• Serving the Newport-Mesa community since 1907 THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2004 , Man accused Art helping to heal of rape freed The D.A. doesn't file day after he went lo court and A student art wa.'> no1 charged by the dblrict show at Newport charges against a a11orney. J,a,t year. between man suspected of J,inuary and September, 2R Harbor High will rape1. were reponed; the dis- sexually assaulting a 1rirt auomey filed t·harge'> in benefit CHOC's Costa Mesa woman. only four Ca'>l''· lwo or Lhe c,,,e., reporll'c..I were un­ cancer center. Deepa Bharath founded, and m a few others. Daily Pilot the vicLiml> tht'm1telves tlid not Marisa O'Neil want to go forward with the Daily Ptlot COSTA MESA - A rc:1pe !>US· pro!>ecution, polire said. pect was released Tu~day after A group or young people Newport Harbor the Orange County di!>trkt at· came back to the victim's home High School senior torney did not file charge!> in a in the 400 block of Fair Drive will celebrate "The complaint filed by a young on rriday mght, Archer <i<iid . Art of Youth" with a woman over the weekend. After a night of drinking and Aart 10 student show on Friday TI1e wom an reponed panying, the \'lCtim went to benefiting a children's cancer Costa Mesa police tha1 !>Ill' was hl'd. he said . center. raped early Saturday morning ... I he Sll!.pcct, who wa<, al the More than 100 paintings. after a party at her home. c.o ... ta p.irty, went into her hcdrnom drawings. sculptures and Me!>a Pohcl' Det Jack Archer a11d <,tan ed 1,.,,.,mg hl'r:· he photograph.c; will be displayed ..aid. ,,ud. ..She re... 1<,ted ii. but at the show organiud by The l> U'>pec1, whom police pJ,..,l'd oul !.hortly afteiwan.J. 17-year-old Matthew arrested 5hortly afler '>he caJlec..I Siem onsma. the police, was relea.,t•d Tues- See RAPE, Pa&e A4 The event is the fir t put on by his nonprofit organization and school club, Community for a Cure. which he formed earlier last year to benefit the CITY HALL cancer center at Oiildren's Hospital of Orange County. "I feel Lhere's not enough commun ity support in this Budget cuts won't area," Matthew said. "People don't think about what's happening outside their own lives." affect park fees Seeing a 5-year-old family friend suffer the effects of A city commission 'P1lke dgai11'1 the propo,ec..1 fee leukemia, Matthew was moved of $20 an hour. wh1d1 He· to help other children with rejects a staff rrt•ation Department \tafl cancer. He decided to use hls recommendation to member!> -.aid would he a passion for art to raise money <,ourcc of revenue for Llw city for ttie cause. charge local leagues witl1 'tate budge1 nili. loommg .-- Newport-Mesa high school to use city fie lds. large. students, and a few from Local spom league!> aJrt•ady elementary schools. entered Deepa Bharath shell out ten ~ of thou'><llld'> ol several works in the show, he Daily Pilot dollar-; to improve amJ t·n · said. As he geared up for the h,mce the fi eld <i thcv u ~e. <;aid show, Matthews house filled COSTA MESA - Ille Parle. Amy 'itephen,. pre!>ident of thl' with small. ceramic dinosaurs. and Recreation Comm1s<,1o n on Cmta l\fe<;a American I ill h· colorful paintings and stacks of KEN T TREPTOWI DAILY PILOT Wedne1,day unanimomly shot l.t•a h'll e. mounted black and white Artist Matthew Siemonsma, 17, sits with some of the works from various artists down city ... taff member-,' sug­ "Our hi~ C!'>t com:ern " that gestion to 1mpoo;e fees on local wl•rc being turned into .1 See ART, Paee A that will appear in the benefit showcase "The Art of Youth" at Newport Harbor High. 4 '>ports team<, and leah'lle'> for '>Ource of revcnut" ·· '>he ~1d using the l lly'!> field' ( .mta M e~a resident John Repre!>enlatives from vanom local sport)> orga1111.11ion ... See PARK, Pa1e A4 Portrait of the artist as a young woman Alexandra Nechita was a said. "You can't do that here. lne FYI professors teach thousands of kjds each Alexandra Nechita will appear at the famous artist when she week. They don't care what you do." Wentworth Gallery at Fashion Island was 10. Now she's 18 and Not the typical day off for a first -year today from 6 to 9 p.m. art major, but there are many acypicaJ enjoying the anonymous things about Nechila. The painter and life of a college student. prodigy has been in the <ipotlight of the been exhibited everywhere from the art world since age I 0. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Jose J . Santos Nechita will be making an Museum to the Vatlcan; and she even Daily Pilot appearance at Lhe Wentworth GaUery m has a performing arts center named Fashion Island today. promoting an after her at her aJma mater, Lutheran n coUege, mjssing class is missing exhibit of her work. High School of Orange County in class, period. Orange. I When UCLA freshman Alexandra THE JOY OF ANONYMITY Right now, though. she is relishing Nech ita needed to skip one of her The daughter of Romanian her anonymity on the big campus. classes recently. the 18-year·old artist immigrants, Nechita burst into the ·A lot of people remember me from knew her professor probably wouldn't national spotlight as a child and when I was JOor 11 years old, so they care whether her alarm clock didn't go attracted enough media attention to be can 't put a face to my name now." off or her calendar was booked with a labeled "the petite Picasso." Nechila said. "It's so much be1ter this speaking engagem en t. An absence was She has appeared on talk shows and way. I can walk into class like any other sliJJ an absence. is coUected by such HoUywood art student. That's exactly what I "You can't just say that you're going to luminaries as Whoopi Goldberg. David When she paints, Alexandra Nechita says, she is "immune to anything outside Te nnessee to give a lecture." Nechjta Letterman and Oprah Winfrey; she has See PORTRAIT, Paie A4 the work." The 18-year-old will be at the Wentworth Gallery this evening. THE BELL CURVE Daily Pilot Speakers can have 5 c Hearing just a shout offrustration AT A GLANCE minutes, but at the end o I watched Howard Dean's the circumstances - thl.'n shrugged ON THE WEB: concession performance after It off. City Council doesn't unanimously rejected the idea of the Iowa caucus. Not the sound It wasn't until the next day that 1 www.datWlot.com limiting 10 three minutes the bytes repealed endlessly afterward. was told by the media sound bytes, shave residents' time time members of lhe public can I'm tallclng about the whole Lhln g, lhe talk show hosts, the stand-up WEATHER to speak on consent speak about Items pulled off the beginning to end. The setting. The comedians and some fevered It should be mostly sunny consent calendar. nature of the audlence. The calendar items to editorials that Dean's performance with light winds. Expect "Three minutes is not ad­ emotional environment. The was a sure sign or an unstable highs from 63 to 69 today. three minutes each. equate.· council regular Dolores obvioU3 frustration. lndMdual and probably S..pa1eA2. Otting said. "This sends the Dean had just been pushed Into dJsqualified him as a serious June Caaa1r1nd• wrong message to the city of third place in a popularity contest presidential candidate. All this Daily Pilot Newport Beach , and the mes­ that he had been beavtly favored to JOSEPH rhetoric clearly hurt Dean in New SPORTS sage is that you don't want to win a rew days earlier. This jolt N. BELL Hampshire last Tuesday. He was Costa Mua's glr1a water NEWPORT BEACH - People hear from us. You just want to came alter two weeks of relenUess supposed to win that one, too. polo teem knodced off who want to calk to the City rubber stamp things." acrimonious attacks on him from every So as the primary circus moves on to Ettancta, 17-2. to stay Council about consent calendar Though just two weeks before. position on the political spectrum. And ao in South Carolina. l'd like to tip a glass In Dean' unbeaten In league. Items can still talk for five min­ Mayor Tod RJdgeway and others that overheated atmosphere, he hollered and dtrecdon. The verdict or the voters in the SM past Bl utes. but they'll have to wait e lot had favored the Idea of horten· p\lllched hi.a Ost ln the air and pointed his longer to do so. finger. I was britOy startled until I considered S.. CURVE, Paa• M The City Council on Tuesday See SPEAKERS, P11e AS ( 1 • POLITICS THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE POLITICS ASIDE It feels good to return money n seeking to candidates are digest the saying. it's pretty I news rhis week unconvincing to that two argue that having candidates in the more than crowded $100,000 Republican effectively primary for the removed from 10th District their coffers won't Assembly seat hurt Cristich and may have to DeVore (ansi return loans in S.J.