Paul ClintonSupervisor Jim Silva and Assemblyman Ken...

Paul Clinton

Supervisor Jim Silva and Assemblyman Ken Maddox have teamed up to

honor U.S. military men and women serving in Iraq.

Silva and Maddox on April 10 said they would create a Wall of

Heroes in the county’s Hall of Administration in Santa Ana.

Families of military members are asked to submit a 5-by-7-inch

photo for the wall, which will stay up only on a temporary basis.

“This Wall of Heroes will help us put a face to the names of the

many brave troops fighting for freedom,” Silva said. “It is an honor

to know that so many local Orange County residents are currently

serving our country.”

Jose Garibay, the first Orange County casualty in Iraq and a

one-time Costa Mesa resident, will be honored on the wall.

Photos should be sent to the Orange County Veterans Service Office

at 1300 S. Grand Ave., Building B, Santa Ana, CA, 92705.

Maddox, who represents Costa Mesa, served in the Army National

Guard from 1981-89, receiving a commission as a second lieutenant in

1984. In October 2002, Maddox reenlisted. He is assigned to the

Headquarters Company, 40th Infantry Division.

Silva’s two children and son-in-law are now on active duty with

the Air Force.

READY TO TEA OFF

FOR ASSEMBLY SEAT

Assembly candidate Marianne Zippi sipped tea this week with a

group of Republican ladies who have endorsed her higher office.

Zippi is running for the 70th Assembly District seat to replace

outgoing John Campbell, who is seeking a state Senate seat.

Cristi Cristich, an Anaheim businesswoman and Corona del Mar

resident; Don Wagner, an Irvine businessman; and Chuck DeVore, an

Irvine City Council candidate, are also running for the seat.

Zippi headed out for a noontime “high tea” on the Royal Princess

Yacht on Newport Harbor on Wednesday. Zippi spoke at the monthly

meeting of the 223-member Balboa Bay Republican Women Federated,

which is endorsing her.

“She has a lot of integrity,” said Judy Dobson, the group’s

president. “She loves Newport Beach. She would do a good job.”

The event also doubled as a fund-raiser to generate funds for the

group’s student-scholarship program.

In other news from this race, Zippi has pinned down the

endorsement of former Assemblyman Gil Ferguson. In an April 10

statement, Ferguson endorsed Zippi.

“The district is one of the most Republican in America and it

deserves someone who strongly reflects our values and will not be

reticent to speak out in support of those values,” Ferguson said. “In

Zippi, we have a stand-up representative.”

Ferguson held the 70th Assembly seat for five terms, from 1984 to

1994. Marilyn Brewer held the seat until 2000, when Campbell won it.

GET YOUR PIECE OF EL TORO

Now that the political battles over how to use the El Toro Marine

Corps Air Station have ended, the developers have entered the fray to

collect the spoils.

Rep. Chris Cox and the Navy are hosting an informational meeting

April 28 for developers who hope to purchase one of the four parcels

of the land for condominiums or office development.

The Navy sliced up 3,500 acres of the property, as a first step in

auctioning it off to the highest bidder during an online EBay-style

auction later this year.

Colliers Seeley International, a marketing agent for the Navy, is

hosting the event.

Cox is scheduled to give a one-hour presentation at 10 a.m. The

congressman was the first to suggest the idea of the auction in the

mid-1990s when the base closed.

Others scheduled to speak are Wayne Arny, the principal deputy

assistant secretary of the Navy; Peter Stamison, the regional

administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration; and

members of Colliers Seeley.

Irvine officials will also speak. Orange County has given the city

the green light to annex the base.