East Orange v Orange Park Acres v Villa Park v Anaheim Hills v Cowan Heights Crawford Canyon v Silverado/Modjeska Canyon Areas v North Tustin


A Monthly Community Newspaper Est. 1969 Tuesday, August 4, 2015


Rescued bear cub makes a splash at OC Zoo


By Liz Richell If there is such a thing as a


Photo by Tony Richards


guardian angel, one appeared in Humboldt County last Septem- ber when an injured bear cub was found stumbling along the side of the highway. A concerned driv- er managed to corral the small 25-pound creature and take her to the Humboldt Wildlife Care Center, which in turn transported her to California Fish and Wild- life (CFW). Veterinarians at CFW found head and leg injuries, treat- ed her symptoms and wounds, monitored her progress – which was good – but determined that she could not be returned safely to the wild. A search began to find the cub


a permanent home. Fortunately, Orange County Zoo had plans to add a second bear to its Irvine Park facility. Two adult black bears had called the zoo home for many years, until Nacho died last Valentine’s Day, leaving 16-year- old Yo-Yo as the exhibit’s lone native bear. Introducing wild animals to


As orphaned bear cub rescued by California Fish and Wildlife ex- plores the waterfall in her new home at the OC Zoo.


By Tina Richards A proposed 40-unit housing


each other takes patience. First the new animal must be given time to acclimate to its new sur- roundings. Little Elinor (named by zoo personnel for a character in the Disney movie “Brave”) has been in an enclosure behind the scenes since last October. She gradually became used to keep- ers, veterinarians and good zoo food. She was then moved to the rear enclosure of the main bear exhibit, where, safely separated, she and Yo-Yo have been given


tract slated to be built at the sum- mit of Villareal Drive on the site of the Marywood Catholic School is wending its way through the City of Orange’s approval process and generating mounting alarm among neighbors who believe the project’s impacts on their com- munity are being understated.


By Tina Richards A proposal by OC Parks to in-


stall a Class 1 commuter bike path through the middle of Peters Can- yon Regional Park has spawned dueling internet petitions set up by street riders and park lovers who want the lane there, and street rid- ers and park lovers who don’t. The paved path was introduced


as part of an overall operations and management plan OC Parks is developing to ensure Peters Canyon remains a healthy, natu- ral resource that meets the needs of diverse users. The park, tucked between Cowan Heights, San-


Peters Canyon bikeway supporters and opponents face off via internet petitions See "Marywood"


velopment is well within the site’s current R-l-6 zoning, and meets most of the tenets of the city’s general plan, but is not without is- sues. Marywood neighbors who attended a July Design Review Committee (DRC) hearing ob- jected to forty 3,800 to 4,400-sq.- ft. two-story “McMansions” squeezed onto the 16-acre parcel. Because the scope of the DRC


tiago Hills and Jamboree Road, is a mecca for hikers, joggers, off- road bikers and equestrians. Its popularity threatens the very ele- ments – natural open space, quiet, wildlife – that attracts people to it. Long before Peters Canyon


was a park, it was an isolated catch basin operated by OC Flood Control on property owned by the Irvine Company. In 1981, the county created a master plan of bikeways, and one leg was pen- ciled in through the as-yet-unpop- ulated Peters Canyon corridor. The Irvine Company donated the 350 acres in 1992, and the county incorporated it into the regional


is limited to signage, architectural and landscaping design matters, residents who spoke at the meet- ing focused on lot sizes, 30-foot- tall roof lines, an exclusionary gate and non-conformance with existing single-story ranch homes on large lots. But of more concern to existing Marywood homeown- ers is the development’s impacts on traffic, the loss of the histori- cal school/church buildings, and


continued on page 3


park system. Meanwhile, a coun- ty bike trail extending “from the mountains to the sea” was being pieced together, one segment at a time. The planned portion that bisected what is now parkland re- mained dormant.


When wheels collide When OC parks started work


on the Peters Park operational plan, the public was invited to participate. When stakeholders were shown the proposal to add a 12-foot-wide paved bikeway


See "Peters Canyon" continued on page 9


NEWS INSIDE


time to see each other. Both ur- sines are being closely monitored, in hope that they will eventually be sufficiently confident and com- fortable enough to share quarters. A few weeks prior to her offi-


cial July 25 “introduction” to the public, Elinor was allowed into the exhibit habitat every other day so that she could get used to the screams of excited children, the foot traffic and the sounds of oth- er wildlife in neighboring pens. With regard to the latter, Zoo


Director Donald Zeigler reports that the burros, across the path from the bear exhibit, knew im- mediately that a new animal was among them, and they lined up along the fence to let everyone know, with loud braying and hee-haws. The mountain lions climbed up to the highest point in their own quarters, where they could peer over other exhibits to look at the new creature. Elinor was shy at first, but no longer. By day four of her gradual in-


troduction to the public and the exhibit space, she was running across the grassy expanse, hurling herself into the pool with a huge splash, pawing and chomping at the waterfall, and scrambling up a tree to play with toys. The once- injured animal with a bleak future is growing into a healthy and ob- viously happy bear. The zoo is open daily, 10 a.m.


– 3:30 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. weekends. To find out more about training session times and special programs, visit oc- zoo@ocparks.com or call (714) 973-6847.


Marywood neighbors cite hilltop development’s drawbacks The New Homes Company de-


the unforeseen results of grading, digging and terracing 210,000 cubic yards of hilltop.


Not so solid ground When the Marywood School


was built in the 1960s, a 70-foot- deep canyon was filled in to pro-


Institution seeks pollu-


tion solution A manufacturing plant left a copper-soaked footprint on what is now university prop- erty. See Chapman, page 4


The hills are alive


Residents facing un- wanted gates, grad- ing, digging, dust and 'dozers offer their thoughts on the proposed Marywood project. See Letters, page 7


Still smitten for soda sippin’


New owner of Watsons Drugs promises to preserve its past and boost its presence with a flurry of new flavors. See New Watson’s, page 11


Star-spangled candor


Immigrant educator turns the power of patriotism into nation- ally known perfor- mance art. See Paula, page 12


More buck for the cluck


4-H’ers pluck up the prizes and earn top dollar for their hand- raised farm animals and home-made edibles. See 4-H fares, page 16


INSIDE Canyon Beat


Letters To The Editor Services Directory Prof. Directory Classifieds Real Estate Obituaries Sports


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