The AN EDITION OF
Current
NEWPORT BEACH & COSTA MESA’S DAILY NEWSPAPER WEDNESDAY, OCT. 9, 20 1 3
OCREGISTER.COM/CURRENT
BACK TO SCHOOL
Four years after graduating from Costa Mesa High, Mike Molina will coach the team he played for as a teenager and may understand better than anyone else. BY BRANTLEY WATSON ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
M
ike Molina would argue that it’s all a matter of proximity. “Yeah, I think so,” said Molina when asked if he’s taller than any of his players. “I think from a distance, you can’t really see it. It’s always funny when we walk in a gym, they don’t know if I’m a player or coach.” Molina is the interim coach for the Costa Mesa Mustangs basketball team. He’s a demonstrative teacher. He spends a portion of practice with the ball in his hands, barking instructions as he whizzes around the court, exhibiting the proper way to perform drills. His speed and ball-handling are seldom matched by any of his young troupe. What is nearly matched is his age. Molina is 22, only four years removed from high school, where he played for the Mustangs from S E E M O L I N A ● PA G E 8
PHOTOS: DARNELL RENEE, FOR THE REGISTER
At only 22, Mike Molina is the new coach of the Costa Mesa boys basketball team. He replaces Dan Krikorian, who left after one season for a position at Chapman University.
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We’re going to get through this season and sit down to see which direction we want to go, but continuity is really important to us here. Mikey allows us to do that.” JIM KIEFER C O S TA M E S A H I G H AT H L E T I C D I R E C T O R
Mike Molina, right, gets his high school basketball players revved up just before a practice.
Swimming jeep conquers land, lakes Archaeological survey of Fairview Park underway
BY SUSAN HOFFMAN FOR THE REGISTER
Michael Donovan makes sure he arrives at Rose Bakery Cafe before 9 a.m. on Sunday mornings so he can snag a prime parking space near the window, all the better to keep an eye on his car. It seems Donovan has no way of locking his rare 1943 World War II military amphibious jeep, known as a GPA for “Government standard wheelbase of 80-inch Amphibian” – which, incidentally, is a Ford. “This vehicle was used during World War II in amphibious landings and field services in Europe and the Pacific,” said Donovan,
Michael Donovan and son Sean roll seamlessly out of the water onto shore at Irvine Lake in June 20 1 1.
COURTESY OF KARL DONOVAN
58, of Newport Beach. The vehicle, also known as a seagoing jeep, was designed to bring personnel to shore from Allied landings and to easily ford rivers and lakes prevalent in parts of Europe. Donovan said it has become a
conversation piece at the cafe, and wherever he goes people are always asking if it can swim and how old it is. He described how a Rose customer came up to him saying, “I never expected to see S E E J E E P ● PA G E 4
Firm begins work to determine boundaries of 9,000-year-old Native American site. BY SONALI KOHLI ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Archaeologists have reached out to Native American representatives and are taking steps to measure the boundaries of a 9,000-year-old archaeological site in Fairview Park, before Costa Mesa continues with plans to build near the former Native American village. The city hired Scientific Resource Surveys Inc., after the Cal-
ifornia Office of Historic Preservation sent a letter expressing concerns about proposed plans for at least one turnaround at the end of Pacific Avenue, as well as a second turnaround or parking area and trail improvements in the park. The letter also points out that the city did not consult with Native American descendants about S E E FA I RV I E W ● PA G E 4
INSIDE TODAY’S CURRENT SOCIALIZING FOR A CAUSE
BLESSINGS FOR ALL
Ducks players mingle with fans at Costa Mesa benefit in support of the fight against Duchenne muscular dystrophy. SEE STORY ON PAGE 6
Local four-legged friends receive weekend blessings during Harbor Christian Church’s Blessing of the Animals in Newport Beach. SEE STORY ON PAGE 7 JOSHUA SUDOCK, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
CHRISTINE COTTER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER