Overtime from grants funds the checkpoints, but having enough
officers can be a challenge for Costa Mesa.  By Sonali Kohli
Orange County Register  A Costa Mesa police officer stands in
the intersection of Bristol Street and Randolph Avenue, blocking
traffic the night before Halloween.  Behind him, officers and
volunteers wrap up the last parts of setup – cones along the
traffic lines to separate the lanes, a trailer with a
dispatcher, a table for the officers keeping track of DUIs to
sit at, with a heater behind them and a table with Starbucks
coffee and pastries nearby.  Teenage Police Explorers stand on
the sidewalk, watching the line of cars grow. It is their job to
spot stray vehicles making illegal U-turns, trying to escape the
checkpoint. A few officers patrol the streets around the
checkpoint, to thwart the runaways.  In front of the officers,
the line snakes back on southbound Bristol Street, between the
LAB and the CAMP, two of the city's hipster hot spots.  In front
of the officer, one woman sticks