The
Current
NEWPORT BEACH & COSTA MESA’S DAILY NEWSPAPER
AN EDITION OF
THURSDAY, OCT. 1 0, 20 1 3
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OCREGISTER.COM/CURRENT
Alaska is the last frontier. It is the wildest place. There is no road to Nome. It is the most wild place you can ever be.” TORI HARTLING YOUNGEST DAUGHTER OF SARAJANE BARTHOLOMAE
FAMILY STRIKES
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“Alaska Gold Diggers” follows five Newport women as they take on the elements to reclaim a family fortune. BY AARON ORLOWSKI ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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t’s a match made in reality TV heaven: five Newport Beach women, two Alaska gold mines and a single-minded desire to honor the legacy of the grandfather who had set off for the Alaskan bush in search of fame and fortune. And, it’s the basic premise of the Animal Planet docudrama “Alaska Gold Diggers” premiering at 8 tonight. When Sarajane Bartholomae – the matriarch of the Bartholomae clan – heard that people were mining on the old family gold mines that her father acquired in the late 1 930s – before he was brutally killed when she was a young child – she knew she needed to head back up to Alaska to reclaim the mines in Nome and Fairbanks. She roped in her youngest daughter, Tori Hartling, 37, who suggested bringing her three sisters Kamme, Korre and Krista, all adult Newport women. Their father’s last name was Hartling. “Having my sister posse roll in with me was the best idea we could have ever come up with. It’s power in numbers,” Tori said COURTESY OF ANIMAL PLANET
The Bartholomae women of Newport Beach pan a river for gold near Nome, Alaska, as part of a six-week quest to reclaim the gold mine once owned by their grandfather.
SEE GOLD • PAGE 4
Marching band to stand tall at game Newport moves to shield itself Influx of donations helps Costa Mesa band – recovering from theft of its funds – purchase new hats in time for rival match. Students in Costa Mesa High School’s marching band will have an extra spring in their steps at Friday’s big game after raising enough money to buy new hats. For years, the band had LAUREN been putting STEUSSY money aside to REGISTER replace the WRITER hats, most of which were broken or worn after 15 years of use. Their efforts were stymied last year though, when their booster club’s for-
Marching band members Kyana Truong, Ashley Beal, Abby To and Olivia LeValley try on the new hats bought with booster club funds. COURTESY OF MARIEL LEVALLEY
mer president Jennifer Borders-Piatti was arrested in connection with the theft of more than $50,000 from the organization’s account. Borders-Piatti pleaded
guilty last month to taking the booster money and was sentenced to one year in jail and three years of probation. S E E B A N D ● PA G E 4
from future Brown Act lawsuit Using good-government law, council members acknowledge complaints but admit no liability. In what looks to be a countywide first, Newport Beach exercised new provisions of a state open-meetings law meant to empower citizen-watchdogs, head off lawsuits and hold officials accountable for past violations. NICOLE Without admitSHINE ting liability, the City REGISTER Council voted TuesWRITER day night to “immunize” itself from a possible lawsuit stemming from allegations of Brown Act violations by
making a written pledge not to repeat the actions. The issue cropped up after resident Jim Mosher sent two cease-anddesist letters last month with a series of allegations. Among these, he said a council member took credit for negotiating a closed-door agreement with city trash haulers. He also said officials failed to provide clear notice about matters discussed at closed-door meetings. City Attorney Aaron Harp said there’s no merit in the allegations, S E E C O U N C I L ● PA G E 3
INSIDE TODAY’S CURRENT THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY
BOARDS NO MORE
Citibank is robbed in Costa Mesa; police are still searching for the suspect. SEE STORY ON PAGE 6
Broken surfboards granted new lives as art pieces will be on display soon. SEE STORY ON PAGE 1 0 COURTESY OF MARIO GUERRERO
PARENTS STEP UP Couple shares their experience raising an autistic child. SEE STORY ON PAGE 1 3
PAUL BERSEBACH, THE REGISTER