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Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024
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Watson Farewell Lineup: Bren, Eisner, Cool Whip; Elder Nguyen’s Vision

About 250 family, friends, businesspeople and civic leaders attended the Nov. 11 service for Ray Watson at the UCI Student Center, most notably Donald Bren, Michael Eisner and former Georgetown University President Rev. Leo J. O’Donovan. (Donovan served on the Disney board with Watson.) Both Bren and O’Donovan gave eulogies, as did Watson’s four children. He was remembered as a visionary, planner and, above all, a family man, as well as a fitness nut with a weak spot for donuts and Cool Whip, and a music lover who sang off-key. More on Bren’s recollections of Watson on page 4 …

Linh Nguyen and her brother Tam received honors at the Business Journal’s recent Family Owned Business Awards for their success with Advance Beauty College in Little Saigon, which sends a lot of graduates to work at nail shops, which make up a $6 billion-a-year business nationally. Linh noted over lunch during the awards ceremony that many of those graduates go on to start their own businesses, bearing out her father’s vision when he started the school. She said that an upscale neighborhood near South Coast Plaza has recently been filling up with “doctors and nail shop owners,” which also helps explain her brother’s shift from a medical career to the family business (see related story, page 1) …

Vinny Smith has opened up his wallet again, giving $1 million to Gen Next, a Newport Beach-based nonprofit that aims to provide 30- and 40-somethings a new way to connect with the community. It’s the second $1 million gift from Smith since the $2.4 billion sale of Quest Software, where he served as CEO and held a 34% stake. Smith also donated $1 million to Irvine-based non-profit Fuel Freedom Foundation, which seeks to develop “cheaper, cleaner, American-made replacement fuels.” …

Last week was a rollercoaster ride for UCI’s men’s basketball team, which came within two missed free throws of an upset UCLA in regulation in Westwood last week before losing in overtime. Things looked better for Russell Turner’s squad a day later, when 7-foot-5 Mamadou Ndiaye signed a national letter of intent to join the Anteaters next year. The native of Senegal is a senior at Brethren Christian High in Huntington Beach, and billed as the tallest high school basketball player in the world. …

Our editorial assistant Patrick Corbet is a Cal State Fullerton grad and former editor of the Daily Titan’s sports section, and he just won’t let go of the debate over the recent MVP voting. His newly launched socalsportsblock.com lays out a number of arguments to support Corbet’s contention that Angels’ outfielder Mike Trout should have gotten the award instead of Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera. A key reason, Corbet contends, centers on one of the best known fixtures on the OC landscape, Angel Stadium, which ranks 27th on a list of hitter-friendly ballyards, according to ESPN’s Park Factors. Cabrera’s home field in Detroit is ninth. Corbet says that a measurement that factors in ballparks—known as “OPS+ adjusts”—shows that Trout led the AL with a score of 171, while Cabrera finished second at 165 …

Congrats to Bistango, a center court for the see-and-be-seen crowd for 25 years—a tenure it celebrated with a birthday party last weekend.

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