The AN EDITION OF
Current
NEWPORT BEACH & COSTA MESA’S DAILY NEWSPAPER THURSDAY, OCT. 31, 20 1 3
OCREGISTER.COM/CURRENT
NEWPORT GHOSTS Do famous residents still haunt their favorite places?
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ocal legend has it that the Duke is still around. Movie star and Newport Beach resident John Wayne died in 1979. But there have been reports of “sightings” through the years of the Duke’s spirit walking around his yacht, the Wild MORE Goose, which is still anchored in NewINSIDE Corona del port Harbor. Mar’s spook“He’s still there,” said Michael Kouri, a self-pro- iest homes, fessed psychic medium from Pasade- and what kids fear most. na. “I’ve seen him.” PAGES 7 & 8 Kouri claims he can communicate with “those now living in the afterlife,” an attribute he says he received after being hit by a car at the age JOSEPH PIMENTEL of 8. REGISTER WRITER Since then, Kouri, who is in his 40s, has cultivated his “psychic gifts” into a career. He’s written several books, appeared on daytime television shows and hosts ghost S E E G H O S T S ● PA G E 6
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I can remember him wearing khaki pants, a white shirt with a pocket and a sea captain hat, holding a drink. He said, ‘What are you doing in my room?’ before he dematerialized.” MICHAEL KOURI
John Wayne
SELF-PROFESSED PSYCHIC M E D I U M F R O M PA S A D E N A
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COURTESY OF DON DENNIS
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: MICHELLE WIEBACH, THE REGISTER
Upswing predicted Forecasters at Newport Beach event say economic recovery expected in 2014. The economy is recovering, stock prices are on the rise, and the holiday shopping season looks rosy. Those were the highlights of the 2014 Economic Forecast delivered Wednesday morning at the Newport Beach Marriott. Now in its third year, the event was organized by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce and moderated by Newport Harbor Commissioner and NICOLE City Council candidate Joe SHINE REGISTER Stapleton. WRITER A crowd of more than 300 came to hear an expert panel predict growth next year of roughly 2.5 percent and stock gains of up to 8 percent for investments in U.S. and emerging markets. In Newport Beach, home prices are up 13 percent compared to this time last year. “This is a rally that has legs and is real,” said David Young, founder of Anfield Group, a S E E E C O N O M Y ● PA G E 4
Madame Helena Modjeska
INSIDE TODAY’S CURRENT PROTESTERS GATHER Opponents of illegal immigration rally at Assemblyman Allan Mansoor’s office. SEE STORY ON PAGE 3
Drug-sniffing dogs come up mostly clean at schools Twenty incidents are reported at six local schools, but report shows it was mostly drug residue found. BY RYAH COOOLEY AND LAUREN STEUSSY ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
ANGELA PIAZZA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
KEEPING THE FAITH
COMING FRIDAY
Big performance from Estancia’s third-string running back keeps playoff hopes alive. SEE STORY ON PAGE 1 8
A closer look at how Newport-Mesa’s school board works.
Dogs patrolling NewportMesa schools for drugs and gun powder were able to sniff out contraband that had previously been in students’ backpacks but they came up short on the hard stuff, according a report from the K9 drug detection company recently hired by the school district. Interquest Detection Canines, a company hired by the district in September, brought golden retrievers or Labradors to find any illicit items such as marijuana or gun powder during random
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The kids are really getting the message – if you’re gonna do it, don’t do it here.” JANE GARLAND DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY SERVICES FOR THE DISTRICT
searches at the district’s middle schools and high schools. The district hired the company as a way of preventing students from bringing illicit items to school, since many students won’t bring the drugs if they S E E S E A R C H ● PA G E 4