Chapman U Law School profs are prominent on both sides of the contentious Proposition 8 debate. Dean John Eastman and three colleagues filed a friend of the court brief with the California Supreme Court defending the same-sex marriage ban approved by voters last November. Katherine Darmer and 10 other members of the Chapman law faculty weighed in with a brief opposing Prop. 8. Dozens of other OCers attached their names to Darmer’s filing, including lawyers Ashleigh Aitken and Michael Penn, the daughter and son-in-law of lawyer and Chapman benefactor Wylie Aitken, another Prop. 8 critic. Eastman says it shows “we have succeeded in our mission of assembling one of the most ideologically diverse faculties in legal education today.” But nerves are raw: Eastman says the faculty is “trying very hard to disagree without being disagreeable.” And citing the “sensitivity” of the Prop. 8 issue, he stresses that his brief is on behalf of the Claremont Institute, not Chapman. Also signing the brief against Prop. 8: UC Irvine Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, who regularly debates Eastman on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show. The court hears the case on March 5 …
Alex Rodriguez has a Newport Beach sports agent (Scott Boras). Now the Yankees superstar has a Newport Beach crisis manager, too. The New York Post reported that A-Rod has retained Outside Eyes to help him through his steroids controversy. The media strategy firm is headed by Reed Dickens, a White House assistant press secretary under George W. Bush …
The recession apparently hasn’t dulled the public’s fascination with the ostentatious “The Real Housewives of Orange County.” The show’s fourth season set more records for the Bravo network: The season finale drew 2 million viewers and bested the second-season premier of copycat “The Real Housewives of New York City,” which held about 80% of the OC wives’ lead-in audience. The New York Times and L.A. Times recently ran long reviews on the show (any publicity is good publicity). “Wives” Gretchen Rossi and Jeana Keough and creator Scott Dunlop appear this week on “Inside OC” …
City National Bank chief and Federal Reserve Board adviser Russell Goldsmith discusses the economic “mess” Thursday at the OC Forum luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Irvine. He’ll be on “Inside OC” the week after the “Wives” …
Also Thursday, Sir Eldon Griffiths assesses President Obama’s foreign policy challenges at a World Affairs Council dinner at the Hilton Costa Mesa …
Former OCTA and OC Biz Council chief Stan Oftelie was recuperating at UCI Medical Center last week after undergoing surgery for pancreatic cancer. “By my count I have nine tubes attached to various orifices, portals and (censored by Dee),” he e-mailed …
Close to 700 attended the Biz Council’s annual dinner featuring USC football coach Pete Carroll. First American Title veep Larry Buster succeeds Auto Club senior veep Steve Lenzi as OCBC chairman.
