Around Town: Doggie Date Night lends a paw to rescue group
Penny’s Pup Wash in Eastside Costa Mesa was home to a fundraising event themed Doggie Date Night on Friday.
About 65 people and several dogs attended the event, which met a goal of collecting 450 pairs of shoes for an organization that will donate them to Third World countries and, in exchange, give money to A Home 4 Ever Rescue, a Costa Mesa-based nonprofit.
Realtor Renée Piña provided matching donations and helped organize the event.
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Costa Mesa Fire Department has a new captain
The Costa Mesa Fire Department has promoted a veteran firefighter to the rank of captain.
Taylor Voss started his first assignment under the new title this week, according to the department.
Voss has been with the agency since 2003 and previously served in the Navy for three years.
“Taylor brings strong ethical leadership traits and has demonstrated a clear understanding of our organizational expectations related to uncompromised professionalism, quality customer service, steadfast teamwork and engaged professional development,” Fire Chief Dan Stefano said in a statement. “We place a high value on Taylor’s contributions as a member of the Costa Mesa team and anticipate great success ahead for him in his new position.”
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AIDS fundraiser stopping at South Coast Plaza
The sixth annual Kiehl’s LifeRide for Amfar Celebration, a motorcycle ride to raise funds for AIDS research, will stop Thursday at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.
Miss California USA Natasha Martinez will host the event at the Kiehl’s store from 2 to 3 p.m.
Z’Tejas Southwestern Grill will provide food, and free facials and hand massages also will be available.
The event is the ninth stop for the Kiehl’s LifeRide, which began in Denver on Aug. 4 and will end Saturday in San Diego.
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Book sale to benefit Costa Mesa libraries
Friends of the Costa Mesa Libraries will hold a book sale from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 22 and noon to 3 p.m. Aug. 23 at the Donald Dungan library branch, 1855 Park Ave.
Book prices on the first day will generally be 50 cents to $1. On the next day of the sale, a bag of books will cost $1.
There also will be a raffle for a children’s quilt. Proceeds will benefit Costa Mesa’s three library branches.
For more information, call (949) 646-8845 or email Mary Ellen Goddard at megoddard@ca.rr.com.
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Restaurant event will help needy families
Skosh Monahan’s in Costa Mesa will host a benefit from 4 to 11:30 p.m. Aug. 20 for Costa Mesa’s Network for Homeless Solutions and Fresh Beginnings Ministries to help needy families and the homeless.
The bar and restaurant will donate 15% of its sales, and all the money from a raffle and silent auction will be donated.
Guests are asked to donate clothes, toiletries or canned food.
For more information, contact Skosh Monahan’s owner Gary Monahan at gary@skoshmonahans.com or Ginnie Rhoden of Fresh Beginnings Ministries at (714) 655-5248 or ginnie@freshbeginningsministries.com.
Skosh Monahan’s is at 2000 Newport Blvd.
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Princeton Review names Vanguard one of Best in the West
The Princeton Review, an education services company, declared Vanguard University in Costa Mesa one of its Best in the West schools in an online feature this month titled “2016 Best Colleges: Region by Region.”
Vanguard received accolades from the Princeton Review for “focusing on students’ personal development and sense of community on campus.”
“We chose Vanguard University and the other outstanding institutions on this list primarily for their excellent academics,” Princeton Review’s Senior Vice President and Publisher Robert Franek said in a statement.
This year’s Best in the West list includes 125 colleges in 15 Western states.
Princeton Review selected the schools after conducting on-site visits and researching data collected from its survey of administrators at several hundred campuses in each region.