Folino Rules OC’s Charitable Roost; Newsroom Flooded
OC INSIDER by Rick Reiff
The Insider detects unrest in the upper reaches of the OC Register’s holding company, Freedom Communications Inc., that will soon become public
The selection of Paul Folino as next chairman of the OC Performing Arts Center looks like a masterstroke that turns the focus from dissension to fence-mending. Folino, who has given $1 million to OCPAC’s on-going capital campaign and written many other checks to the center, assumes a job that Tom Tierney reluctantly declined after the uproar over a securities suit that he and other socialites filed against philanthropists Henry Samueli and Henry Nicholas and their Broadcom Corp. Folino, a tech exec himself who has built Emulex Corp. into a data-storage powerhouse, said of the lawsuit, “My heart goes out to the two Henrys because I know how I would feel if it happened to me.” Folino said he was “personally disappointed” with the plaintiffs but added, “Good friends can disagree and still be good friends and work with one another.” Folino is also the big cheese at South Coast Repertory, where he chairs and has given $10 million to the capital campaign that is funding the new Folino Theater Center. Folino wanted his remarks on the lawsuit controversy to be published in their entirety, if at all. So they are, as a letter on page 63
Annoying to EE RR: Junk mail you have to open because it’s disguised to look like a check or a government document. The Insider wants to hear your pet peeves
Already hit by staff cuts as the Los Angeles Times deemphasizes local news, the Times Orange County suffered another blow last week when a 14-inch water main burst, damaging its Costa Mesa building, setting off fire alarms throughout the area and leaving reporters with a muddy, water-logged newsroom and minimal phone access. To make matter worse, the accident occurred as big news hit,the fatal train crash in Placentia and the Navy’s decision to hand over El Toro. But reporters and editors scurried to other Times offices in the region or crowded into the advertising department’s second-floor space (a rare convergence of “church and state” at the Times) to cover their stories. Trailers were being brought in to serve as makeshift editorial offices for the duration of the cleanup and repairs
Donna Sue Davis, who retired last year as business development exec for the Disneyland Resort, has rejoined Disney as a consultant to Anaheim Sports, helping the Angels and Ducks with group sales, Sandi Cain says
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach has raised $13 million toward its $18 million goal for building improvements. Senior minister John Huffman notes contributions include $50 from a widow and $3 million from a congregant requesting anonymity
Who’s that with license plate DRDRIVE? Traffic watcher Pat Haslam of KNX/1070, KOCE-TV, the “Slim Pat” commercials for weight-loss product Body Solutions and the CHOC Follies, May 17-19. Call (714) 532-8690.
