What prompted Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to get off the fence and defy environmental activists, the California Coastal Commission staff and his brother-in-law (former State Parks Commission chairman Bobby Shriver) by endorsing the controversial extension of the Foothill (241) Toll Road? OC Supe and local transportation official Bill Campbell suggests the “tipping point” was the state’s projected $14.5 billion budget deficit: With deep cuts looming for government services and projects, and his austere budget calling for the closure of many state parks, the growth-minded governor simply could not refuse a privately funded road that included a $100 million donation for improvements to three coastal parks. Schwarzenegger and his staff got an earful, too,calls from state Sen. Dick Ackerman and Congressman John Campbell, and persuasion from 241 consultants Gary Hunt and Ken Khachigian. Bill Campbell says when the guv met privately with a group of local executives prior to the New Majority’s holiday party at the St. Regis Monarch Beach, “I think everyone of them said, ‘You’ve got to support this'” …
Back in 2004 EE RR interviewed two legends on “Inside OC”,the folksy, self-made entrepreneurs Carl Karcher and John Crean. Once the TV lights came up, a feeble Karcher rallied, commanded the set and recounted the rags-to-riches story of Carl’s Jr. “I questioned it, but I never lost faith,” Karcher, a devout Catholic, said of his late-life financial travails. He said it was all worth 65 years of marriage to Margaret, the raising of a large family (more than 100 children, grandchildren and great grandchildren) and the creation of a fast-food chain that employs close to 50,000 people. Flashing his famous smile, Karcher said business is “exciting. It’s just something that turns you on.” Crean, Margaret and Carl are now gone; Carl died Jan. 11 at age 90. EE RR, like countless others, has mementos from Carl: a pocket Prayer of St. Francis and Karcher’s signature on a hamburger coupon …
Nobody better to discuss the China Olympics and baseball’s drug scandal than Peter Ueberroth, scheduled this week on “Inside OC” …
It wasn’t easy to reconcile restaurateur Javier Sosa’s artistic flair with The Irvine Company’s desire for muted elegance in Newport Coast. But Sosa says that after months of delay caused by design and construction changes and negotiations with TIC, the much-anticipated opening of Javier’s Cantina in Crystal Cove Promenade is just days away. As with his Javier’s Cantinas in Irvine Spectrum and Cabo Azul Resort, Sosa says this one has “a unique look.” He recently moved out of his original Laguna Beach location, now occupied by a different Mexican restaurant …
Former OC Supe Gaddi Vasquez, now U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Organizations in Rome, addresses an OC Forum luncheon Thursday at the Irvine Marriott …
Catch it if you can: Sarah Treem’s fresh and witty “A Feminine Ending,” through Jan. 27 at South Coast Rep.
