Louis Vuitton at Fashion Island? Alice’s Dance

Is that a Louis Vuitton store taking shape next to Neiman Marcus at Fashion Island? Sort of, according to reliable sources who tell the Insider that shoppers will soon be able to find merchandise from the Parisian luxury line there but not a store bearing its brand. The emporium that’s in the works, estimated at about 5,000 square feet, will instead be presented as an addition to Neiman Marcus, which will count it as a section of its sales floor. Not sure what led to the decision to go to such lengths for an in-store boutique. Might be a way around terms of exclusivity at South Coast Plaza, where Louis Vuitton has a store of its own … It looks as though Santa Ana developer Mike Harrah is in a deal to buy the Register’s headquarters from Aaron Kushner’s Freedom Communications. Harrah hasn’t exactly been ravaged by bad press from the daily over the years, but he did get a little cheeky when asked about the Grand Avenue building for our report on page 1. “Well, if you can’t beat the newspaper, buy them,” Harrah joked, right before he clammed up … Shaheen Sadeghi is humbly keeping his fingers crossed on the fast start for his Packing House foodie court in downtown Anaheim. A recent visit found the place buzzing on a Monday afternoon, with a healthy crowd for the lunch hour that grew as the afternoon wore on. Little wonder—the building is interesting, the restaurants are worth the trip, and other vendors—a butcher shop here, and popsicle stand there—exceed expectations. The place is sharp in all the right ways and deserves a place on Southern California’s cutting edge … The fandango is a lively dance that was on the cutting edge as it made its way from Spain to Mexico and then to the California territory 300 years before anyone claimed the name for a website that sells movie tickets. The dance found a fan in Alice Marguerite O’Neill Avery, the matriarch of a clan whose ranch lands have accommodated the formation of several South OC cities and provided thousands of acres as gifts to the public domain while also accounting for the heart of her family’s holdings under son Tony Moiso and his Rancho Mission Viejo LLC. Her family reports that O’Neill Avery, who died last month at the age of 97 in her home in Los Angeles, remained “proud of her sixth-generation Southern California heritage” and relished ‘Californio hospitality’ ”—the Insider is guessing that’s where the fandangos came into play. A funeral mass is planned at St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Brentwood in early September. The family encourages contributions to the Brentwood parish or the Heart of Jesus Retreat Center at 2927 S. Greenville in Santa Ana in lieu of flowers … O’Neill Avery also favored a good rodeo, and you can bet she’ll be on the minds of plenty of folks during the annual Rancho Mission Viejo Rodeo set for Aug. 23 and 24 in San Juan Capistrano. It once again will offer more than $200,000 in prize money, making it the richest two-day rodeo in the U.S. and a sure bet to sell thousands of tickets. It’s clear that O’Neill Avery’s family has kept her lessons on helping those less fortunate in mind: All proceeds from the rodeo will go to local charities.