Fair Game
By TOM JOHNSON
Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha’ gonna do when they come for YOU!
Twice a week, we here at Stu News diligently travel over to the Newport Beach Police Department to see our friends at the front desk and pick up the arrest records.
Listing the arrests is something so many of our readers tell us they love about Stu News.
But, to be honest, in the recent times of COVID, with many people staying home and I guess providing unintended security to their domain, it seems like arrest records have been much quieter. And that seems, without any scientific studies on our part, to be across the board with most categories of arrests.
That seemed to change this past week.
In Sunday’s records, three arrests carried bails of $1M, with two related to the manufacturing of drugs and one for grand theft. Ten others had bails of $50,000 or more. That’s a lot of big crime.
Now don’t get me wrong, our City remains tremendously safe. So, no need to worry about going out.
But as I bring this up, it might be worth reminding everyone that once a year the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce puts on the Police Appreciation Breakfast as a thank you to our men and women in blue.
This year is the 49th Annual and will be held at the Hyatt Regency John Wayne Airport on March 31 from 7:15-9 a.m.
I know it’s a ways off, but here’s something to consider, Dateline’s Keith Morrison, that’s right, the one with the distinctive voice, is the special emcee.
It’ll sell out, so if you want in, now’s the time. Go to www.newportbeach.com.
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It’s that time in high school sports when the sports programs segue from Winter to Spring sports. However, before we fully get there, there are multiple local teams that have moved on to the CIF-SS Playoffs. Here’s a recap:
Girls Soccer playoffs Division 1 first round games kicked off last Saturday with Newport Harbor beating Chaminade, 1-0; they’ll play Capistrano Valley at home tomorrow.
In Division 2, Corona del Mar beat Crescenta Valley, 2-1; they’ll host Redondo tomorrow.
In Division 6, Sage Hill beat Anaheim, 4-2, and plays at Santa Clara tomorrow.
On the Boys Soccer side, the first-round of Division 1 playoffs were not kind to local teams, with Newport Harbor losing 3-1 to Fullerton and CdM losing 2-0 to Mira Costa.
Boys Basketball had a winner in the first round of the Division 2A playoffs, as Pacifica Christian rolled to at 71-34 victory over La Serna. They’ll host Lakewood tonight at 7 p.m.
Meanwhile, Sage Hill lost to St. Monica, 62-49.
In Girls Basketball, Sage Hill easily got past Tesoro, 71-44, in Division 2AA. They’ll play Santa Barbara tomorrow.
CdM Girls squeaked by Ridgecrest Burroughs, 45-43, in Division 2A basketball, while Newport Harbor lost to Brentwood, 61-40. The Sea Queens host Ontario Christian tomorrow in second round play.
In Division 4A, Pacifica Christian will meet Ramona tomorrow in the second round, after enjoying a first-round bye.
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The Airport Land Use Commission meets Thursday, Feb. 17 in the Eddie Martin Building at 3160 Airway Ave., in Costa Mesa.
The agenda is here.
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The good news/bad news of the week. I received messaging concerning some residential trash pickups that failed to happen. The good news is that it appeared to be few and far between. The bad news is that it happened at all.
The report is that some bins put curbside last week in Corona del Mar did not get picked up that day, the next day or even through the weekend.
Calls of complaints seemed to hit some dead ends.
Several things came to mind. One, trash days have changed for some, but the city seemed to do a good job communicating those.
Two, COVID! It seems when something goes wrong, just blame it on COVID. However, my calls to CR&R, our “trash” company, reported that employment is strong and they’re past any COVID driver issues.
A CR&R spokesperson said they absolutely want to hear and quickly resolve any issues. And, that if someone runs into difficulty at CR&R getting through, that they also have representation that resides in the City’s Public Works Department that can assist.
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The beachfront Super Panga Taqueria, Mario Marovic and his team’s latest entry into the Newport Beach restaurant scene, is now open.
Burritos, tacos, quesadillas, nachos, salads and more are on the menu. Try their different protein choices of salmon, shrimp, mahi, fried cod and fried calamari…enjoy a cold one, margaritas and more.
The location is 2110 W. Oceanfront, in the area of the Newport Pier.
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“Twosday,” 2/22/22, at 22nd Street Pizza, located at 2200 West Oceanfront is planned to be a special day, as you might imagine. Every order will give guests, yup, 22% off!
According to owner Jerry Marroquin, the day will also offer giveaways, contests and more. 22nd Street Pizza is open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily and orders can be placed either online or in-person.
If you didn’t know it, Jerry married into the Ursini family to wife Laura. The family also owns Newport Rib and Pipeline Snack Shop. 22nd Street Pizza was inspired by Laura’s grandfather, Nick Ursini, who immigrated into the country in the early 1900s and subsequently fell in love with Newport Beach.
22nd Street Pizza specializes in pizza, wings and salads. Check them out at www.22ndstreetpizza.com.
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Everyone gets the Navigator magazine here in Newport Beach. It’s the guide that tell us all about classes, recreation, special events, camps, OASIS and more.
But something caught my attention in this week’s edition in particular. If you said, “Who’s that on the cover?” The answer would be my family and me.
In the top photo, I’m the ogre among three princesses – my daughters Victoria (green) and Ashley and my granddaughter Kate.
I absolutely remember the day that photo was taken. It’s a reminder to me, as we enjoyed an Eastertime celebration complete with train, of just what great stuff happens courtesy of our great city.