WEEK IN REVIEW

EDUCATION

Costa Mesa middle school principals to trade jobs

Costa Mesa’s middle schools are set for a leadership trade this summer, as TeWinkle Middle School Principal Dan Diehl and Costa Mesa Middle School Principal Kirk Bauermeister plan to switch campuses when the new school year begins July 1.

Al-Asi, in his speech, lashed out both at Israel and at the United States’ support of it. He stressed, however, that opposition to Israel did not equal anti-Semitism — the subject of a pair of ongoing investigations at UCI by the federal government and the Hillel Foundation of Orange County.

“I would pray for the day in the near future when a sizable amount of Jews can take a public position and speak loudly for the record that Zionism is one thing and Judaism is another thing,” al-Asi said.

Nevertheless, a number of Jewish students and community leaders expressed disappointment with al-Asi’s political views. A pair of student groups, Anteaters for Israel and the Hillel Jewish Student Union, distributed free T-shirts and other items with pro-Israel slogans.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Police arrest four people suspected of ID theft

Newport Beach police have arrested two men suspected of using bogus credit cards and operating a identity theft ring to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars of merchandise.

The men are accused of using counterfeit cards and California driver’s licenses to buy items from local department stores then return the purchases for cash or sell them on eBay, police said.

Christopher Aragon, 47, of Capistrano Beach, and Guy Shitrit, 23, of Miami, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of commercial burglary. Their pretrial hearing is set for Thursday.

On Tuesday police arrested Aragon’s wife, Clara Aragon, 34, and Marcus Rojas, 32, of Mission Viejo, after serving search warrants at the Aragons’ home in Capistrano Beach and at Christopher Aragon’s business in Aliso Viejo. They seized more than 100 allegedly phony credit cards and found several more Coach handbags, MP3 players and an assortment of digital cameras.

Clara Aragon was arrested on suspicion of possessing stolen property. Rojas was arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana intended for sale.

All four suspects are being held at Orange County Jail in Santa Ana. Christopher and Clara Aragon had their bail increased to $1 million, police said. Shitrit’s and Rojas’ bail is $100,000. Police ask that anyone with information call (800) 550-NBPD.

NEWPORT BEACH

City officials warn boat owners: Sea lions are back

City officials are advising boat owners to secure their crafts from sea lions, since the pesky pinnipeds returned to the harbor in the last couple of weeks. It’s the third year the animals have taken up residence in Newport Harbor, barking and jumping on boats to sun themselves.

It includes five new positions, about $3.4 million for parks and close to $4 million for traffic improvements. The council will vote on the budget June 26.

The groups will research the idea and hope to have some conclusions by this fall.

The next step would be getting approval from various state agencies and funding the park.

COSTA MESA

Council approves lighting two more fields at Farm

Council members on Tuesday approved a plan to light two fields at the Farm Sports Complex, bringing the total of lighted fields there to four out of six. They also agreed to hire McKenzie Electric Inc. to install the new lights and overhaul the existing ones to make them more energy-efficient. The work will take place this summer.

BUSINESS

Car sales surpass restaurants in sales-tax generation

For the first time in 17 years, the restaurant industry has taken a back seat to the auto industry in Newport Beach in terms of sales-tax dollars generated, but it’s not because people aren’t frequenting local restaurants.

With the addition of Newport Lexus last year, the tax generated from the sale of new cars makes up more than 20% of money brought in by local business during fourth quarter last year.

“We saw that margin between restaurants at No. 1 and new auto sales at No. 2 decrease significantly with Fletcher Jones’ introduction to the city, and then more recently the Lexus dealership in town has contributed to new auto sales usurping restaurants in that top position in terms of sales-tax production,” Newport Beach revenue manager Glen Everroad said.

Restaurants made up almost 19% of the sales tax dollars generated during the same period last year.

It’s unlikely that a similar shift will ever occur in Costa Mesa, finance director Marc Puckett said. Traditionally, the group called general consumer goods takes the top spot in the running, with the auto and transportation industry a distant second.

During the fourth quarter last year, more than 53% of sales tax dollars generated came from the general consumer goods category, which would include money coming from South Coast Plaza. The auto and transportation industry made up more than 17%.

The two great economic minds will meet quarterly and Greenspan will have a hand in developing the company’s investment strategies during the year. He will also participate in the company’s economic forum and strategy review at Pimco’s Newport Beach office.

Pimco manages more than $687 billion in assets.

This is the first consulting job Greenspan has taken since he retired from the Fed in 2006.

NOTABLE QUOTABLES

“The costs escalate because you’ve taken away this kind of fine balance we have between all three harbors. It isn’t about trying to take something away from Newport Beach. It’s about maintaining the quality of services that we have for all the residents of Orange County.”

— Mike Carona

“You can’t differentiate between Washington and Tel Aviv any longer.”

— Imam Muhammad al-Asi

“When I tell them that, they remember it the rest of their lives. I check with them. They remember.”

— Tommy Lasorda

“The purpose is to legalize the status of millions who are here illegally, and it will draw millions more here illegally in the future.”

— Rep. Dana Rohrabacher

“We could be bitter, and we could be angry, but that’s not going to help us, so we choose joy. We definitely try not to complain about things we may have complained about before.”

— Suzy Hermes

“Music is part of my personality, and it’s what I’ve always wanted to be doing. Everything else I’ve done just because you’ve got to pay you bills and deal with life’s daily necessities.”

— Scot King