Park turf debate pulled from council agenda...

Park turf debate pulled from council agenda

The looming turf war over the Castaways Park will not blossom into

a fight next week.

Newport Beach city staff members have pulled the item from

Tuesday’s City Council agenda. The council will not discuss the item

before Sept. 23.

Last year, the city entered into an agreement with the California

Coastal Conservancy to accept nearly $100,000 to develop the park

with native vegetation. But earlier this year, City Council members

and parks commissioners proposed including in the plan about 2.5

acres of turf grass for people to fly kites, play soccer or lay out a

picnic.

The Planning Commission eventually voted to support the idea, even

though it would mean giving up the Coastal Conservancy grant.

Environmentalists protested, saying the area should be 100% natural,

as originally planned.

A compromise plan that has been discussed would use a native

plant, California meadow sedge, in place of nonnative and less

drought-resistant turf grass -- the type typically used on soccer and

baseball fields.

Environmentalists have questioned whether the sedge will grow well

in the park’s soil.

The City Council meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday in City

Council Chambers, 3300 Newport Boulevard, Newport Beach. For

information, visit https://www.city.newport-beach.ca.us/home.htm.

-- S.J. Cahn

Festival of Children set for this month

The second annual Festival of Children is coming to South Coast

Plaza this weekend to celebrate children and family all this month.

The festival will feature performances, events, exhibits and

celebrity appearances geared toward the whole family. It starts

Saturday with a Mighty Ducks hockey clinic, a yoga demonstration and

a Cooking for Children demonstration with chef Joaquim Splichal from

Patina.

On Sunday, the festival will celebrate Grandparents’ Day with a

Western show, a rock ‘n’ roll dance party with Sha Na Na and a

milking demonstration from Centennial Farm.

Both days will have craft activities, performances and

storytelling.

Other upcoming events scheduled for the festival include a “Mommy

and Tea” social on Sept. 12, Vans Extreme Sports Show on Sept. 13,

taiko drumming on Sept. 14, car seat installation instruction on

Sept. 20, and a cartoon screening party with the Powerpuff Girls on

Sept. 27.

Miss Teen USA 2003, Tami Nichole Farrell, will appear at this

Saturday’s opening ceremony at 11 a.m. along with Orange County

Supervisor Tom Wilson and the Special Olympics Hi-Tops Dance Team.

All events will take place at Carousel Court, Jewel Court, Bear

Street and the Z’Tejas parking lot at South Coast Plaza. For more

information and a full schedule, go to

https://www.festivalofchildren.org.

-- Marisa O’Neil

Safety Adventure shows ways to play

Children can learn how to play and live safely at home when the

Lowe’s Great Safety Adventure comes to the Festival of Children this

weekend in Costa Mesa.

The traveling exhibit sets up a 1,200-square-foot, four-room

animated house and backyard beset with hazards for children and

parents to identify. Tour guides and Rover, the “Home Safety Hound,”

will help point out dangers in the home to the participants on their

way through the exhibit.

The home’s rooms will simulate risks such as fire and burns,

poisonings, choking and suffocation and slips and falls. The Rangers

will look for poisonous chemicals in unsecured cabinets and

electrical appliances near running water, for instance.

More than 7,000 deaths and 50,000 disabling injuries happen in the

home every year, according to the Home Safety Council, which runs the

exhibit.

The Great Safety Adventure travels across the country to help

parents and children learn how to make their homes more safe.

The Great Safety Adventure will be at the Costa Mesa Festival of

Children at South Coast Plaza from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and

Sunday. It is free and open to the public.

For more information about the Great Safety Adventure, visit

https://www.homesafetycouncil.org.

-- Marisa O’Neil