It shouldn’t take long for fireworks to begin if OC Treasurer John Moorlach withstands the last-minute public employees assault and gets elected to the board of supervisors this week. Supe Bill Campbell tells the Insider that with an untested treasurer (either Chriss Street or Pat Desmond) replacing Moorlach, it might be time for the supervisors to exert more oversight of the office. Campbell says he plans to suggest that the supes return to auditing the treasurer, instead of having the treasurer hire an outside independent auditor. And he thinks the supervisors should cut back on the treasurer’s ability to invest in certain types of bonds. Moorlach says both are bad ideas. In fact, he wants the county to move toward more, not fewer, outside audits. Both men say they look forward to a vigorous “philosophical” debate on these and other topics …
Welcome to Orange County, China. It’s one of several gated communities springing up in China that are named after, and patterned after, fashionable or famous American places, reports the New York Times. In addition to the faux OC, there are Palm Springs, Watermark-Long Beach, Manhattan Gardens, Sun City, Soho and Central Park …
Another bullish economic indicator: The Center Club in Costa Mesa is close to capacity, says senior director Mark Costa. The dining-and-meeting spot has added 400 members in the past three years, bringing the total to 1,250 and leaving room for only 50 or 100 more. (Memberships are priced at $5,000.) Costa credits OC’s “dynamic, growth economy,” excitement over the expansion of the adjacent Performing Arts Center and the renovation of the rival Pacific Club, which temporarily has closed its dining room …
Julie Hill researched it: The recent Human Options gala raised $1.5 million, most for an OC philanthropic event after an OC Performing Arts Center gala that brought in $1.8 million to $1.9 million …
Jeff Fischel has landed a long way from his hometown of Tustin and his former gig with the ill-fated OCN,he’s now an anchor and writer for CNN Headline News in Atlanta. Back recently for a visit, he and wife Kate Picton, a CNN producer and also from California (the East Bay), dropped in on Chapman U Prof Pete Weitzner’s broadcasting class …
“I went from being a chick to a rooster,” beams society reporter Cherri Farrah, after a bunch of guys in the Rooster Foundation of Orange County made her an honorary lifetime member …
There are restaurant renovations, and then there’s the recent conversion of the former El Torito on Anton Boulevard in Costa Mesa into Mastro’s Steakhouse. Jim Walker, owner of The Bungalow in Corona del Mar and no slouch himself at redos, guessed that Mike Mastro spent $8 million to $10 million on the project. (That helps to explain the $15 martinis.) Walker’s estimate evoked a chuckle, but no specifics, from Mastro’s exec Oliver Badgio: “That’s a very nice compliment.”
