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Wednesday, Mar 18, 2026
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Laguna Mayor Seeks Help from ABC; Weir’s Hot Streak

Laguna Beach Mayor Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider is working another angle in her Bluebird Canyon reconstruction efforts: She’s pitching three young couples’ homes that were damaged in the landslide to ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” …

Marilyn Brewer isn’t the only GOP moderate finding an endorsement from the New Majority hard to come by. Assemblyman Tom Harman, past darling of the socially moderate PAC, is unlikely to get the group’s backing for either a congressional or OC supervisor run, the Insider hears. The NM would be expected to remain neutral in a county supervisors’ race be-tween Harman and OC Treasurer John Moorlach; but some NM members, impressed with Moorlach’s performance in county government, likely would forgive his social conservatism and lend individual support …

It’s been a good couple of months for Jan Weir of Stradling, Yocca, Carlson & Rauth. He was named one of California’s top 30 IP lawyers by the Daily Journal, then backed it up with two David-versus-Goliath wins. A federal judge ruled against drug giant Aventis, paving the way for Amphastar Pharmaceuticals of Rancho Cucamonga to produce a generic version of the popular blood thinner Lovenox (more on page 19). And Tamarack Scientific, a Corona maker of equipment used in chip production, won a federal-court patent battle against Ultratech of San Jose …

Judith O’Dea Morr becomes interim COO of the OC Performing Arts Center as Jerry Mandel moves to vice chair …

The Irvine Company lobbyist Paul Hernandez is new prez of the Irvine Chamber of Commerce …

OCBJ Businessperson of the Year Wayne Inouye, who has been merging his former eMachines into Gateway, told UCI’s Paul Merage B-school: “Don’t even try to mold two corporate cultures together. Create a new one. …

Tell everybody you’re starting from scratch.” Sounds good, though as Andrew Simons recently noted, Gateway’s top management now is all eMachines people …

Happy 50th to Orange County Harley-Davidson co-owner Bill Taylor …

The Perrys are one of those Pageant of the Masters families: This year David, who heads OC’s Preston, Gates & Ellis office, rides in a wagon; wife Terry is backstage doing makeup; and daughter Kasey is the hood ornament on a Rolls Royce …

Miss Vietnam USA will hold its third annual pageant at the OC Performing Arts Center July 30. Prior shows were in Anaheim and Long Beach …

OCBJ’s “Skateboarding Mom,” Sherri Cruz, was featured with daughter Rhiannon in a June 12 New York Times story …

USA Today correspondent William M. Welch has been quickly baptized in the perils of SoCal. The North Carolinan moved to Irvine from Arlington, Va., to rejoin wife and former PBS exec Linda Taira, now EVP at KOCE-TV. First day on the new beat he was called to the Bluebird Canyon landslide; he’s since covered an earthquake, tsunami alert and wildfires. Linda, meanwhile, is experiencing the wrath of Daystar.

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Rick Reiff
Rick Reiff
Rick Reiff, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, is editor at large of the Orange County Business Journal. He also is a host and producer of public affairs programs. He has covered Southern California for 34 years in print and on air. He is a four-time Golden Mike winner, three-time Emmy nominee and 2018 recipient of the Orange County Press Club's Lifetime Achievement Award. Reiff has been with the Orange County Business Journal since 1990, serving 10 years as editor. He originated and wrote the paper's popular "OC Insider" column for 15 years.
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