With the arrival of the Asian tiger mosquito or Aedes species in the county, the Orange County Vector Control District has issued an alert and is urging residents to protect themselves and their families from mosquito bites. Aside from being itchy and annoying, the bite of an infected female tiger mosquito can spread dengue, chikungunya, or Zika virus.

The district advises residents to use mosquito repellent and mosquito-proof homes by dumping standing water both inside and outside, discarding water-holding containers not being used, and making sure all window and door screens are in good repair.

Click here for more information, including an interactive map to locate infested areas. Also, literature about this health advisory is available at City Hall.

Costa Mesa Mayor Steve Mensinger, Mayor Pro-Tem Jim Righeimer and Council Member Gary Monahan are partnering with churches and local groups to help revive local neighborhoods throughout the city at the upcoming Neighbors Helping Neighbors event on Saturday April 23, 2016.

Volunteers have identified a number of properties in need of repair and and have begun the prep work for painting. But organizers are looking for at least one more property to help revive.

Also, more funding and additional volunteers are needed. If you know of a property in need of TLC or would like to help out out just email cm.cool@costamesaca.gov or call 714-754-5156.

Students at Mariners Christian School in Costa Mesa joined millions of their peers across the country to celebrate the 16th annual National Education Association’s (NEA) Read Across America Day on Wednesday, March 2, 2016.

NEA’s Read Across America Day, which celebrates Dr. Seuss’s birthday and the joys of reading, typically attracts more than 45 million readers, both young and old, to pick up a book and read.

To celebrate the fun and value of reading, MCS teachers in grades TK-5th organized a lineup of guest readers throughout the day to inspire students.

Teachers, administrators, office workers, specialists, and even the school nurse brought in their favorite books to share with children.

Elementary students participated in a Power Reading Hour with Character Dress.

Dressed as their favorite fiction or non-fiction character, they will spend dedicated time reading in a relaxed environment with pillows, blankets, or their favorite reading friend.

Several classes joined Discovery for Education and FableVision for an online livestream read aloud of the book Going Places from award-winning authors and illustrators Peter H. and Paul A. Reynolds.

This year in concert with Read Across America Day, MCS launched several school-wide initiatives to expand its literacy programs, including the formal adoption of a new Balanced Literacy program based on The Units of Study in Reading.

This program is designed by internationally recognized literacy expert Lucy Calkins and her colleagues at The Teachers College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP).

Additionally, MCS held a massive used book drive and also solicited monetary donations earlier this year to establish robust classroom libraries in each grade.

For more information NEA’s Read Across America, visit www.nea.org/readacross 

Costa Mesa High School leaders each month produce the Mesa Minute, a newsletter chock full of news, announcements and events related to Costa Mesa High School.

To read the Mesa Minute click here.

City planners are unveiling the draft General Plan and draft General Plan EIR today, which required an enormous amount of work effort that required technical acumen at the highest level from a wide range of disciplines, as well as exceptional writing and time management skills.

Producing quality documents was made possible by a dynamic team comprised of city planners, planning consultants, attorneys, engineers, and GIS/graphic specialists (and more).  While planning staff anticipates many comments on these drafts as this work effort continues, it expresses  appreciation for all the professional excellence and dedication to this project up to this critical milestone.

Click here to see an infographic that details how the city has gotten to this point.

As part of its 2015-2016 Family Series, the Segerstrom Center for the Arts is presenting a series of sensory-friendly performances with the hope that everyone in the community will have the opportunity to experience the joy of attending a live performance.

Showing in the month of March are “Big Bad Wolf” and “Egg,” both performances specially designed for sensory sensitivity.

These shows are designed specifically for patrons on the autism spectrum, and others with sensory sensitivity, to enjoy with their families; this is the perfect opportunity to introduce young children to live theater.

Sensory-friendly precautions are taken to help patrons enjoy their theater experience:

In advance of each performance, families will receive a social story—a visual introduction for the child of everything he or she will encounter so nothing is a surprise. From a picture of the parking areas to ticket takers and the inside of the theater, everything will look familiar when they arrive.

They will also receive information about the show itself so they know what to expect from the performance.

Various components are highly considered and alterations are made in areas such as: lighting, sound, seat configuration, staff training and being relaxed when it comes to movement and speaking during a performance.

For more information about the Center’s sensory-friendly performances, visit their website at www.SCFTA.org/sensoryfriendly, or email Access@SCFTA.org.

The Orange County Transportation Authority has been engaged in an outreach effort for the 2016 Draft Bus Service Plan (Plan) that can have an effect on Costa Mesa ridership.

In an effort to respond to feedback, OCTA staff has formulated a Revised Plan, which included eliminated some routes, eliminating Saturday service only and implementing new routes.

The plan was presented and approved by the Transit Committee on Feb. 11, 2016 and presented to the full OCTA Board of Directors and approved on Feb. 22, 2016 at OCTA Headquarters in Orange.

The changes will take place over the course of 2016.

Click here for details on the revised plan. Residents who have specific questions about the Revised Plan, or need clarification can contact Andrea West in Government Relations. She can be reached at (714) 560-5611 or awest@octa.net.

Last year provided many milestones and successes for the city. City department heads compiled a list of the major goals achieved throughout 2015. The CEO department staff created an infographic chart to highlight those achievements. Click here to see the chart.

Longtime Costa Mesa resident Gordon Bowley was presented the Mayor’s Award on Tuesday March 1 as a way to honor and thank him for his years of service to the community, especially in the areas of youth and high school sports.

Bowley has been actively involved in a number of different community groups and organizations, including the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce, the Hoag Hospital Foundation, St. Andrews Church and the YMCA to name a few.

But it has been his work with Costa Mesa United and the Costa Mesa Youth Sports Council where his impact has been felt the most, Mayor Steve Mensinger said as he presented Bowley with the award, which included a key to the city.

Bowley served as both the president of Costa Mesa United and as Chairman of the Youth Sports Council, and he has been an instrumental figure in the growth and success of the Mesa Verde Classic Golf Tournament, which is the largest fund raising event for youth sports in Costa Mesa. This year’s event raised more than $90,000.

“For your years of service to this community, and your outstanding leadership, it is my honor and privilege to present you with the Mayor’s Award,” Mensinger said.

Every school day at Adams Elementary is filled with services to help students learn and grow.

This year thanks to the extraordinary coordination efforts of school community facilitators, Adams has added another service for its school community to expand its wrap around services.

The Second Harvest food bank is a monthly program where families come to the school and participate in a farmers’ market style food pantry.

There is no cost for the program, and families leave with more fresh fruits and vegetables than they can carry.

Additionally, representatives from The California Champions for Change provide families with healthy recipes and training on reading nutrition facts on food labels.

Each month, the food bank becomes a gathering place for families to meet each other, connect with their children’s school and develop healthy habits that will last them a lifetime.

The food bank is run by volunteers from within the Second Harvest organization and parents from Adams Elementary School.

To find out more about Second Harvest at Adams, please contact Ilse Taborga in the Adams front office.

January was a month of achievement and celebration for the Costa Mesa Police Department with several new hires and promotions.

In addition to four new officers joining the department, on Jan. 21 the CMPD welcomed home Park Ranger Lorna Lyttle who had been deployed to Bagram, Afghanistan as a member of the U.S. Army Reserves.

Lyttle joined the CMPD Feb. 19, 2006 and worked for the department as a park ranger for four years before her decision to enlist with the U.S. Army Reserve. Her service in the Army Reserves began on May 17, 2010 and she was deployed to Bagram Afghanistan in April of 2014.

“You don’t feel the full affect until you land and realize where you are,” she said.

Lyttle spent a year as a convoy escort protecting and assisting with the move of fuel and U.S. military equipment between bases.

Lyttle is glad to be back, “It was an experience that I will never forget and now that I am home, I am just trying to get back to the daily grind and back to living life as I knew it before I left with a whole lot more gratitude for being a US Citizen.”

When she is not working Lyttle enjoys spending time with her family, relaxing and going for a good drive.

Lyttle’s long term goal is to further her education and promote through the army ranks. She currently holds a sergeant title and hopes to attain rank of an officer.

In the meantime, she is happy to be home and back with the CMPD; her other family.

“They are my other family, you see them every day and spent a lot of time together,” she said.

At the February Meet and Greet last Thursday Feb. 25, City CEO Tom Hatch presented Deputy City Clerk Jessica Mejia with the CEO Leadership Award.

“The City Clerk’s Office is right on the front lines of City Hall,” Hatch said. “We have a great team in that office who help the public with all their requests on a daily basis and Jessica is a big part of that team.”

Mejia has been with the City of Costa Mesa for a year and a half. Prior to coming to Costa Mesa she worked for the cities of San Dimas and Monterey Park.

She graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a Bachelor’s Degree in English. When she’s not helping manage the City Clerk’s office and marathon council meetings, she is running marathons.

She is an avid runner and over the last two years she has run 28 half marathons, and two full marathons, the L.A. Marathon and the San Francisco Marathon.

Mejia has been very helpful assisting all the new Committee and Commission secretaries on how to prepare agendas, comply with legal requirements and run the meetings.

She serves as a positive role model as she provides guidance, leadership and assistance to the secretaries.

In addition to Mejia, the city paid tribute to 10 newly hired employees as well as 11 who received recent promotions.