“I’ve seen my child turn blue, with...

“I’ve seen my child turn blue, with her eyes rolling to the back of

her head. Leilani has a difficult time communicating when she’s in

any respiratory distress. You really have to know Leilani and know

what she’s needing at that time. That’s my daughter’s life in someone

else’s hands.”

-- June Gutierrez, speaking about her daughter, who has been in a

wheelchair since a May 2002 car accident. The Gutierrez family is

battling with the Newport-Mesa Unified School District over which

nurse will care for Leilani while she is on campus.

“We always make provisions for Leilani in the classroom to make

sure she’s getting the services other students are getting. We’re

working hard with the family and district and providers to do what’s

best for her.”

-- Kurt Suhr, the principal of Newport Heights, saying his school

has gone out of its way to accommodate Leilani Gutierrez’s condition.

“Basically, it’s an unfortunate set of circumstances. It was a

miscommunication between family members as far as who was watching

him.”

-- Bill Hartford, Newport Beach Police sergeant, on Tuesday’s

drowning death of a 3-year-old boy in a Newport condominium complex’s

spa.

“It shows people that there’s a link between clean water and

medical costs.”

-- Dave Kiff, assistant city manager for Newport Beach, on a study

that suggests that illnesses caused by pollution along Newport Beach

and Huntington Beach beaches cost as much as $3.3 million per year in

medical expenses.

“I really did not realize there was such a shortage of nurses. I

was absolutely shocked when I found out they couldn’t get in the

schools and that there’s such a waiting list to get in to the

community colleges.”

-- Marion Knott, a member of the family that founded Knott’s Berry

Farm, on giving $700,000 to Hoag Hospital.