Another Israeli official spoke in Irvine last week, but while he encountered some pointed questions and a few shouts from the audience, the mood was mostly civil and largely enthusiastic. Meanwhile, in Santa Ana DA Tony Rackauckas was prosecuting the so-called Irvine 11 for interrupting a February speech at UCI by Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren. Last week’s talk, hosted by the World Affairs Council at the Irvine Marriott, featured Danny Danon, a Likud Party star who makes Oren sound like a dove. Security precautions were taken. “Our organization has a reputation for politeness and security …
“I did not want a repeat of the Ambassador Oren fiasco,” said real estate litigator and WAC chairman Serge Tomassian. By that standard, or even compared with some other WAC events, all went well. Tomassian said prior talks have drawn Vietnamese and Armenian protesters, a bomb threat and a man who was stopped from bringing in a gun. Nearly 200 turned out for Danon, including Jewish, Iranian and Arab Americans whose differing views were epitomized when he asked whether anyone knew what percentage of homes in the occupied territories are Jewish settlements. “Too many!” an audience member shouted. “Not enough!” retorted another. (Danon said it was 3%.) Danon came to SoCal before heading to New York for this week’s United Nations showdown over Palestinian statehood …
At the event EE RR found himself seated between—and introducing to one another—Irvine Mayor Sukhee Kang and Beverly Hills “Top Gun” DUI lawyer Myles L. Berman. Kang was relishing the prior night’s final council approval of Five Point Communities’ Great Park housing plan, but still regretting that he couldn’t deliver a unanimous vote. (He came close, as Beth Krom switched to the majority, leaving Larry Agran alone in the 4-1 tally.) Berman, a Danon supporter, said 40% of his DUI cases come from OC …
Gov. Jerry Brown headlines the OC Democratic Party’s annual Truman Dinner Oct. 11. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is the OC Forum’s luncheon speaker Oct. 5. Both events are at the Hilton Irvine …
Emulex’s Paul Folino receives the Arnold O. Beckman Award at Discovery Science Center’s Saturday gala. Vizio’s William Wang receives Chapman U’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award Nov. 17 …
Happy 25th to the John Ghoukassian family’s power-dining Irvine restaurant, Bistango …
CEO Steve Beazley cites this year’s record attendance as evidence that the politically embattled OC Fair “has perfected the formula for staging a successful fair.” If so, it has lots of company. A Google search reveals record turnouts up and down the state and across the country—California’s Santa Barbara, Alameda, Stanislaus and Pleasanton fairs, as well as fairs in Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York. A spokesperson for the ongoing L.A. County Fair says attendance has been “fantastic.” A guess as to why: Local fairs benefit when cash-strapped families cut back on long trips and more expensive recreation.
