OC Supervisor Tom Riley’s Final Days Tarnished by Bankruptcy

These were supposed to be Supervisor Tom Riley’s glory days.

By Marc S. Posner
Daily Pilot
Serendipity kept my feature about Tom Riley’s pending retirement from elected office from running as scheduled. And then, boom, the entire county went bankrupt. I called the chairman of the Board of Supervisors, added a couple of quotes, and had an award-winning story (second place, non-breaking news, Orange County Fair, July 1995).

Instead, the retired Marine Corps brigadier general is back in the thick of battle as his 20-year tenure on the county Board of Supervisors comes to a close. Continue reading “OC Supervisor Tom Riley’s Final Days Tarnished by Bankruptcy”

Moon Walker Pete Conrad Still Pushing the Envelope

HUNTINGTON BEACH — As one of 12 men to walk on the moon, you’d think that Pete Conrad would recall the event like a giddy teen remembers his first kiss.

By Marc S. Posner
Huntington Beach Independent
The thrill I found in meeting Pete Conrad can’t be overstated. He was a Right Stuff-era aviator and astronaut I had been familiar with since childhood. Meeting a human who set foot on another heavenly body was out-of-this-world (sorry for the pun; no I’m not).

Instead, the retired Navy captain routinely answers the question with the smooth, calm demeanor of a Right Stuff-era test pilot.

It was just a job, something he spent several years training for, he said. Continue reading “Moon Walker Pete Conrad Still Pushing the Envelope”

School worker teaches teens self-worth PEOPLE: Barbara Leon of Fullerton works to keep students in school by telling them to believe in themselve

MARC S. POSNER
North County News.

Orange County Register
19 Aug 1993: b02.

Barbara Leon is the kind of person who immediately makes you feel at ease.

Perhaps that’s why she has countless friends – some of whom don’t know her name, or even of her.

Take, for example, neurologically disabled students who attend specialized classes because Leon fought for them in the early 1970s.

Then there are the high school dropouts she charms into returning to independent-study programs, where many earn their diplomas and go on to college.

Tonight, for her volunteer efforts, Leon will receive The Register Angel Award before the game between the California Angels and Milwaukee Brewers. The award is a monthly joint effort of The Orange County Register and the Angels to honor people who make an extraordinary effort to help others. Continue reading “School worker teaches teens self-worth PEOPLE: Barbara Leon of Fullerton works to keep students in school by telling them to believe in themselve”

Samaritan helps family adjust to loss

MARC S. POSNER
North County News

Orange County Register
05 Aug 1993: 04.

Life goes on for Stewart Nickless.

Nearly three months after his wife was killed when another motorist struck the family’s station wagon head-on, the U.S. Marines second lieutenant is learning to be both father and mother to three young girls.

“I’m kind of overwhelmed working full time and being a single father,” Nickless said. “The house is pretty empty without my wife.” Continue reading “Samaritan helps family adjust to loss”

School waited 9 months to report sex allegations INVESTIGATION: Teacher allegedly molested an additional four students after the first report was made

DENICE A. RIOS
The Orange County Register

MARC S. POSNER
North County News

Orange County Register
16 July 1993: a01.

Sunny Hills High School officials failed to notify police for more than nine months after they first learned of sexual-misconduct allegations against teacher George Fairchild, police and court records show.

Fairchild, 51, allegedly molested an additional four students from September, when the first student reported him, until May. A school official told police that no formal investigation had been conducted. Continue reading “School waited 9 months to report sex allegations INVESTIGATION: Teacher allegedly molested an additional four students after the first report was made”

Professor was brains behind toilet prank EDUCATION: Two small explosions disrupted May 28 finals at Cal State Fullerton

DAN FROOMKIN
The Orange County Register

MARC S. POSNER
North County News

Orange County Register
14 July 1993: b01.

It had “student prank” written all over it, but the booby-trapping of toilet seats that disrupted finals for 4,000 California State University, Fullerton, students was the work of a chemistry professor.

Campus police said Tuesday that Assistant Professor Wayne Taylor, 44, was responsible for the May 28 prank, which led to small explosions in two campus restrooms.

Police said Taylor smeared an explosive chemical onto the bottoms of some toilet seats in McCarthy Hall in an attempt to get back at a group of seniors who had filled professors’ offices with balloons and baby wading pools. Continue reading “Professor was brains behind toilet prank EDUCATION: Two small explosions disrupted May 28 finals at Cal State Fullerton”

Lungren helps launch community-policing program POLICE: Innovative training curriculum introduced at Golden West College academy

MARC S. POSNER
North County News

Orange County Register
26 June 1993: B05.

Increasing crime, tight money and a more diverse public have police working harder these days.

But state Attorney General Dan Lungren said Friday that police officers soon will be working smarter and more closely with the community.

Lungren and several local police chiefs were on hand at Golden West College to launch what they called the most innovative training program in the nation.

The college’s Criminal Justice Training Center — one of three police academies in the county and 37 in California — will be the first in the state to teach community-based policing. Graduates receive state certification to become police officers. Continue reading “Lungren helps launch community-policing program POLICE: Innovative training curriculum introduced at Golden West College academy”

CSUF prank disrupts finals, makes 4 ill CRIME: A professor may be responsible for toilet blasts that displace thousands of Fullerton students

MARC S. POSNER
North County News

Orange County Register
29 May 1993: b01.

A prankster disrupted final examinations for about 4,000 California State University students Friday morning by putting an explosive chemical in campus toilets.

Campus police were investigating the possibility that the prank — which cost the university an estimated $10,000 — was staged by a professor. No arrests had been made as of late Friday.

A custodian who discovered the substance at about 5:15 a.m. tried to flush the TNT-like chemical down the toilet, inadvertently setting off several small explosions, authorities said. Continue reading “CSUF prank disrupts finals, makes 4 ill CRIME: A professor may be responsible for toilet blasts that displace thousands of Fullerton students”

Two killed in head-on collision TRAFFIC: Three children are hospitalized after the crash of a pickup and station wagon in Irvine

MARC S. POSNER
North County News

Orange County Register
16 May 1993: b01.

When people ask: “what was the most-difficult story you had to cover?” this is one of two that comes immediately to mind. I’ll never forget arriving at this accident scene because the magnitude of what transpired minutes earlier hung in a somber mood. I think about these girls and their father regularly.

A wrong-way driver and another motorist were killed when their vehicles collided head-on Saturday on Sand Canyon Avenue.

The accident occurred when the driver of a GMC pickup crossed the center divider and hit a Volvo station wagon as it traveled south. The driver of the pickup, identified as John Paul Renzi, 42, of Trabuco Canyon, and the driver of the Volvo, a woman, were killed.

The woman’s three children were hospitalized after the crash at 12:40 p.m.

One of the children, an 8-year-old girl, was in serious condition at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo. The two younger children, 6- and 2-year-old girls, were being treated at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana for skull fractures. The youngest also suffered a fractured left leg, according to the California Highway Patrol. Continue reading “Two killed in head-on collision TRAFFIC: Three children are hospitalized after the crash of a pickup and station wagon in Irvine”