Around Town: Costa Mesa mayor’s walk Friday
Costa Mesa Mayor Steve Mensinger will host a Walk with the Mayor session from 5:30 to 7 a.m. Friday.
Participants are asked to meet near the tennis courts at Estancia High School, 2323 Placentia Ave., and wear walking shoes and bring a water bottle.
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German school at Newport Sea Base to have grand opening
A grand opening and ribbon-cutting event for the German School Campus will take place Saturday at the Newport Sea Base.
The German-language school offers classes to native and non-native speakers ages 7 to 17.
The event, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., will feature open houses and guest speaker Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa).
The campus, at 1931 W. Coast Hwy. in Newport Beach, offers classes from 3 to 7 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays.
For more information, visit www.germanschoolcampus.com.
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‘Human wave’ Sunday in Newport
Team Kids will present its inaugural Peer-2-Pier Challenge on Sunday in Newport Beach.
The free event will begin at 8 a.m. at the Balboa Pier at Main Street and the Newport Pier at 21st Street.
Participants will create a “human wave of compassion by holding signs with their personal messages of peace and kindness and linking hands on the beach from the Balboa Pier to the Newport Pier,” according to a news release.
Registration is available at www.teamkids.org/p2p. Unregistered guests can go to the Balboa Pier at 8 a.m. Sunday.
A pancake breakfast and presentation will begin at 10 a.m. at Peninsula Park, 100 Main St.
Team Kids, based in Irvine, organizes youth, school and community service programs.
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Local emergency response organizer accepts FEMA award
Brenda Emrick, community education specialist with the Costa Mesa Fire Department, recently accepted a Federal Emergency Management Agency award on behalf of an Orange County regional team that included Costa Mesa.
FEMA’s Outstanding Community Emergency Response Team Initiatives Award was presented during a ceremony in Washington, D.C.
Emrick has been a key organizer of the team’s effort, city officials said.
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Project Access names new director
Project Access, a nonprofit based in Newport Beach that serves more than 11,000 low-income residents of California, Colorado and Arizona, has promoted Esther Song to its director of resident services and social impact, according to a news release.
The UC Irvine alumna has worked for Project Access since 2009.
“We are delighted to recognize Esther’s passion and drive to improve the community with this much-deserved promotion,” Project Access interim Chief Executive and President Teresa Ichsan said in a statement. “She brings with her a wealth of institutional knowledge, years of valuable experience and leadership and a proven track record to rise to the occasion.”
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Senior center membership gets big boost
Costa Mesa officials announced that membership at the senior center has risen dramatically, from 300 to 1,650, since the city’s takeover of the West 19th Street facility in June 2014.
The center is run by City Hall with input from a Senior Commission composed of council appointees.
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Pacifica Christian High to host C.S. Lewis symposium
Pacifica Christian High School in Newport Beach will present a C.S. Lewis symposium next month where experts on the author’s writings will share their research about him.
Speakers will include Michael Ward, professor of apologetics at Houston Baptist University; Andrew Cuneo, former professor of English at St. Katherina’s College in San Marcos; Diana Pavlac Gyler, professor of English at Azusa Pacific University; and Hayden Butler, chair of Pacifica High’s English department.
The experts will lead guests in a two-day exploration of Lewis’ thoughts on the “education of the soul.” In addition to the lectures, the event will include question-and-answer sessions and group discussions.
The symposium will be held from 7 to 8:45 p.m. Oct. 2 and 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 3 at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 600 St. Andrews Road, Newport Beach.
To register, visit www.pacificaoc.org/tgc.
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‘Twice exceptional’ kids to be subject of presentation
Reid Day School in Costa Mesa will host James Webb, a contributing author of “A Parent’s Guide to Gifted Children,” at a presentation Oct. 5.
Webb has written 16 books and many research papers for psychology conventions regarding gifted and talented children.
Reid is intended for students considered “twice exceptional,” meaning they are gifted and have a learning, emotional or behavioral issue, school director Lisa Reid said.
The presentation will address misdiagnoses and dual diagnoses of children who may have such issues.
The event will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at 151 Kalmus Drive.
For more information, visit www.reidday.org.
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Newport group to raise funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters
Angelitos de Oro, a Newport Beach-based women’s volunteer group, is organizing its 14th annual fundraising campaign for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County.
The campaign will be held at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa from Oct. 7 to 13.
Participants can buy $60 Angelitos de Oro cards and present them to about 115 participating South Coast Plaza retailers for savings. Money from the cards will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Cards can be bought at angelitosdeoro.org until Sept. 30, at South Coast Plaza’s concierge desk starting Oct. 1 and at the Angelitos de Oro desk in Jewel Court from Oct. 7 to 13.
Last year, Angelitos raised $300,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters.