When Donald Met Steve; Whitaker Gets Off to Strong Start

A big chunk of the Irvine Company’s operations outside of OC got a lengthy overview in a recent issue of the Silicon Valley Business Journal, which put some meat on the bones of a 25-year process that has seen Donald Bren amass 7,000 apartment units and 4 million square feet of office space in the region. The piece included an “apocryphal” tale of Steve Jobs personally asking Bren to sell him the Hamptons, an apartment complex next-door to Apple Inc.’s headquarters in Cupertino. Local “lore” holds that Bren declined Jobs’ offer to pay any price. An insider assures the Insider the story is true—even if it has become the stuff of legend … New OC Republican Party Chair Fred Whitaker arrived in the job with a reputation as a low-profile grinder compared with his charismatic predecessor, Scott Baugh. Take Whitaker’s profile up a notch after he showed a deft touch at last week’s joint meeting of the New Majority, Lincoln Club and Hispanic 100 at the Fairmont Hotel. He displayed polish during the invocation, deploying a vocabulary that brought religion into the room but avoided the sort of clumsy language that can cast an exclusionary pall over such proceedings. “Please pray in your faith while I pray in mine,” Whitaker asked the crowd, according to one member who was impressed enough to pass along an account … The same source and others said Florida Sen. Marco Rubio—who’s hasn’t ruled out a presidential bid—also impressed at the Fairmont, one of several OC stops … No shortage of politicians at the Hotel Irvine, which hosted back-to-back visits by former President Bill Clinton and current Vice President Joe Biden for the Jan. 23-24 Patient Safety Movement summit sponsored by Irvine-based device maker Masimo Inc. … Show me a prouder papa than lawyer Mark Robinson of Robinson Calcagnie Robinson Shapiro Davis. His son Dan made the L.A. Daily Journal’s recent Top 20 Under 40 … Or a prouder grandpa than Steve Churm, who added that title about a week ago. Churm’s other titles include vice president slots at both the OC Register and its parent, Freedom Communications … Churm updated his status from the podium during the Paul Merage School of Business Outlook 2015, which also happened at the Hotel Irvine and was sponsored by the Irvine Chamber and Wells Fargo. The outlook took a broad view—expect moderate growth in the U.S. this year, and keep an eye out for trouble overseas … Emcee Churm got the proceedings started with some plain talk about the Register. “It’s stressed, it’s troubled, it’s wandering, it’s trying to find its way,” he said. He brought it around to a more hopeful view, talking up the Register’s 110th anniversary, which will be marked in August. He also got in an understated sales pitch, telling the crowd that the OC market is likely better off with a strong daily … Show me a better idea than this from 100-year-old Laguna Woods resident and Dartmouth grad Edward Gerson, who handles updates for his alma mater’s Class of 1935: He wants the New Hampshire school to host a constitutional convention with no politicians allowed. Gerson has room to work opinions into his updates since the ‘35ers are down to three living members, according to the Wall Street Journal, which profiled the retired “button manufacturer and plastics innovator” in its Jan. 27 issue.