FOUNTAIN VALLEY

Mile Square Regional Park Ranger Richard Huffnagle locked the gates of a former hobby area last week to clear the way for Orange County’s $8-million golf course expansion. Construction workers are expected to begin grading the land within three weeks. “It’s heartbreaking,” he said. “A bunch of seniors came up to me this morning, and I had to tell them that there’s no hope. They’re being kicked out of their park forever.”

The Save Mile Square Park committee lost its chance to get an injunction against the county June 10, when Superior Court Judge Eileen Moore ruled it had failed to prove a golf course is not a park use. Her decision shocked the hobbyists, but David Rainville, a general partner and the architect of the Mile Square golf course, praised the judge’s ruling and said most people in the county favor the new golf course and the revenue it will generate.