DP Insider

Colonel Patrick Malay, USMC, Speaks at Ocean Institute

Colonel Patrick Malay, USMC, gave a briefing on the Iraq war at the Ocean Institute in the Dana Point Harbor on April 28 in front of 200 attendees. Malay, the Commander of the 5^th Marines Regiment stationed at Camp Pendleton, was one of four officers and enlisted men to speak at the event on U.S. activities and accomplishments during their overseas assignments. At the briefing Malay thanked the citizens of Dana Point for their continuing assistance to the Marines 5^th Regiment and their families.

Pictured above (l-r) are Colonel Patrick Malay, Dana Point mayor Lisa Bartlett and Pete Hammer, the president of the Dana Point 5th Marine Regiment Support Group. Photo by Bob Fairbanks, tireless community photographer and contributor.

Mark Sanchez Deal Reportedly Began at St. Regis in Dana Point

Apparently, the New York Jets first met with former USC quarterback Mark Sanchez at the NFL owners meeting at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in March. Bleacherreport.com senior writer Paul Peszko wrote Monday about the meeting:

“On a balmy Southern California evening a month ago, a car pulled around the side of the posh St. Regis Resort in Dana Point to avoid all the media types and executives from the 31 other clubs gathered around the lobby.

Officials from the New York Jets whisked Mark Sanchez in the back door of the hotel and hurried him up to their suite. There, general manager Mike Tannenbaum, head coach Rex Ryan, and their staff interrogated Sanchez to find out what he knew about running a pro-style offense.”

On Saturday the Jets traded up to the No. 5 pick in the NFL draft to pick Sanchez.

The story goes a bit deeper for South Orange County football enthusiasts. Sanchez starred at Mission Viejo High School before playing at USC, leading the Diablos to a 27-1 record in his junior and senior season. Sanchez led the Diablos to a state championship in his senior season in 2004, finishing the year with 1,746 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and only two interceptions.

According to Wikipedia, Sanchez served as ball boy for future USC Heisman Trophy Winner Carson Palmer and future Florida State Quarterback Chris Rix at Santa Margarita Catholic High School before transferring to Mission Viejo High School to play for coaching legend Bob Johnson. Johnson, the father of longtime NFL quarterback and USC alumn Rob Johnson, also coached Palmer.

According to Peszko, the Jets took Sanchez to a high school in Mission Viejo and asked him to throw. Could that school have been Mission Viejo High School? 

Dana Point Grand Prix of Cycling attracts 800 racers, 12,000 fans

U.S. national champ Rahsaan Bahati took first place, mountain biking star Brian Lopes jumped Heritage Park and 350 kids peddled like crazy at the third annual Dana Point Grand Prix of Cycling on Sunday.

In all, event organizers said 800 racers and 12,000 fans attended the downtown Dana Point bike race expected to garner $25,000 for local charities. “This was just way over the top of what we anticipated,” said event director Russ Ames. “To have the current national champion win our race… that’s like the stamp of approval.”

Ames on Monday lauded the army of volunteers who dedicated themselves to the event, many arriving early and staying late. “From A to Z every member on the team was stellar,” he said. “We had no weak spots. There were a lot of people working behind the scenes who made this happen. Without their hard work and dedication we couldn’t have pulled this off.”

For all of you bike nuts, check out Velo News for much, much more on the cycling end of the event. For those just looking for pictures of local kids competing, see below. Photos of the adults will be published in Friday's edition of the DP Times.

Bob Fairbanks just sent me these three:

Early Estimates for Wag-A-Thon are in: $55,000 for Animal Shelter

Pet Project Foundation president Sue Walsh estimated that the 16^th annual Wag-A-Thon raised $55,000 at the Dana Point Harbor island on Saturday, money that benefits the San Clemente/Dana Point Animal Shelter. The Foundation had worried that tough economic times might impact attendance for the event. Walsh happily reported Monday that it did not.

“I would say we had about 1,500 to 2,000 people and probably 1,000 dogs,” she said. “We were pleasantly surprised by the turnout. It just proved to us that people don’t want to listen to the gloom and doom and they want to get out there with their pets and families.”

The Pet Project Foundation donates more than $300,000 and tens of thousands of volunteer hours to the Animal Shelter annually, paying for everything from medical care to training for abandoned South County pets. The Wag-A-Thon is the Foundation’s biggest fundraiser of the year.

Below are just a few of the pooches at this year’s event.

Lauri Julian of Laguna Beach holds Chloe, a 6-year-old Chihuahua wearing a cheerleader costume. R.H. Dana apparently snuck into the background. 

Sassy is a 2-year-old Great Dane, adopted from the San Clemente/Dana Point Animal Shelter by Sydney and Stuart Hardie of San Clemente. Sassy was easily one of the biggest dogs at this year's Wag-A-Thon.

Avoc, 4, is a German Shepherd/Lab mix. He lives in Placentia with his owner, Hiro Yamane. Yes, he's a bee.

Two Starbucks Leaving Town

The Fast Food Maven over at the OC Register is reporting two Dana Point Starbucks are on the latest closure list, including the coffee shop at Ritz Carlton Drive and Coast Highway.

A dozen Starbucks are on the company's latest closure list. Also in Dana Point: The shop at 24502 Del Prado, and the Stabucks in the Von's Center in San Juan Capistrano.

Here's a link to reporter Nancy Luna's full post.

Humpback Whales Spotted For Fourth Time Off Dana Point Coastline

Dana Kalez of Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching in the Dana Point Harbor sends word, and photos, of the fourth Humpback Whale spotting off the Dana Point coastline this year. "Dana Pride found these Whales off of Aliso Beach, says Kalez via an email. "At first Capt. Tom White thought they were Fin whales but after a closer look identified them as Humpback. These are the 4th sightings this year! Capt. Tom White has been whale watching in these waters since 1978. He said the Whales were cruising, going very slow and very friendly like they wanted everyone to watch them."

Filing a tax return on April 15? Dana Point post office closes at 5:30 p.m., Santa Ana offers extended hours to midnight

Dana Point residents have until 5:30 p.m. on April 15 to file tax returns at the post office on Del Prado, but those who come late can still beat the midnight deadline with a trek to Santa Ana.

“In Orange County they can go to the Santa Ana processing center at 3101 West Sunflower Avenue,” said Richard Maher, the spokesperson for the United States Postal Service in Southern California. “They will be accepting mail with stamps on it until midnight on April 15.” No other post office in Orange County offers extended hours this year.

Maher suggested buying stamps prior to driving to Santa Ana. The processing center has a stamp vending machine but Maher said buying stamps at another post office or supermarket will likely be quicker than attempting to park near the postal facility. The center on tax day annually attracts thousands of cars, police traffic control and even protestors speaking out against income taxes.

In the past the USPS has offered its customers extended hours throughout Orange County but the increasing trend of electronic filing has all but ended that tradition. According to an IRS report, citizens filed 148 million tax returns nationwide in 2008, and of that number only 40 percent were done by mail. Of those done by mail, Maher said many filers pay the standard 42 cent rate.

The end result: huge crowds at post offices without the big revenues produced during the holiday season when mailers send out packages or dozens of Christmas cards.

Census takers out and about in Dana Point

Don't be surprised if you see these two ladies from the United States Census Bureau knocking on your door in the coming weeks. They, along with 900 other census takers in Orange County, are counting every resident in the county including Dana Point, Capistrano Beach and Monarch Beach.

Gail Buschen, at left, is a longtime Dana Point resident. Her partner in crime is Stacey Goldsmith of Lake Forest. Yes, that is the Dana Point Times office in the background. They stopped in to ask if any of us lived at the office and the staff here let them know that we do have to go home to sleep every-so-often. 

How is the counting tallied? With this hand-held computer system.

Capistrano Beach quiet zone activitists blanket community with signs

Many Dana Point residents driving to work this morning discovered that numerous streets on the southern end of town have been lined with yellow signs promoting www.savecapistranobeach.com, a website calling for safety improvements to the nearby railway that could result in a quiet zone designation that would stop train engineers from blasting their horns as they near traffic and pedestrian crossings.

The issue goes before the Dana Point City Council at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 13 at city hall.

On November 18 the City Council decided against joining the Orange County Transportation Authority’s quiet zone project after the city’s legal counsel advised that it would mean new liability for the city along the railroad tracks. Then mayor and current councilmember Joel Bishop spoke out against any agreement that could someday result in a lawsuit against the city in the event of a train accident.

Bishop cited the 2007 $50 million settlement between the city and two women who were left quadriplegics after a motorist with a history of driving drunk hit them on Pacific Coast Highway. He expressed concern that accepting liability for the railway—which isn’t owned or operated by the city—might leave the city vulnerable in the future.

Residents speaking in favor of the quiet zone improvements believe the city will be vulnerable to future lawsuits if leaders fail to support safety improvements at the railroad crossing at Palisades Drive and Pacific Coast Highway.

The November 18 decision was met with no opposition. Months later a group of Capistrano Beach residents spoke out against that decision, telling the council they had thought the quiet zone project a done deal and had not been notified the issue would go before the council. Speakers included Dana Point pediatrician and author William Sears, who spoke on health hazards caused by train horns. Other residents presented the council with petitions from Capo Beach residents and business owners requesting the city pursue the quiet zone project.

Dana Point City Manager Doug Chotkevys confirmed Tuesday that the issue will return to the council at next week’s meeting.

The signs went up in neighborhoods throughout Capistrano Beach, including Camino Capistrano. Pines Park can be seen in the background.

Palisades Drive was lined with a half dozen signs, including these three near Palisades Gazebo Park.

A closer look at the sign.

Survey Underway on South County Traffic Plans

This just in from Supervisor Pat Bates:

OCTA's South Orange County Major Investment Study Final Survey

The South Orange County Major Investment Study (SOCMIS) was completed in October 2008. To help us with future studies, OCTA is asking you to provide feedback on the outreach efforts conducted during the two-year study. The survey will only take a few minutes to complete and is available on-line until Sunday, April 12, 2009.

To take the survey, please click here.

Additionally, to help illustrate the Locally Preferred Strategy (LPS) adopted in the fall of 2008, please take a look at the interactive maps highlighting the transportation elements and projects. To view the SOCMIS interactive maps, click here.