Spinal surgery need no longer inhibit Orange County residents' active lifestyles with the arrival of minimally invasive surgery options, say the directors of a multiple-service care facility opening next month in Newport Beach. "People used to think of spine surgery as a final death blow to their activity level," said Dr.

The newly renovated and expanded emergency department at Hoag Hospital will become one of the largest and most technologically advanced in the county after completion, a hospital official said on Monday. The Joan & Andy Fimiano Emergency Pavilion, named for the $70-million project's largest single contributing donors, was dedicated earlier this month.

The Someone Cares Soup Kitchen in Costa Mesa, a nonprofit formed in 1986, has its anniversary gala this Saturday. There was no money to buy a ladle large enough to stir a 30-gallon pot in the beginning years of Someone Cares Soup Kitchen, so founder Merle Hatleberg used a boat oar. People were hungry, and the late Hatleberg wasn't one to back down from a challenge, said Shannon Santos, her granddaughter.

Dunlap said the items up for sale and auction are repurposed donations from the community and rescues from properties slated for demolition. "It's not like putting on a golf tournament — there's always going to be something different," she said. "We always find new items every year and the hunt is half the fun."

Sit 'N Sleep's first Costa Mesa store, on Newport Boulevard near 17th Street, boasts an 8,500-square-foot showroom. "I never dreamt it would be like this," Miller said at the Costa Mesa Sit 'n Sleep, talking about the decades-long journey to build the business, which started out in 1981 as a father-and-son run futon operation.

The now two-story, four-bedroom home features an elevated office space for Bless' growing woodworking business, WoodyBoard, which specializes in high-end ocean décor and custom wooden gates. With "62" emblazoned in stainless steel on the outside wall and the office's ocean-facing windows, Bless created a post where he could watch the surf between the line of beachfront homes.

Newport Beach home tour visitors on May 15 will help determine the outcome of the TV series "Showhouse Showdown" where two local interior designers head to head to create the perfect dream home. The new program by HGTV and Stone & Co. Entertainment will air 12 episodes beginning late summer, each featuring two local designers.

The opening night of the Newport Beach Film Festival, featuring the world premiere of "East Fifth Bliss," was marked by high-profile celebrities and a packed theater at the Edwards Big Newport Cinemas. Actors Michael C. Hall and Peter Fonda were among the television and film celebrities who showed up for the red carpet gala for the film about an emotionally dysfunctional man who wants to travel, but has no money and no job, and finds himself involved in an odd relationship with a former classmate's daughter.

"South Africa is so far away that you don't see what's happening on a daily basis — but when you see those statistics, you have to help," said Marie Stout, a Tias Arms volunteer and preschool teacher. "Every little bit helps and each dollar really adds up." "One Starbucks coffee is worth a week of food for a kid," she added.

For the first time in decades, doctors believe that early diagnosis may help delay the onset of Alzheimer's Disease in some patients, local health experts said. The change was brought on by this week's announcement that the National Institutes of Health and the Alzheimer's Assn. have published new guidelines for diagnosing the disease — the first revised set in 27 years.

Noting that female patients often feel more comfortable getting spiritual guidance from other women, Hoag Hospital has hired its first full-time female chaplain. Chaplain Susan Conforti, 51, of Irvine — who is also the first ordained rabbi to serve in the position — works with patients and staff members at the hospital's campuses in Newport Beach and Irvine as one of three full-time chaplains, Hoag officials said.

Upon her six-month check-up, doctors found high-density particles of tungsten in the treated breast. The tungsten, a metal element, had allegedly broken off from a device, the XOFT/iCAD Axxent Flexishield Mini, used by the system. The Flexishield Mini had been designed to protect patients from single-dose radiation during the procedure, Milman said.

"Your body is unweighted," Jarrett said about the NASA-designed machine, which can temporarily remove up to 80% of the weight from a patient's lower body. "There is so much less stress to the back, knees and ankles." Some patients, such as Sarah Kull, 82, who has Parkinson's, use the anti-gravity treadmill as an alternative to aquatic therapy.

Editor's note: This corrects the location of Fleur de Lys in the photo captions. What's the next best thing to bathing in treasure? Try bathing in a tub adorned with 46,000 glittering Swarovski crystals. Newport Beach resident Lori Gardner, 44, designed the Diamond Bathtub, a 19th century-style clawfoot tub bedazzled with thousands of pink crystals — a recognition of breast cancer research.

Wells Fargo executive tells group of women they need to have a retirement plan and find a financial advisor they trust. Women live longer than men and will spend less time in the work place throughout their lifetime, a financial services expert said Thursday. That message seemed to appeal to the 50 women who came to listen to "The Power of Her Money," a breakfast presentation put on by WISE, an Irvine-based nonprofit.

Editor's note: This corrects the caption on the photo of Allison Smith-Conway. The Foundation for Neurosciences Stroke and Recovery is not affiliated with Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian. Total well-being requires a balance between body and mind, but Parkinson's patients undergoing surgery and treatment often struggle to find that harmony, a therapeutic fitness coach said this week.