Former Disney exec Tony Taveras has been a star for Anaheim in the ongoing Angels case. So has another witness whose testimony has been largely overlooked by the media,Chapman U prez Jim Doti. The charismatic economist gave jurors an informed third-party view of what both Disney and the city were thinking when the California Angels were renamed the Anaheim Angels. Doti, relaxed and friendly, recounted for an attentive jury his role as mediator in the negotiations that resulted in the 1995 stadium renovation deal that kept baseball in OC. He testified the name was a key consideration of the city and that neither Anaheim nor Disney contemplated any other geographic designation. Doti said then-mayor Tom Daly and former city manager Jim Ruth rejected out of hand his passing suggestion that the team be renamed the “Orange County Angels,” telling him the Anaheim designation would be key in persuading a divided city council and residents to approve a deal that was costing them $20 million. Doti said whenever Anaheim negotiators would balk at a Disney proposal, Taveras would remind them the name change “is worth so much to you.” The OCBJ also figured in Doti’s testimony: Over defense objections, jurors were shown an op-ed he wrote for the paper in early 1996 detailing his role in the stadium deal. It referenced the new team name “as a powerful symbol of Anaheim’s identity as a tourist destination.” While Taveras was hammered in cross-examination by George Stephan, Doti got kid-gloves treatment from Todd Theodora; the defense team apparently decided it’s not smart to beat up the Pope …
Why so little media coverage of Doti’s testimony? Probably because he took the stand late in the afternoon as reporters, figuring Taveras was the day’s story, departed …
Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle hit two home runs last week,a rousing “state of the city” speech that advanced his high-tech (“wired Anaheim”) and “freedom-loving” (low regs and taxes) agenda, followed by a strong showing on the witness stand in the Angels case …
The OC High School of the Arts’ symphony orchestra is preparing for a May 27 date at Carnegie Hall, where it will play a work by French composer Eric Tanguy. The French Embassy is underwriting the project; Tanguy is flying in next week to work with the student musicians …
The Insider detects political backlash over last week’s item on Republican Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider and Democrat Tony Iseman possibly running as a “dynamic duo” for Laguna Council. They say their dynamism will be reserved for working together on issues, not for slating purposes …
The dinosaurs are coming,and staying, beginning May 25 at Discovery Science Center …
John and Donna Crean have matched the $100,000 gift of Gerda and Dean Koontz for this year’s really big CHOC Follies, May 20 and 21 at the Performing Arts Center.
