THE LAST WORD:

Residents of one Costa Mesa neighborhood got to move to Newport Beach last week, without so much as packing a single box.

The annexation of West Santa Ana Heights became official Jan. 1, though it could take until July if the neighborhood is to get a new ZIP code. Still, the cachet a Newport address carries should take immediate effect.

If you live on property bounded by Mesa Drive to the south, Santa Ana Avenue to the west and the Santa Ana/Delhi Flood Control Channel to the north and east, you can now say you reside in Newport Beach, one of the wealthiest U.S. cities.

You now receive Newport city services such as police, fire, library, parks and recreation, and senior services, though your schools, water and sewer services remain the same.

A word of advice: You might want to check out the street sweeping situation to see whether anything has changed. When East Santa Ana Heights became part of Newport Beach in 2003, residents there found some unexpected tickets on their windshields.

Status isn’t cheap.