Around Town: Newport Beach party to benefit Ben Carlson Foundation
A party for current and former Newport Beach residents will be held from 3 to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort.
Proceeds will benefit the Ben Carlson Foundation, dedicated to a Newport Beach lifeguard who died last year in the line of duty.
The Surfaris, known for “Wipe Out,” members of the group Honk (“Five Summer Stories” soundtrack) and local duo Ted Vautrinot and Lucy McConville are scheduled to perform at the event, which also will feature a beach barbecue and no-host bar.
The party is the idea of the Facebook group “I grew up in Newport Beach before it was the O.C.,” or NBB4OC.
The group has more than 10,000 members, and more than 700 guests are expected to attend Saturday’s event.
Tickets are $70 through Friday at nbb4ocparty.eventbrite.com and $85 at the gate. Newport Dunes is at 1131 Back Bay Drive, Newport Beach.
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Arts Commission seeking input
The Newport Beach Arts Commission is inviting members of the community to share their vision for local cultural arts programs during a study session Thursday.
The city’s Master Arts and Culture Plan was approved by the Arts Commission in November. In April, the City Council asked the commission to develop goals and objectives for implementing the plan.
The study session will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Central Library Friends Room, 1000 Avocado Ave. To view the Master Arts and Culture Plan, visit newportbeachca.gov/culturalarts.
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Newport Beach Fire Department to host open house
The Newport Beach Fire Department will host an open house for Fire Service Day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at Fire Station 7, 20401 Acacia St. in Santa Ana Heights.
The event will include demonstrations and fire scenarios. The department’s antique fire engine also will be on display.
The Newport Beach Firefighters Assn. will be serving hot dogs and hamburgers for lunch. The event is free.
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The Literacy Project raises $125,000
The Literacy Project, based in Newport Beach, raised more than $125,000 during its sixth annual benefit gala.
More than 200 guests attended the Sept. 19 event at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach. The proceeds will help The Literacy Project provide its 30-hour reading program at no cost to elementary school students throughout Southern California.
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CdM meeting to discuss Newport Center Villas
The Corona del Mar Residents Assn. board of directors will have its monthly meeting at 7:30 a.m. Oct. 15 at the Oasis Senior Center, 801 Narcissus Ave.
Tod Ridgeway of Ridgeway Development will review the Newport Center Villas project, which proposes a seven-story, 49-unit residential complex near Fashion Island.
For more information, call (949) 719¿9390 or visit Cdmra.org.
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Clam chowder for a cause
Fly’n’Fish Oyster Bar in Newport Beach is donating funds to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for each bowl of clam chowder sold during October.
“At Fly’n’Fish Oyster Bar, we’re focused on giving back to our community and helping others in need,” owners Rick and Steve Loomis said in a statement. “We’ve been very fortunate to be well-received by our guests, and this is our way of saying thank you.”
The oyster bar is at 2304 W. Oceanfront, Newport Beach. St. Jude is in Garden Grove.
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Drive at UCI collects 4,000 pounds of e-waste
All Green Recyling’s E-Waste Collection Drive gathered more than 4,000 pounds of old electronics at the UC Irvine campus Sept. 26.
UCI was one of multiple schools that All Green collaborated with this year for its annual Million Pound Challenge.
All Green, a company that utilizes a variety of re-sale and recycling channels to properly handle laptops, tablets, cell phones, televisions and other equipment, partners with schools across California to collect a total of one million pounds of electronic waste each fall.
For this year’s 2015 Million Pound Challenge, the entire amount of electronic waste collected from all the company’s campus visits will be totaled up on Saturday.
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OCC honored with energy award
Orange Coast College was honored as a winner on Sept. 21 in the Energy and Sustainability Competition presented by the California Community Colleges Board of Governors in Sacramento.
According to a news release, 120 community colleges were considered but only seven were honored with awards for implementing projects that achieved annual energy cost savings, project cost effectiveness and job creation.
The retrofitting of Orange Coast’s campus lamps and new ballasts, which reduced the school’s energy bill by more than $80,000 annually, earned the school the highest score in the retrofit project category.
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6 area high school students on OCTA Teen Council
Six area residents are among 18 high school students selected to the Orange County Transportation Authority’s 2015-16 Teen Council.
They are Gabriela Jimenez of Costa Mesa and Irvine residents Michael Du Jiang, Natalie Wang, Rachel Li, Shipla Rajagopal and Timothy Chen.
Council members participate in transportation-related discussions and projects with their peers and OCTA staff members to help provide insight into public transportation issues.
Teen Council members serve for one year. The group meets once a month during the school year.
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UCI opens pantry for hungry students
UC Irvine and the OC Food Bank teamed up to open the SOAR Food Pantry on Monday to serve food for needy students on campus.
University of California President Janet Napolitano recently launched the UC Global Food Initiative, which focuses on resources and solutions to address food insecurity, health and sustainability.
According to a news release, a survey of students in the UC system showed that 23% skipped meals to save money.
The pantry on the UCI campus is administered by the school’s Student Outreach and Retention, or SOAR, Center.
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Irvine Public Schools Foundation welcomes 2 appointees
The Irvine Public Schools Foundation appointed two new directors to its leadership team: Director of Communications and Marketing Kellie Pendergest and Director of Business Development Donald Suxho.
Before arriving at the foundation, Pendergest was director of advancement at St. John’s Episcopal School in Rancho Santa Margarita. During her seven years there, she helped increase fundraising participation among parents and community members by more than 80%, according to a news release.
Suxho previously worked with Sports 1 Marketing in Irvine, where he created sponsorship accounts, organized events and built professional connections for various clients.
—From staff reports