At the Mesa Water District’s Board of Directors regular meeting on Thursday April 14, the City of Costa Mesa was recognized for its water conservation efforts and presented with the “Mega” Mesa Water Saver award.

Through the city’s efforts, along with other local agencies, businesses, schools and residents, the water district has reached and exceeded the state’s 20 percent conservation mandate with over 21 percent reduction in water use from June 2015 through February 2016.

“The 10 Mesa Water customers we’re recognizing today include property owners and managers with varying responsibilities, who are clearly dedicated to doing the right thing and engaging in activities that achieve higher-than-average water savings during this extended drought,” said Mesa Water Board President Shawn Dewane. “We’re proud to be part of a community so dedicated to water efficiency.”

The water district focused on outdoor watering, reducing water waste at residential, multi-family, business and government properties.

Customers who increased water efficiency beyond expectations were responsible for higher-than-average water savings ranging from 31 percent to 56 percent.

Businesses and Homeowners’ Associations amended their outdoor watering for larger landscapes to comply with Mesa Water’s watering schedules that changed with seasonal temperatures and weather.

Single-family homeowners and local government agencies implemented additional water-saving techniques, including installing a pool cover, replacing thirsty turf with water-wise landscaping, updating old irrigation with drip irrigation, reducing sprinkler times, installing smart-timers, and decreasing off-peak utility use.

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The following were recognized at Thursday’s event by Mesa Water’s Board of Directors as “Mega” Mesa Water Savers:

• Janice and Steven Frates
• Susan and Geoff West
• Brookview Homeowners’ Association
• Harbor Village Apartments
• C.J. Segerstrom & Sons
• Mariners Christian School
• Vanguard University
• City of Costa Mesa
• John Wayne Airport
• Newport Mesa Unified School District

College Park Elementary School’s Mandarin Immersion Program is accepting applications for the 2016-2017 school year.  The program is available to kindergarten and first grade students who reside within the N-MUSD attendance boundaries.  Enrollment is open district-wide and is not restricted to the College Park attendance zone.

Mandarin Chinese is the native language of more than 870 million people, making it the most widely spoken first language in the world. Kindergarten students currently in the program will transition to a Mandarin program in first grade, with the goal of continuing through middle and high school.

N-MUSD also offers two additional specialty elementary school programs – a Modern Scholars program at Adams Elementary and a Spanish bi-literacy program at Whittier Elementary.   These programs are available for kindergarten students and first grade students (limited spaces available for first grade).

The District also offers Signature Academies at each high school, offering students a global competitiveness to better prepare them for college and career success. Students enrolled in Signature Academies receive unique curriculum options and supplemental activities that complement the core academic programs at N-MUSD high schools.

Signature academies include specialty programs centered on key, industry leading careers and areas of study such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Arts and Math (STEAM). Each of the four N-MUSD High Schools offer unique programs, which are open to all ninth grade students within the N-MUSD, regardless of their zone of residence.  Click here for more information about the N-MUSD Signature Academies.

The application deadline for elementary school specialty programs and the high school signature academies is Friday, April 15, 2016.

The California Department of Education (CDE) awarded twelve elementary schools in Newport-Mesa Unified School District (NMUSD) with the California Gold Ribbon Award, in recognition of their outstanding educational programs and practices that contribute to closing the achievement gap.

The Gold Ribbon program replaces the California Distinguished Schools program during the two years that California is developing new assessment and accountability systems. The California Gold Ribbon Schools Award was created to honor schools while the California Distinguished Schools Program is on hiatus as California transitions to new assessment and accountability systems. Traditionally, the Distinguished Schools Program honored public schools that showed improved student outcomes as measured through standardized testing and reporting scores and additional measures.

The Gold Ribbon program is different from the California Distinguished Schools program in that it focuses on recognizing schools that demonstrate academic progress through the implementation of the new State standards.

The seven NMUSD schools in Costa Mesa that were honored with the California Gold Ribbon Award are:

Davis Magnet School

Davis Magnet School was recognized as a Gold Ribbon School for their success in closing the achievement gap, engaging parents and community and use of technology through their project based learning, which focuses on improving achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

Sample project based learning at Davis Magnet School include a rollercoaster challenge, where students create a rollercoaster to learn about motion and force; develop a bio-waste digester, which teaches students about waste matter, renewable energy, chemistry and more. The project based approach to learning has resulted in 75 percent of Davis students meeting or exceeded English language arts standards and 74 percent meeting or exceeded math standards, based on the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium data. These percentages are 39 to 125 percent higher than district, county, and state averages. Learn more about Davis Magnet School at http://davismagnet.nmusd.us.

Kaiser Elementary

Kaiser Elementary uniquely serves students in grades three through six and was selected as a Gold Ribbon School for their success implementing their Read All Day (RAD) Program. The RAD program includes various tiers of instruction, grounded on new state standards, student assessments to determine the tier of instruction that best suits each student’s need, and creating a community culture of reading.

The RAD program has resulted in a 24 percent increase in student reading proficiency. Based on 2015 Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium data, English learners exceed state averages by nine percent, socio-economically disadvantaged students exceed state averages by 11 percent and special education students exceed state standards by 18 percent. To learn more about Kaiser Elementary please visit http://kaiser.nmusd.us.

Killybrooke Elementary

Killybrooke Elementary School was recognized as a Gold Ribbon School for their success in implementing a college and career readiness program centered on universal achievement (as a No Excuses University school) and technology integration.

Killybrooke has made great strides in increasing achievement of all students and closing the achievement gap for English Learners and socio-economically disadvantaged students, through six systems designed to help all students achieve, with technology (including 1:1 Chromebooks for students in grades 3-6) used as a tool to maximize student learning.

Assessments show improvement, with Academic Performance Index increasing from 667 to 867, English language arts proficiency increasing from 27 percent to 67 percent, and math proficiency increasing from 31 percent to 75 percent. Student scores exceed County and State averages. Learn more about Killybrooke Elementary at http://killybrooke.nmusd.us.

Paularino Elementary

Paularino Elementary School was recognized as a Gold Ribbon School for their success in creating a culture of universal achievement through their program, Reading Our Way to College. Paularino Elementary became a No Excuses University school to inspire students to attend college and also implemented an Accelerated Reader program to encourage students to read independently.

Implementation of these reading programs and other programs, focused on improving students’ character virtues- such as fairness, responsibility, respect, caring, trustworthiness and good citizenship- have resulted in a 21 percent decline in the number of students reading two or more years below grade level. To learn more about Paularino Elementary please visit http://paularino.nmusd.us.

Pomona Elementary

Pomona Elementary School was recognized as a Gold Ribbon School for their reading instruction program, which uses small group dynamics to deliver adaptive reading instruction for students to achieve academic success. Students that require intensive intervention are placed in groups as small as two, while students who have mastered grade level foundational skills receive teacher support to move beyond grade level expectations.

The reading program, which is flexible and adjusted throughout the year, has resulted in ten percent more students scoring at benchmark reading levels. STAR testing data showed an 18 percent drop in students reading two or more years below grade level. Learn more about Pomona Elementary at http://pomona.nmusd.us.

Sonora Elementary

Sonora Elementary School was recognized as a Gold Ribbon School for their No Excuses University: We are College Bound program.

The We are College Bound program is designed to close the achievement gap between students in traditionally low-achieving sub-groups by implementing continuous data assessments to develop individualized academic intervention plans and address social-emotional and behavioral needs of students.

Sonora Elementary has twice been named a California Distinguished School and a Title 1 Achieving School. Learn more about Sonora Elementary at http://sonora.nmusd.us.

Early College High School

In 2015, the first year of the California Gold Ribbon Program, the California Department of Education recognized NMUSD’s Early College High School (ECHS) with a Gold Ribbon Award. ECHS partners with Coastline Community College to offer students the opportunity to earn both a high school diploma and a year or more of transferable college credit.

With a 100 percent graduation rate, ECHS offers smaller classes, on-campus college classes, dual-credit classes, easier transition to higher education and financial savings of completing college credits in high school.

ECHS is top ten ranking among all public high schools Orange County and has the highest California Department of Education rating of 10/10, for seven consecutive years. Learn more about ECHS at http://earlycollege.nmusd.us.

Estancia High School’s award winning drama department ends the 2015-2016 season with the presentation of Urinetown, a hilarious tale of greed, corruption, love and revolution in which water is worth its weight in gold.  The Tony award winning musical sheds a satirical light on the drought, extreme political agendas, and musical theatre itself.

Urinetown premiered on Broadway in 2001 with Estancia alumna Spencer Kayden as Little Sally, the loveable pig-tailed girl who helps explain the plot.  Kayden is also known for her membership in the recurring cast of comedians on the sketch comedy series MADtv and also played the role of Mrs. Pepper in the popular Nickelodeon kids series Blue’s Clues.

Performances will be held April 28 – 30 at 7:30 p.m. in the Costa Mesa High Performing Arts Center, 2650 Fairview Road.  Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for general admission and are currently available for presale. Tickets will also be made available at the door.

For ticket information call Pauline Maranian at (949) 515-6537 or the ASB office at (949) 515-6506.

Toyota Motor Sales USA will be lending the City a 2016 Toyota Mirai for a couple of weeks to test drive.

The car has an electric motor powered by hydrogen fuel cells, resulting in a 100-percent-pollution-free vehicle.

The fuel cells produce electricity from the high pressure hydrogen with only water as a byproduct. The 300 horsepower motor moves the car exceptionally quick, without any motor noise or exhaust.

Hydrogen is available locally at the Valero gas station on Harbor Boulevard to retail customers.

Several City departments will be given an opportunity to drive the vehicle for routine City business over the two weeks of the test.

The car will travel over 300 miles per fueling and may be leased by the public in the $400-500 a month range or purchased with State incentives for the mid $40,000’s.

City officials recently installed new fencing outside the Downtown Recreation Center in Lions Park.

The new fence will allow for an enhanced events space for both recreational use and private rental use, and will provide dedicated space to children who want to engage in recreational activities at Lions Park.

Expanded programming by Parks and Community Services will be implemented in this new outdoor space.

Costa Mesa Mayor Steve Mensinger announced that Tesla Motors, an innovative automotive and energy storage company known for its high-end luxury electric cars, is the winner of the Mayor’s Award presented at the Tuesday April 5 City Council meeting.

Accepting the award on behalf of the company was Tesla Store Manager Peter Najera and Service Manager Joe Estrada.

“We are deeply honored and this is a wonderful and amazing thing that you have done for us,” Najera said. “We are thrilled to be here in Costa Mesa. It’s a perfect location.”

Costa Mesa is not only one of five Tesla sales locations in the county, but is also home to one of only two Tesla service centers in the county.

Tesla forgoes the typical dealership model that dominates the business, and instead sells cars directly to their customers through company owned stores or galleries, which are usually located in shopping malls.

For years, Tesla operated locally out of a 10,000-square-foot facility on Pullman Street in Costa Mesa, adjacent to the 55 freeway.  Nearly a year and a half ago they expanded their operation to also include a 27,000 square foot facility just down the street.

The new facility serves as a state of the art service center, complete with 26 service bays, two alignment bays, a detail center and car wash area in two buildings.

A typical day finds six service advisors and 20 service technicians servicing 30-35 vehicles per day, making the Costa Mesa location the number one Tesla Service center in terms of volume in the entire nation.

The City of Costa Mesa reached a landmark settlement agreement with Solid Landings Inc. that will result in the immediate closure of 15 of the company’s residential sober living homes and the closure of 18 more over the next two to three years at the latest.

“This is a major victory both for the residents of Costa Mesa and city officials who worked diligently on this issue for several years,” said Mayor Steve Mensinger. “We have invested considerable resources in legal, law enforcement and code enforcement efforts to ensure a balance between our residents who deserve neighborhood peace and tranquility and those who seek facilities to battle their addiction problems.”

The agreement with Solid Landings, the largest group home operator in the city of Costa Mesa, will effectively end years of both federal and state litigation between the company and the city and will keep intact the city’s two groundbreaking ordinances that place appropriate restrictions on group homes, limiting the number of occupants and the proximity between similar homes.

By entering into the agreement, Solid Landings will ultimately close 33 residential facilities and no legal fees will be paid by the city. Further, Solid Landings will relocate its counseling facilities to two locations in the city, one in a commercial area and the other in an industrial location.

The settlement discussions began approximately a month ago when the City Council directed Mayor Pro-Tem Jim Righeimer to negotiate on behalf of the city.

The negotiations between Righeimer and Solid Landings resulted in an agreement reached Tuesday April 5 when the council voted 3-0 to accept the terms of the settlement.

On Thursday March 24, staff and members of the City of Costa Mesa’s Military Affairs team hosted an Easter egg event for the children of the City’s Adopted Marine battalion, the 1/5 Marines at Camp Pendelton.

Members of the team stuffed over 2,000 Easter eggs for the event over a three-day period at City Hall.

The Costa Mesa Community came out in full support of the Marines with over 3,000 items being donated in the steam trailer located in the City Hall lobby.  Congrats to all.

Costa Mesa High School is opening the doors of real world music, history, and arts education in a once-in-a-lifetime trip for a select number of students.  To kick off their spring break, fourteen members of the school band will be traveling to New Orleans and immersing themselves in the local history and jazz culture for five days.

They’ll be joined by fourteen members of the Huntington Beach High School Band and several parents from both schools under the leadership of Mrs. Sandy Gilboe and Mr. Gregg Gilboe, directors of the bands at CMHS and HBHS, respectively.

New Orleans is widely renowned as the birthplace of Jazz music. The students will have the opportunity to experience several live performances, including a visit to Snug Harbor Bistro to hear Ellis Marsalis (patriarch of the famous Marsalis jazz family), a private concert by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and Cajun music and culture at Mulates Restaurant.

Scheduled tours of the French Quarter, Oak Valley Plantation, Cajun Pride Swamp, and the Natchez Steamboat will provide the students a first-hand history lesson unlike any they have ever experienced.

On Tuesday, March 22 a total of 284 students from four various neighboring schools graced the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall with a common love of musical theater bringing them all to one stage.

The Segerstrom Center for the Arts presented Disney Musicals in Schools “Student Share Celebration” that featured students grades 3-6 all whom performed from selected musical numbers before a crowd of enthusiastic friends, family and teachers.

For 17 weeks’ students, teachers and professional teaching artists worked collaboratively during after school sessions, learning, rehearsing and performing scenes, songs and dance numbers from some of Disney’s beloved musicals.

The objective being to create a continual theater program in the participating schools.

The culmination of all their efforts resulted in presenting and performing a live 30-minute Disney KIDS Musical performance on each individual campus. Following their respective performances, the student’s grand finale was a performance at Segerstrom Center for the Arts as part of the Disney Musicals in “Schools Student Share Celebration.”

This provided an extraordinary opportunity for them to showcase all their great efforts and perform a signature song from their musical in front of students, family members, faculty and associates from Disney.

Disney Musicals in Schools is designed to create sustainable musical theater programs in public elementary schools. School teams are provided with the training and tools necessary to support student productions and empower them to continue this theater tradition in their school for years to come.