NEIGHBORS

Attorney Manuel J. Barba has joined Violet P. Woodhouse, a

professional law corporation in Newport Beach. He will oversee discovery

and trial preparation. ... U.S. Marine Corps Pvt. Justin R. Bravo, son of

Corinne Books of Costa Mesa, recently completed basic training at Marine

Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego. Bravo successfully completed 12 weeks of

training designed to challenge new Marine recruits both physically and

mentally. ... Costa Mesa’s Bill L. Smith has received a doctorate in

philosophy with an emphasis in history from Washington State University.

He plans to teach at Washington State University and the University of

Idaho in the fall. The Costa Mesa High School graduate is the son of

Marguerite and Neal Smith of St. Charles, Ill. ... OCC social psychology

major Sheree King will serve as a student government board member for the

2000-01 academic year. King graduated from Costa Mesa High School and

will transfer to Cal State Long Beach in the fall. ... About 50 women and

children boarded the ship Dream Maker on Sunday to enjoy brunch and

cruise Newport Bay. They are clients of Human Options, Inc., an Orange

County nonprofit organization dedicated to helping battered women, their

families and the community break the cycle of domestic violence. The

event was made possible through the donated services of Adventures at Sea

of Newport Beach and Meyerhof’s Catering. ... The Orange County chapter

of Women in Business recently elected new officers to its board of

directors. The new officers are: president, Linda Kaplan of the Identity

Group; president-elect, Bobbie Cooper of Saint-Gobain Performance

Plastics; vice president of finance, Gail Champion of Champion

Consulting; vice presidents of membership, Norma Cooper of First Team

Realty and Frances Beckman; vice president of marketing, Myra Manahan of

Single Source Marketing; and vice president of programs, Maryann Goodman

of Newport Villas Senior Living. ... Costa Mesa-based Andrew L.

Youngquist added Daniel Westman and Brandon D. Jones to its residential

construction staff. Westman, a 20-year veteran of construction, has been

named residential division manager and will work on a $10-million

assisted living project in Whittier and a 112-unit senior apartment

community near San Diego. Jones will serve as the company’s residential

project manager. His responsibilities include overseeing bids, preparing

contracts and communicating with owners and various agencies. ...

Comerica Bank in Costa Mesa has promoted Fernando Loza and Tobias P.

Halbmaier to corporate banking officers. Loza previously worked as a

credit analyst at the bank’s Irvine office. His new responsibilities will

include underwriting loan requests at the office’s specialty deposits

department. Halbmaier will be in charge of managing a loan portfolio

consisting of middle market companies and oversee loan quality, business

development and client retention. ... Newport Beach’s Sexton Companies,

which leases commercial equipment throughout the county, recently named

Katherine West its director of marketing and customer service for the

leasing of commercial equipment. She has more than 10 years of experience

in administration.

* NEIGHBORS spotlights achievements in the community. Please direct

noteworthy information to Amy Spurgeon via fax at (949) 646-4170, or send

e-mail too7 [email protected] .