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Corona del Mar Today: Port Theater could reopen in April

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The Port Theater, which has been closed since 1998, could reopen in time for the 2012 Newport Beach Film Festival’s opening in April.

Dennis Baker told members of the Corona del Mar Residents Assn. board at a meeting on Thursday that a film festival representative had toured the theater earlier in the week.

“They are absolutely confident that they will have it open and ready to occupy by April,” he said.

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Several members of the board laughed, and one member quipped, “This year?”

“They’re saying it will be ready for us,” said Baker, who works for the film festival. “This is the first time I feel confident that yes, they may actually open the doors in April. We heard so many dates, but it looks good.”

The theater, which opened in the 1950s, was slated for demolition a decade ago. The owner began remodeling the outside, then the interior, including structural upgrades and seismic retrofitting.

The owner has declined several interview requests and is regarded as by local business leaders and city officials as being secretive about the theater project.

Two years ago, Nancy Gardner, then a city councilwoman and now mayor, said the theater would downsize from 900 seats to 350 seats with the ability to get permits twelve times a year for special events. Today, the theater likely will have a 400-seat capacity but will have permits for events for 120 people.

Last February, Gardner said the theater was expected to open by the end of 2011. Instead, work continued, with progress apparent by elements such as the New Port theater sign that was installed and illuminated this winter.

The Newport Beach Film Festival opens April 26. Baker said the festival’s opening could coincide with the Port Theater’s opening.

“It’s going to be a very high-end theater,” he said. “It’s definitely the modern definition of a movie house.”

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Newport police to replace D.A.R.E.

The Newport Beach Police Department will unveil a new program to combat bullying and peer pressure later this month, nearly a year after they announced they were planning to cut the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program in a cost-saving move.

The new program, Step Up, was created entirely by Erica Sperling, a police crime prevention specialist.

This year’s sixth-graders will have two lessons, she said, with a full 10-course program scheduled to begin by the 2012-13 school year.

“The department sees a need for this, and the school district does too,” said Lt. Bill Hartford. “This is the ideal program for us.”

The D.A.R.E. program required a sworn police officer to teach the classes, and about 700 sixth-graders each year worked with that officer to learn about drug abuse and prevention.

Last spring, however, the Police Department reorganized, and the D.A.R.E. officer was moved to a patrol position.

Police Chief Jay Johnson expressed at the time that he wanted to develop a new program for sixth-graders, and police and school officials began meeting in the fall to discuss what elements that new program should feature.

Sperling, who has 21 years experience in law enforcement, was hired to create the curriculum and launch the class.

“I’m excited about it,” said Sperling, who also has a teaching credential. “I want to spend time on campus, building relationships. I think that being a role model and having connections is so important.”

Step Up is a character-based program that derives its name from late UCLA basketball Coach John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, which schools use to motivate and inspire students.

Classes this spring will focus on peer pressure and bullying.

“We not only will cover drug awareness, but also, ‘What am I going to put on my Facebook?’ and ‘Will I cheat on this test?’” Sperling said. “D.A.R.E. was a good program, but I’m working hard to make Step Up more current. It’s based on what people really face.”

“D.A.R.E. was around before Facebook and texting,” Hartford said. “I don’t think D.A.R.E. was the right fit. Step Up is very, very contemporary. It’s a branded program developed around the demographics of our community.”

In all, 23 sixth-grade classes in nine schools will be part of Step Up, which will include role-playing exercises. The program will begin with Mariners Elementary School. Harbor View and Lincoln elementary schools’ classes have not yet been scheduled, Sperling said.

Students who participate in this year’s truncated two-class curriculum will help Sperling craft the complete 10-course program that she will implement next year, she said.

“I want to see what they think next year’s sixth-graders should know,” she said.

Sperling will wear a uniform with a badge while teaching. She also said she will schedule classes around school lunch hours, so she can spend time on campus interacting with students.

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Time to Talk Trash

Mayor Nancy Gardner has asked that city staff include a discussion on ways to prevent trash messes as part of a study on refuse services.

“When it comes to trash, there are other issues besides outsourcing,” Gardner wrote in her March newsletter. “In parts of CdM, the three Rs (ravens, raccoons and rats) have a field day.”

At the Feb. 28 City Council meeting, Gardner said that trash in Corona del Mar “gets strewn pretty badly” and requested that staff discuss preventive ideas as part of a general discussion on citywide trash services.

“Our alleys are like one huge fast-food strip mall since most people keep their trash cans outside,” Gardner’s newsletter states. “Many of the cans don’t have lids, making it particularly easy for dining, but even those with lids, unless they fit tightly, are a minor challenge for clever-fingered raccoons … Keeping the cans in the garage is an obvious solution, but if there’s not room for a car, how could there be room for trash cans?”

Several residents have complained that neighbors fail to keep lids on their trash cans, and that garbage regularly litters their alleys and yards.

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Council approves CdM concessionaire

The Newport Beach City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the Rooster Cafe as the Big Corona State Beach concessionaire during a consent calendar vote.

The Rooster Cafe was chosen from five applications, which city staff narrowed to one to recommend to the council.

Newport Beach residents and brothers Wing Lam and Ed Lee are partners in the original Rooster Cafe in Costa Mesa, a city staff report said, and are co-owners of Wahoo’s Fish Taco, which has more than 60 stores and annual sales of more than $60 million.

The concession stand should be open before Memorial Day, a company representative said.

The beach has been without a full-time concessions stand since November 2010, when the Fuji Grill closed. At the time, the owner said the bad economy and increased parking rates made it impossible for him to run a profitable business. Last summer, the city arranged for different food trucks to serve beach visitors over the summer.

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Happy Birthday, Corona del Mar Today

Three years ago, CoronadelMarToday.com launched with a tiny story about a lonely lifeguard stand and no clue to where that would take us.

Today, we are proud to be the only locally owned, independent news source for Corona del Mar, covering stories seven days a week, every single day of the year.

Thank you to our advertisers, readers and supporters. A special thank you to Nik Froehlich at Clickbrand, who first saw potential in a local news site and has hosted us since the early days. Without him, we might not be here today.

All of your loyalty has allowed us to report and write stories about all aspects of village life, from beach fire rings, city politics, school events, crime, new businesses, features and more.

Happy birthday to us!

amy@coronadelmartoday.com

Twitter: @coronadelmartdy

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