Mohamed’s Moxie; NB’s Big Week; I Heart Ballet

The Insider has heard more than once that former Pimco CEO Mohamed El-Erian is a favorite for a cabinet-level job if Hillary Clinton wins the White House in 2016. The Laguna Beach resident seems to be taking various opportunities on his home turf for a PR inoculation against the sort of scrutiny that would likely come on the $200-million-plus compensation package he reportedly got for his final full year at Pimco. El-Erian showed political moxie when he stiff-armed a question about Pimco’s big bonus pool in a recent Q&A with the Register, flatly telling the daily, “I’m not going to talk about that.” That came before an appearance at Soka University in Aliso Viejo, where he showed some political finesse, taking the opportunity of a staged event to talk about “The Economics of Inequality: A Conversation about Wealth, Income and Opportunity.” This week’s Special Report on CFOs mentions another project that could be a booster shot for El-Erian’s political posture: He’s on the board of fast-growing startup Payoff Inc., a Costa Mesa-based outfit that bills its business model as a way to do well by doing good, giving credit-worthy borrowers a new option to pay off credit card debt (see story on CFOs and cyber security, page 20) … Husband-wife, director-producer team Dale and Wendy Peterson hope to do well by doing some good with “Hello, My Name is Frank,” a feature film set for the Newport Beach Film Festival, which kicks off April 23. It’s about a fellow with Tourette Syndrome who winds up on an improbable road trip with three teenage girls. Wendy tells the Insider the film has gotten a thumbs-up from the Tourette Syndrome Association and will anchor an upcoming fundraiser for the organization. She’s hoping for a big hit but keeping her day job at Knobbe Martens. “Hello” screens at 7:30 on April 27 at the Lido Theater; check visitnewportbeach.com for more information … Lots of visits to Newport Beach this week, when film buffs will be able to take in some real-life salty dogs at the start of the Newport to Ensenada race on April 24 (see related story, page 1) … Happy to live in a place where film festivals and regattas cross paths? How about ballet at the mall? The Anaheim Ballet will perform for lunchtime crowds at the Irvine Spectrum retail center as part of I Heart OC Giving Day, which kicks off at 6 a.m. on April 21 with a goal of raising $2 million over a 30-hour stretch for more than 300 OC nonprofits that help everyone from veterans in transition to civilian life to hungry children. The ballet is set for lunchtime on April 21, and that evening’s game at Angel Stadium will feature various promos. Mobile donation stations will be available at both events—or visit iheartoc.org … Another sort of promotion came recently at Angel Stadium, where Sen. Rand Paul was in an Angels suite for a recent game when Arte Moreno came in for a quick visit. The two engaged in a 15-minute conversation—no details forthcoming on that—before Paul had to leave to catch some sleep before a satellite interview slated to be taped the following morning for NBC’s “Meet the Press.”