False alarm:
The Insider heard a good one recently, about a scare that went through the Orange County Fire Authority last year. It seems a Westminster cop complained about the demeanor of an authority worker who had illegally parked his marked vehicle. But neither the name on the worker’s ID card nor the license plate matched any in the authority. Baffled fire officials wondered, was a criminal or even a terrorist at work? Thankfully, no. It turns out the vehicle wasn’t the property of the OC Fire Authority, it belonged to the OC Fire Ant Authority. The Insider is reminded of Mark Twain’s saying, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug” New Chapman U trustee Mark Chapin Johnson proposes a boycott of the Angels (page 63) to protest the team’s name change from “Anaheim” to “Los Angeles”,a change being promoted by team president Dennis Kuhl, who likewise is a new trustee of the university. The next board meeting should be interesting Plaudits to UC Irvine for landing Broadcom for University Research Park, but here’s a reminder of one that got away: The Bren School of Environmental Science and Management recently celebrated its 10th anniversary,at UC Santa Barbara New state Sen. John Campbell, R-Irvine, has a new chief of staff: Flo Kahn moves over from the staff of Assembly Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield. Matt Back, Campbell’s chief in the Assembly, “couldn’t refuse” an offer from Sacramento lobbying firm Ackler & Associates Yes, EE RR’s been giving Chriss Street a lot of exposure lately. But Jim Doti is off mountain climbing, and Street keeps making news. Now, a federal judge in Delaware has invalidated nearly $4 million in pension benefits that were granted to 40 executives and other top employees of Fruehauf Trailer in 1996, just days before the truck-trailer maker filed for bankruptcy. Street, the Newport Beach “vulture capitalist,” sued to stop the payments after he took over as trustee of the Fruehauf estate; a seven-year legal battle ensued. While Fruehauf is out of business, its pension plan lives on with 9,000 beneficiaries; this ruling will help keep it solvent. Street thinks the decision may affect future pension disputes: “How many corporations are out there trying to handle not only the benefits they have provided long-term but also enhanced benefits that were granted in the bubble years, that are now coming due?” Deacon Jones holds his annual foundation event Jan. 23 at the Fox Sports Grill in Irvine Spectrum. It features the usual array of football greats, including three-fourths of the Fearsome Foursome,Jones, Merlin Olsen and Rosey Grier,as well as Junior Seau, Fred Dryer, Bob Lilly and Carl Eller. That’s a ton of tacklers to handle Gale Sayers. “Mr. Cub” Ernie Banks is expected, too. Call (714) 281-2842.
