“I kind of laughed at it at...

“I kind of laughed at it at first. It’s asinine. It’s childish. In

fact, it could be kids who did it. Then I started to think it’s

really repulsive.”

-- Jim Carmack, a Cliff Haven resident who is among those opposed

to expansion plans by St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, on the

Easter-weekend disappearance of neighborhood signs announcing that

opposition.

“It’s going to take days; let’s put it that way.”

-- John Palomares, who was supervising the repair site on Newport

Coast Drive where a water pipe had broken, opening a hole in the

road.

“We did a vote before March 8, but it was like a straw poll to see

the Action Committee’s position.”

“At the time, we weren’t really well informed, and we see

ourselves as a moderator between the church and the community.”

-- Harrison Brown, a member of Newport Harbor High School’s

Student Political Action Committee, on the controversial St. Andrew’s

expansion and parking plan, following the committee’s meeting on the

issue.

“That brought some animosity toward me at that time, but you know,

as always, we worked things out, and we didn’t lay anyone off, and we

looked after the employees.”

-- Dave Niederhaus, who announced last month that he is retiring

as Newport Beach general services director, on issues -- including

contracting out the city tree trimming and park landscaping -- that

earned him criticism during his 18 years with the city.

“If it is an unconstitutional body, it’s on one hand hard to

justify sticking to those old decisions. But anybody thinking the

court wants to open up 29 years of old actions doesn’t know the court

very well.... It just doesn’t want to rock the boat that much.”

-- James Burling, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation,

on a Newport Beach case going to the state Supreme Court that

challenges the constitutionality of the California Coastal

Commission.