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BREAKING NEW GROUND
BUZZ

BREAKING NEW GROUND

A groundbreaking ceremony earlier this year for Witte Hall , which will be built next to the Central Library for lectures , film screenings and other cultural presentations
Earlier this year , the Newport Beach Public Library Foundation and the city of Newport Beach broke ground on Witte Hall , a state-of-the-art cultural space that will be built adjacent to the Central Library at 1000 Avocado Ave . The $ 23.7 million project is coming to fruition after a decade of planning and will accommodate 299 guests inside the hall ’ s nearly 10,000 square feet for lectures , film screenings and more . In addition to the lead gift from William Witte and Keiko Sakamoto , a major contribution from Elizabeth Stahr , founder of the Library Foundation , will go toward expansion of the newly christened Stahr Courtyard . The Witte Hall groundbreaking is the catalyst for the second phase of the Beyond Books capital campaign for Witte Hall , which is focused on raising an additional $ 4 million from the community . Major donors , giving $ 25,000 or more , will have their names added to the donor wall in the Louise and Roy Woolsey Memorial Lobby . ( 949-717-3892 ; nbplf . foundation ) — C . B .
Fairuz Schlecht was honored for saving children from a fire .

HONORING HEROES

Newport Beach resident Fairuz Schlecht was among 10 locals recently honored by the American Red Cross of Orange County for outstanding acts of heroism . When Schlecht and her family went to bed on Dec . 20 , 2022 , they did not expect to hear the sounds of smoke alarms waking them up in the middle of the night . Luckily , the entire family evacuated the apartment building safely . However , when Schlecht saw three children screaming from a smoke-filled , secondfloor bedroom window nearby , she bravely ran back into the burning building to save them . Schlecht , crawling on her hands and knees , found the children and brought all three out to safety , where they were reunited with their parents . Schlecht was recognized for her courage at the 2024 Orange County Heroes Awards on May 10 at the City National Grove of Anaheim . ( 714-481-5300 ; redcross . org ) — C . B .

GOING GREEN

To help retrofit vessels to comply with zero-emissions standards , the California Air Resources Board awarded a $ 7.9 million grant to the operator of the Balboa Island Ferry in March . The funds will be used to convert the three existing ferries from running on diesel fuel to electric engines . The ferries , which are operated by the Beek family , have been in service for more than a century . According to Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley , the service reduces vehicle traffic annually by 4.2 million miles and has worked with the Beek family to find funding to keep the vessels in operation . In 2022 , CARB amended its existing regulations for commercial harbor crafts to ensure a reduction in environmentally harmful emissions . ( balboaislandferry . com ) — C . B .
TOP : NICHOLAS KOON ; BOTTOM : COURTESY OF AMERICAN RED CROSS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
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