ART

Newport Lay Offs: The Newport Harbor Art Museum is laying off nearly one-fifth of its staff--four fulltime and two parttime employes--to help reduce an accumulated and anticipated deficit of more than $650,000, a spokeswoman said Thursday. The layoffs, which already have started, appear to be the first in recent memory by a major Orange County arts institution. The positions being eliminated include professional and support staff in all areas of the museum. The layoffs will be staggered but will be completed by the end of March, and are expected to save the museum $150,000 by September 1993. The museum has an annual budget of $2 million, and has employed 28 fulltime and 9 partime workers.