It takes money to track money. So says the Lincoln Club’s Irvine-based California Public Policy Center, which is seeking donations to cover the costs of Transparent California, a website that aims to list the name, title and total compensation of every state and local government employee in California. How much is needed?: $150,000 through next year. What do you get besides a clearinghouse on public payrolls? “… It will provide a forum for reform activists to share additional information,” according to the Lincoln Club …
Overheard after the Irvine City Council’s latest marathon meeting, which ended with a vote to take FivePoint Communities’ offer on the Great Park: where were the Asian-Americans? Some observers called it “Old Irvine” on display. At least one high-ranking city official said the largely white, native-born crowd offered an indication that more work needs to be done to convince some of Irvine’s newer ethnic communities—Asian-Americans account for close to half the population now—that there are benefits to getting more engaged in civic life …
Chapman U Prez Jim Doti had the audience at Segerstrom Center in stitches at his annual economic forecast conference, especially with a sendup of his recent cameo on CBS’ “The Bold and the Beautiful” soap opera: Doti displayed freeze frames that purportedly showed actress Linsey Godfrey giving him an unscripted look-over. A tough act to follow—unless your Doti’s longtime fellow forecaster and show stealer Essie Adibi. Adibi’s own filmed spoof had him replacing Doti on the soap’s stage and not only catching Godfrey’s eye but disappearing with her into her dressing room …
Doti’s star turn and Adibi’s spoof were both compliments of B&B associate producer Casey Kasprzyk, a Chapman alum …
The forecast itself was enough for a grin but no belly laugh. Chapman expects a gain of 35,000 jobs in OC, a 2.5% increase amid “weak economic growth” next year … Ron Simon still remembers how much something as simple as an Orange Julius on a hot day can mean to a kid—a lesson he learned at a little shop in Boyle Heights on LA’s Eastside, where he grew up. The cabinet-making entrepreneur also remembers that getting an education can be a steep climb for kids who start without much more material support than the price of a soft drink. A tip of the hat to Simon, who has put his money where his memory is, shouldering the load of a unique scholarship program for 10 years now (see related story, page 1) …
A personal thank you to Alba, crossing guard extraordinaire at Eastbluff Elementary and Our Lady Queen of Angels in Newport Beach. She was done with duty and riding her bicycle up the path along San Diego Creek on a recent morning when she noticed a jogger with a bloody hand and a pronounced hitch in his gitalong as a result of a tumble on the gravel strip along the trail. Alba had a first-aid kit ready and insisted on cleaning the scraped-up hand and getting some antibacterial salve on the cuts. The hand is all better, and a couple of dinged-up ribs are just about there, too.
