walking home from a short trip to buy school supplies when she was yanked into the thick bushes at Serrano Creek Community Park on Saturday night is that type of crime. Continue reading “Rape Outrages, Binds Community”
WEST NEWPORT — Three people jumped out a burning upstairs apartment leaving behind everything except their lives — something officials say they’re lucky to have.
Continue reading “Three Escape Apartment Fire with Only Their Lives”
If you’ve had too much to drink, Barry Schleider has one goal: To get you off the road.
Schleider, a doctor by day and a Costa Mesa reserve police officer by night, is one of the county’s top drunken driving enforcers and has dedicated his moonlighting police career to getting so-called deuces off the road.
In the last reporting year — from July, 1993 through July, 1994 — they numbered 124. Continue reading “Doctor by Day, DUI Cop by Night”
WEST SIDE – The first thing you’re likely to notice about Officer Ed Sutton’s black-and-white is that it’s got only two wheels and runs on pedal power.
The second comes in the form of hellos and smiles from those he passes as he propels the 21-speed Raleigh bicycle along his patrol route.
That positive reaction is in stark contrast to the way many police officers feel they’re perceived by members of the community – especially in areas such as Costa Mesa’s West Side because members of immigrant communities often are reluctant to interact with police. Continue reading “Riding Along with the Bike Patrol”
NEWPORT-MESA — Spotted on Thursday: Sun.
Albeit though fleeting glances masked by often-dark cloud cover, Southern California’s top attraction marked its return to the sky after nearly a week’s hiatus. Continue reading “Lost Gem Returned to Rightful Owners”