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Sunday, May 10, 2026

Measure M Holdouts; Big Bosses; ‘Curtains’ For CHOC Follies?

Almost every prominent public official has hopped on the Measure M bandwagon. But the potential opposition from a couple of fence straddlers,OC Treasurer and Supe-Elect John Moorlach and Assemblyman Chuck DeVore,could still hurt the chances of renewing the transportation tax …

In a county where African-Americans constitute less than 2% of the population, the appointment of Ed Grier as president of Disneyland Resort puts blacks in charge of OC’s two largest employers. The other is UC Irvine, headed by Chancellor Michael Drake. Their combined work force is close to 40,000. Other African-Americans in charge of major operations here include Cal State Fullerton Prez Milton Gordon (more than 5,000 employees) …

After providing 10 years of homegrown entertainment and netting more than $3 million for Children’s Hospital, the CHOC Follies is taking a hiatus, says executive producer Gloria Zigner. She’s planning “an exciting new fund-raiser for CHOC in 2007” …

Childhood sweethearts Dick and Ann Sim have come a long way from Phoenixville, Pa. Retired Irvine Co. exec Dick notes, “We’re celebrating our combined 140th birthday,” turning 70 two weeks apart …

Gov. Arnold is the featured guest at a $5,600-per-person fund-raiser for GOP state insurance commissioner candidate Steve Poizner, hosted by Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, Aug. 29 at the Hyatt Regency Irvine …

As Jennifer Bellantonio reports on page 18, the OC Register is launching something called Register Insider. The Register says it’s a result of a 15-month study of what OCers want. You bet …

OC Weekly staffers won both “best columnist” awards for big papers (over 50,000 circulation) from the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies,Rebecca “Commie Girl” Schoenkopf for best political column, Gustavo “Ask a Mexican” Arellano for best non-political column … Sandi Cain says Cox Communications “has gone the extra mile” to combat junk e-mail. The other morning it routed a message touting its new higher-speed service to her spam folder …

Elizabeth Rabosky is new president of the Birds of Paradise, Newport Coast …

Funny, phallic, fabulous: L.A. artists Gary Baseman’s and Tim Biskup’s exhibit at the Laguna Art Museum, through Sept. 24 …

To celebrate son Cameron’s 16th birthday and his own (gasp) 60th, Mark Chapin Johnson and wife Barbara threw a Felliniesque soiree at Bommer Canyon that included an organ grinder with monkey, an accordion player, a sword juggler and an off-season Santa Claus banging a drum …

Newport Beach super broker Bill Cote was headed to Wyoming to party with 100 classmates from Natrona County High School’s 1959 graduating class, a notable group that includes Dick and Lynne Cheney. (Dick was a halfback and captain of the football team, Cote was the nose guard, Lynne was the drum majorette). Cote said seven mischievous lawyers from the class will be wearing orange hunting vests.

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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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