Around Town: Bartending contest raises $2,000 for literacy program
The Literacy Project’s Cheers for Literacy bar battle at 3-Thirty-3 Waterfront restaurant in Newport Beach raised more than $2,000 to help provide a 30-hour reading program at no cost to struggling readers in elementary schools across Southern California.
The recent bartending competition featured Crystal Lyn Cannon from Rockstar Energy and Ashley Zarlin from Cheeky Minx vying against Brett Lawrence from Rancho Las Lomas and Miles Kirchner from Tavik to collect the most tip donations. Cannon and Zarlin won.
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Former Newport lifeguard captain dies
Ron Johnson of Irvine, a Newport Beach lifeguard for three decades, died Feb. 8 at age 73.
Johnson became a full-time lifeguard in 1965, and six years later began supervising the rescue boat division as a lieutenant. In 1976, he worked with boat makers Crystaliner and Jerry Norak to develop the Crystaliner rescue boat, which is used by many public safety agencies, according to an announcement from Rob Williams, assistant Newport Beach fire chief.
Johnson, an avid hunter and skier and commercial swordfisherman, rose to the rank of lifeguard captain in 1992. He retired two years later with thousands of rescues under his belt, Williams said.
Johnson is survived by his wife, Pat, daughters Kirsten and Nikki, granddaughter Veronica, sister Kathleen Fortner and niece Alyson Gillett.
A burial at sea and celebration of life are scheduled for March 23, Gillett said.
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Fundraiser to benefit rare-disease charity
The MOMS Club of Newport Coast on Saturday will present Ride for Rare, a fundraiser for Global Genes, an advocacy organization for people with rare diseases.
The event will be held from 12:30 to 2 p.m. at SoulCycle, an indoor cycling studio at Fashion Island, 1177 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach. Guests at the fundraiser will get a one-hour fitness class.
Tickets are $100 and available at https://www.eventbrite.com (search for Ride for Rare).
The MOMS Club of Newport Coast is a chapter of a national nonprofit composed of philanthropic mothers who support one another’s efforts to raise children. For more information, call Perla Portillo at (949) 922-9534.
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Ex-Angel, Dodger pitching his Newport home
Former Angels and Dodgers pitcher Aaron Sele, whose 15-season major-league career ended in 2007, has had his Newport Beach house on the market since July with an asking price of $3.795 million, according to Realtor.com. Sele bought the six-bedroom, 5 1/2-bath home in 2008 for $3.525 million.
The 4,878-square-foot house, built in 1999, is on a cul-de-sac in the One Ford Road gated community. It features hardwood floors, built-in shelves, a kitchen with white cabinets and beige granite countertops, and a second-floor master suite with a balcony overlooking the backyard patio and fountain, according to the listing.
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Newport girl wins school’s leadership award
Alex Audette of Newport Beach, an eighth-grader at St. Mary’s School in Aliso Viejo, received the private school’s Legacy Leadership Award for leadership skills, service and civic responsibility.
Each student in the competition wrote two essays and was interviewed by a panel of community and business leaders.
Alex beat out 12 other finalists at the awards ceremony Feb. 6.
She has served as chaplain of the St. Mary’s Associated Student Body, been involved with the school yearbook, chorus and lacrosse, volleyball and soccer teams, participated in a campaign against cyberbullying, walked in fundraisers for cancer and juvenile diabetes research, presented holiday carnivals for the Riverside School of the Deaf, donated 8 inches of her hair for children who have hair loss because of medical conditions, and is a member of the National Charity League.
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Firm donates toward new hospital
Irvine-based Ware Malcomb, an architecture and planning firm, has donated $250,000 in planning and design services for a new hospital in San Clemente.
Ware Malcomb’s chief executive, Lawrence Armstrong, is a San Clemente resident who is concerned about the possible closure of Saddleback Memorial Medical Center San Clemente.
The donation will go to Save Saddleback San Clemente Hospital, a community organization that is proposing alternatives to the hospital’s closure.
MemorialCare has claimed it cannot continue to run the campus as a stand-alone facility for financial reasons.
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AbilityFirst fundraising campaign begins
AbilityFirst’s Costa Mesa campus recently began this year’s Stroll & Roll fundraising campaign.
The campus, founded in 1999 at Paularino Elementary School, offers after-school programs for children with disabilities.
Stroll & Roll is a yearly walk/run fundraiser at Universal Studios Hollywood’s backlot involving nearly 2,000 participants from 25 AbilityFirst locations. Last year, the event raised $680,000.
This year’s event is scheduled for April 18.
“This year’s overall goal for our Stroll & Roll fundraiser is to raise $750,000,” AbilityFirst Chief Executive Lori Gangemi said in a statement.
For more information, visit https://www.abilityfirst.org.
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Project Hope Alliance gets $55,000 donation
Pacific Life’s life-insurance division recently donated nearly $55,000 to Project Hope Alliance, a Costa Mesa-based nonprofit that aids homeless children in Orange County.
Pacific Life’s foundation provided matching donations.
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Law firm donates to Chapman
Rutan & Tucker, a Costa Mesa-based law firm, recently donated $15,000 to Chapman University’s Dale E. Fowler School of Law.
“We hold Chapman in the highest regard, and we are delighted to continue our annual support of the school’s efforts to expand its scholarship fund,” managing partner Steve Nichols said in a statement. “Rutan intends to support this exceptional program for decades to come as the future leaders of our legal community graduate from the Chapman University Fowler School of Law.”
Rutan & Tucker has donated $235,000 to the private university’s law school over the past several years.
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Paintings displayed at JWA
Italian-inspired “whimsical” works by Orange County artist and curator Cheryl Bookout are on display in the Thomas F. Riley Terminal at John Wayne Airport.
The works, on display until April 16, are part of JWA’s Community Focus Space program.
“As a child, I spent hours alone in my room staring at the images John Tenniel created for ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ making up my own stories to match the fantastical drawings,” Bookout said in a statement. “The characters in this exhibit’s paintings are inspired by the history of Carnival in Venice, Italy.”
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Foundation gives $200,000 to USC Latino group
The James Irvine Foundation has awarded a $200,000 grant to the USC Latino Alumni Assn. Scholarship and Leadership Development Program.
The one-year grant will be used to provide scholarships and other support to Latino students and others at USC who demonstrate a commitment to the Latino community and participate in leadership training.
AROUND TOWN is a column about people and events in Newport Beach, Costa Mesa and Irvine. Please submit information about your fundraiser, charity event or a person deserving attention to dailypilot@latimes.com or alicia.lopez@latimes.com.