Saved ficus tree to enter city...

Saved ficus tree to enter city yard

The ficus tree in front of the pharmacy on Main Street in Balboa

Village will be dug up, put into a box and stored at a city yard for

about a year while Newport Beach leaders decide when and where to

replant the tree, city officials said Monday.

The city agreed to preserve and store the tree at its own expense,

though doing so was not a provision of the city’s settlement with the

Balboa Arbor Society. That agreement gave the society the right to

dig up and box the tree for later planting, but the society did not

have enough money to do so in time to permit Balboa Village

renovations to proceed on schedule. City Manager Homer Bludau offered

the city’s help.

The tree was the only whole tree left standing after crews cut

down most of Main Street’s trees last fall. An emergency court action

called a halt to the work while the two parties negotiated the fate

of the remaining Balboa Peninsula trees.

Tall ships return to Newport Harbor

Tall ships the Lynx and the Hawaiian Chieftan arrived Monday at

the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum for a week of dockside tours and a

battle reenactment.

Tours take place from 4 to 6 p.m. today through Thursday and from

10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Cost is $3 for adults; $2 for

students and seniors; and $7 for families. A three-hour battle

reenactment cruise will board at 4 p.m. Friday.

Cost is $50 for adults, $20 for children 12 and younger. Call

(949) 673-7863, Ext. 350, for information and reservations.

Officers group changes name

The Costa Mesa chapter of The Retired Officers of America changed

its name Jan. 1 to Military Officers Assn. of America because the

chapter’s national organization changed its name.

The local Golden West Chapter has decided to go with the name

change to “better reflect its total membership composition and what

the association does for all of us,” said Chapter President Lt.

Commander Robert E. Perry.

The association has historically pursued legislative and policy

actions on a variety of issues concerning military personnel

including retired officers embarking on second careers.

For more information, call Perry at (714) 558-7541.

Holiday trash pickup unchanged

Though there will be no street sweeping in Newport Beach on

Monday, Jan. 20 -- in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day -- trash

collection will continue as normal.

Thus, residents’ trash pickup will not be delayed that week while

street sweeping will be unavailable on the holiday.

For information, call the Newport Beach General Services

Department from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays at (949) 644-3055.