A committee of Newport Harbor Art Museum...

A committee of Newport Harbor Art Museum trustees met for the first time Tuesday to explore a closer alliance with the Laguna Art Museum and will present the results of the session to the Newport museum’s executive committee on Oct. 26 before making any public comment or proceeding further, trustee Jay M. Young said Tuesday. Young is chairman of a four-member panel established recently to investigate greater cooperation, perhaps a merger, between the two Orange County museums. A similar exploratory committee at the Laguna museum has not set a date for its first meeting.