"BUILDING ON CREATIVITY" 17 January 1998 "EDUCATION: Orange County High School of the Arts moves closer to having its own home." "O.C. has day of prayers, praise for Mother Teresa" 14 September 1997 "MOURNING: Catholics honor `living saint' at local Masses and memorial services." This was my first Front Page story in the Register. Historic Downtown Fullerton: a walking tour accenting architecture and style. This was the cover story and double-truck centerfold Excursion feature in the Nov. 15, 1997 edition of the Register magazine The Orange County Fair, Costa Mesa California, July 1997 Some of my work as part of the team that worked at a live, working (and very loud) newsroom the paper set up in one of the fair's public exhibit buildings. Instead of covering the fair, we covered "Orange County at the fair," especially the people who were there. John Weaver is in pain every waking moment. We found him at the fair rolling through life with bright American flags on his wheelchair. I told his story on 21 July 1997. "Colorful heads cap the fair's Miranda rites" 24 July 1997 "Crummel Facing Eviction Notice" 17 May 1997 "COMMUNITY: The condo owner says she didn't know about his past." This was my first Register Metro cover story, and my first with my own byline. I worked on this story, and a number of others, as part of the team that covered Orange County's third "Megan's Law" outing of a sex criminal by police. Stories from my beat Some of my work covering the communities of Seal Beach, Los Alamitos and Rossmoor, my permanent beat assignment at the Register. Seal Beach and Los Alamitos are among Orange County's 31 incorporated cities. Rossmoor is an unicorporated enclave governed by the county, nestled among the two and Los Angeles County's Long Beach. 10 Los Alamitos cheerleaders booted for stealing souvenirs - 30 March 1998 "SCHOOLS: Members of the nationally honored team fess up to shoplifting and are removed from the squad." "Seal Beach recall bid forces election" - 30 October 1997 "GOVERNMENT: Opponents say Patricia Campbell favors commercial development in north Seal Beach. " "Council OKs Hellman Ranch project" - 22 October 1997 "CITIES: The development is approved after 18 years of debate." The Kim Lockley Case While I was new on my beat and developing my sources, I rediscovered a lawsuit by a former Seal Beach police officer fired in 1988 after it had gone for two years or so without being covered in the Register. I researched his case in old stories, court documents and by combing through parts of a 760-plus page appeal filed by the city in the 4th District California Court of Appeal in Santa Ana. City officials refuse all comment in the case, and refuse to disclose public records in violation of the California Public Records Act). Lockley's case is in its fourth appeal by the city, awaiting action by the state's Supreme Court. "Order to reinstate, reimburse ex-Seal Beach officer stands" - 18 July 1997 "Ex-officer wins round against Seal Beach" - 30 September 1997 "CITIES: Kim Lockley has been battling for back pay and reinstatement since he was fired 9 years ago." "77-year-old robber: `I wasn't thinking' " - 20 August 1997 "CRIME: Ray Boeger says beer and bitter discussion about financial woes `triggered something in me.'" "Complaint targets Seal Beach council" - 13 August 1997 "GOVERNMENT: An attorney says the closed sessions on the Old Ranch deal violated the Brown Act." (California's open-meetings law) "Republic buying Briggeman Disposal Inc." - 2 August 1997 "MERGERS: The $16.5 million deal for Los Alamitos-based Briggeman requires councils' OK." (This appeared in the Business section. The company subject in the story was family owned for 40 years, and served almost all of west Orange County. It was bought by a national firm that already controlled almost all trash pickup in north Orange County.) "ADOPT US, NEIGHBORHOOD SAYS" - 23 July 1997 "GOVERNMENT: Island Village would switch allegiance from Long Beach to Seal Beach." This was a Metro cover News Focus on a community's efforts to secede from Los Angeles County and join Orange County. "To some, O.C. looks like the Promised Land" - 24 July 1997 Read what Metro columnist Gordon Dillow had to say in follow-up the day after my Island Village story ran. My clips from other publications "COSTA MESA (CA) GETS GRANT FOR EQUIPMENT" This was an unexpected one I found during a recent search engine inquiry with my byline. I actually wrote it for the Register, but the picked it up. "Magnetically Attracting Visitors" - February 1997 Published in , this was among the freelance work I did from May 1996-May 1997. "Cigar Connoisseurs Gather to Enjoy Friends, Good Life 3 April 1994 An abridged version of a story package I did as a reporter at the Ontario, Calif. Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. The Long Beach, Calif. picked it up off the wire. In case you already haven't, check out my resume.