Garbage

As mentioned here, Santa Ana recycling equipment maker Enterprise Co. has given $4,000 to the campaign against Irvine's Measure R, which asks residents to give a vote of approval to the Irvine City Council's planning of the Great Park on the old El Toro Marine Corps base.

Enterprise Co., which was incorporated in 1969 under the ownership of Orval and Albert Gould, has a solid reputation nationally when it comes to the design, engineering and manufacturing of equipment and systems for the solid waste, scrap processing and resource recovery industries. According to the company's blurb on RecyclingToday.com: “Enterprise Company turns your visions into reality.”

But Enterprise helped turn the visions of Marion County, Florida, into a nightmare in the 1980s, when Orval Gould was in the middle of a fraud scheme that also involved Italian mobsters and Orange County's adopted son, John Wayne.

Shea and Choi: big anti-R funders

Measure R on the Irvine ballot asks residents to approve what a great job the Irvine City Council is doing on planning the Great Park on the old El Toro Marine Corps base (or if the measure loses, one supposes, what a piss-poor job they are doing). The conflict-of-interest-laden gusher of money flowing into the campaign for the measure has been examined here and here and to a much more comprehensive extent here and for the must-read historical perspective, right'chere. As of last week, the R forces had raised a couple hundred grand and spent around $130,000.

But what about the no on R campaign? Campaign-finance documents filed with the Irvine City Clerk show that more than half of the $83,000 and change raised by Irvine Citizens for Ethics in Government has come from contributions and loans from the various campaigns of and independent committees linked to mayoral candidate Christina Shea and Councilman Steven Choi. The council campaign for their Team Irvine slate buddy, Patrick Rodgers, kicked in another $4,000.

Frequent funder Motorsports Industries had given $9,000 total at last report. Former Irvine city councilman and school board member Greg Smith owns the Orange-based auto parts distributor. Smith may want to ask for an audit: Irvine Citizens for Ethics in Government has spent about $15,000 more than it has raised, according to the latest filings.

In OC Weekly's Scariest People issue, Ted B. Kissell
introduces the county's scariest dead people and their spiritual heirs who haunt us still.

Matt Coker introduces the Ghost of Nixonstein, R. Scott Moxley introduces Count Coxula, Gustavo Arellano shows us The Sexorcist, Nick Schou explains the Orange Zombie, and Daffodil J. Altan tours the Haunted Alamo.

R. Scott Moxley entertains us with another edition of "Moxley Confidential: The Rapist, The Judge, the Lawyer and Her Lover" describing a disturbing rape case that is headed for appeal—and the conduct of key officers of the court that should have defense lawyers salivating.

While Gustavo Arellano, Daffodil Altan and Matt Coker show us three local elections worth watching in "Elector Set".

Plus...

• The Weekly's standing columns, ¡Ask a Mexican!, Hey You! and Savage Love.

• Restaurant reviews of Garden Grove's Warung Pojok and El Bukanas in Santa Ana.

• Culture focuses on “Blood Work” at the ARTery Gallery at the Lab and South Coast Repertory's 'The Heiress'. Trendzilla talks Accent Pieces and Game On dissects 'Dead Space.'

• Film reviews of 'Zach and Miri Make a Porno,' 'The Changeling' and local special screenings.

• Music features articles on Loudon Wainwright's latest and The Dirtbombs. Rex Reason looks at Santa Ana's Mutilacion in Aural Reports, Locals Only listens to Jim Hitchcock's 'Grateful', and we've got CD reviews of Eagles of Death Metal, 'Heart On' (Downtown Records) and Larkin Grimm, 'Parplar' (Young God Records).

And more daily at OCweekly.com

*Bumped to the top, with new info as it comes on the bottom...

The following letter from Register publisher Terry Horne landed in my junk folder this morning, right about the time it apparently reached LAObserved. Not a whole lot to add to this, except our wishes that all this self-destructive madness will stop.

Orange County Register Communications announces a reduction in workforce

October 29, 2008 - The following note is confidential and written for
associates only, per Register President and Publisher Terry Horne:

Dear Colleagues:

As you know, Orange County Register Communications and the newspaper
industry in general have been faced with significant challenges, made even
more difficult by the economic situation nationwide. We are taking the
necessary actions to confront rising production costs, a challenging
economy, and changes in reader and advertiser preferences. Bringing our cost
structure in line with current revenues is a necessary step during this
transitional time in our industry. Unfortunately, this includes reducing our
staffing levels.

Orange County Register Communications is reducing our workforce by
approximately 110 associates, across the organization. Many associates are
being notified today, and this process of notification is expected to be
complete by Friday, October 31.

This decision is not a reflection on the work or the contributions of the
associates leaving us this week. It is based on a simple, but unfortunate
marketplace reality - we must reduce costs. Asking talented people to leave
our organization is by far the most difficult part of this process. I hate
having to do it, but it's absolutely necessary.

We will continue to work to find ways to increase revenues and provide
readers and advertisers with even greater value while at the same time
looking for ways to lower costs, and create a more flexible cost structure.
Strategic partners and outsourced relationships will allow us to work more
efficiently, and better respond to peaks and valleys of the market.
Exploring all strategic alternatives to strengthen our business is critical,
while never losing sight of our obligation to provide readers and
advertisers with quality and value.

You may be asking if we see any signs of success. We do. OCRegister.com has
nearly doubled the size of its online audience this year compared to 2007,
thanks to our award-winning watchdog reporting, interactive storytelling and
promotions. A future redesign for OCRegister.com and ongoing development of
OrangeCounty.com are underway to drive additional audience growth on the
Web.

On the print side, we've increased revenue and generated results for
hundreds of new advertisers by zoning our Local section. Commercial printing
and direct mail revenues have increased. We've made it easier and more
affordable to advertise in our community newspapers. We will soon announce a
new self-service tool to make advertising in our community newspapers an
even more convenient and cost-effective proposition.

I am encouraged by the fact we have a clear strategy guiding us through
these decisions, and dedicated teams to see them through.

I appreciate that this is a difficult time for all of us. I want to assure
you that we will make every reasonable effort to make this transition as
smooth as possible.

Thank you for your resiliency during this challenging time. Leaders thrive
in times of uncertainty, and I have the utmost respect for the dedication
our leaders display on a daily basis. I appreciate your contributions to our
strategy and serving our community.

-Terry

*UPDATE FROM GUSTAVO ARELLANO: Sources say Gordon Dillow is gone. If true, it's the stupidest decision the Register has ever made--not because we like Dillow, but because he's been one of their most popular columnists for years.

**MORE (from Gustavo): Add classical music critic Timothy Mangan and theater guy (and all-around mensch) Paul Hodgins. Per our source, "Paul Hodgins asked for a buyout and will probably get it but it hasn't been formalized yet." With those two losses, the Reg has abdicated a large chunk of the arts scene in the county. I forget--is dance critic Laura Bleiberg (sp?) still around?

***EVEN MORE (This is Nick again): Okay, folks, let's all slow down. Mangan and Hodgins, along with Dillow, are reported to be seeking buyouts, according to our sources. It is therefore premature to state that the Reg has lost anybody.

The Orange County Register printed a letter today (not yet online) by one A. Trujillo Escareño of Tustin arguing marriage has historically been between a man and a woman "even amongst aboriginal people." This is a talking point the Yes on Prop. 8 sexual Know Nothings have repeated again and again, a mantra repeated by no less a figure than Saddleback Church head Rick Warren. "For 5,000 years, every culture and every religion - not just Christianity - has defined marriage as a contract between men and women,” Warren emailed his followers.

Silly boy! Don’t you know how to craft a logical argument? By using "every," you set up your argument for easy debunking. To make your statement false, all opponents have to do is find just one counter-example—even if homo-haters toss it aside as an anomaly, it still dismantles the narrow, moronic argument.

To say that all cultures have forever defined marriage as between a man and a woman is provably false, and I don’t even have to whip out a National Geographic special on Papua New Guinea or ancient Central Asian buggers. Nope, all one has to do is find a copy of one of Orange County’s greatest publications: the 1933 edition of Chinigchinich.

*Update: Garden Grove Unified is stricter with the book than earlier reported. See after the jump.
The proposition that was once about the state constitution and a ban on same-sex marriage has been whittled down to an argument over schools, sex education and, most entertainingly, a little children's book by a Dutch author called “King & King.” In the story, a prince falls in love with another prince and they wed happily ever after. A few weeks ago, after a teacher and her princess bride were wed in San Francisco, and her students showed up to surprise her, the Prop. 8 campaign – which is seeking to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage -- launched a series of ads with the little book as its central lethal weapon. Television, radio and mail ads feature a Massachusetts couple who made headlines two years ago when they sued their school district because their son was read the book in class (the court ruled against them, writing: "Diversity is a hallmark of our nation"). A version of the ad featuring the book has also run in Spanish throughout the state.

If the pro-Prop. 8 camp was so desperate to make sure the subject of same-sex marriage – and more importantly, that damn little book! -- was never broached in the classroom, why didn’t they just draft a proposition spelling this out? Instead they have underhandedly made the unfounded assertion that same-sex marriage will be “mandated” (as my mailer stated) and forced into the classroom if Prop. 8 doesn't pass. Now we have a surreal situation where the little-gay-book-that-could is making headlines and the state superintendent is showing up on T.V. to remind parents that they have total control over the sexual health education their kids receive in school.

Locally, none of the three biggest districts in the county, Santa Ana Unified, Capistrano Unified or Garden Grove Unified carry “King & King” on their library shelves. But gladly, it doesn't seem like the anti-King & King campaign will hurt the book's chances of showing up on bookshelves in the future.

7th Annual Monster Bash, Friday 8 p.m.
With The Devil Bats, Vlad and the Impalers, Deadman Walking and The New York Ninjas. $5
Coconuts
34235 Doheny Park Rd.
Capistrano Beach, CA
949-487-2787

Halloween Costume Contest, Friday 9 p.m.
Prizes for top costumes.
The Olde Ship Pub & Restaurant
1120 W. 17th St.
Santa Ana, CA
714-550-6700

Bastard Winos, Saturday 8 p.m.
Who doesn't like bastard winos?
Juke Joint Bar & Grill
735 N. Anaheim Blvd.
Anaheim, CA
714-778-1397

Pumpkin Launch 2008, Saturday 9 a.m.
Free activities include: pumpkin carving contests (bring your own carved pumpkin), a catapult contest, music, entertainment, and the chance to watch engineering students launch pumpkins.
Cal State Fullerton
800 N. State College Blvd.
Fullerton, CA
714-278-2434

Amusings, Hauntings, Wantings by Stephen Anderson, Sunday 12 p.m.
Spooky art and sculpture.
Orange County Center for Contemporary Art
117 N. Sycamore
Santa Ana, CA
714-667-1517

Happy Halloween!

Sofa, King, Cool, Travis Collinson's memorably peculiar acrylic painting, really doesn't belong in the Huntington Beach Art Center's baseball-themed art show, "2332." But then again, an argument could be made that Collinson's hapless characters would be misfits pretty much anywhere.

In a dimly-lit apartment that looks like it smells of microwave popcorn and cat pee, a sickly man reclines on a sofa, seemingly too depressed to move. In the foreground, his birdlike lady friend sits with her hands in her lap, lost in her own heavy thoughts. Whatever they were talking about, the discussion has hit a long, unhappy lull. Through the sliding glass door behind them, we look out on a world without promise, just another cheap apartment beneath a dishwater sky. The scene is so grim it's kind of hilarious; even the poor plant on the table looks like it's aching for better days, long past.

It's hard to guess if Collinson paints people who look like Steve Buscemi's family reunion by choice, or because he's still figuring out how to render faces. His people are crooked, pop-eyed and unlovely, but you peer through this window into their lonesome little world, and you can't help but feel for them. Call this one a home run.

"2332" @ The Huntington Beach Art Center
538 Main St., Huntington Beach
(714) 374-1650.
Through December 21.

*Updated, with winner at the bottom...

Phil Brigandi's Orange County Place Names A To Z is an excellent compendium of the history behind some of the county's various geographical names, from the famous (cities and streets) to the many canyons. In a way, his work is a needed update to 1966's Historic Place Names in Orange County, written by Brigandi's mentor and one of the county's Big Three when it comes to county historians, Don Meadows (the others being Terry Stephenson and Leo Friis). The newer book isn't as thorough as Meadow's magnum opus, and that's okay. But Brigandi unfortunately left out some pretty funny points of interest in Orange County, the funniest by far being Nigger Canyon.

Nigger Canyon? Yep, it's still there, although now known by a more polite name (just like Holy Jim Falls was named after a Cussin' Jim). The first person to guess correctly in what city Nigger Canyon is located gets an autographed copy of my own Orange County history tome. One city per comment, por favor. Village Voice Media employees not eligible. Now, find that...okay, you get the joke.

*WE HAVE A WINNER! Bryan Crowther guessed Laguna Beach right. Per Meadows' entry:

When the Spanish came to California a large Indian village called Niguel was located on the highland flat between Abalone Point and Moro Canyon. When American cartographers modernized early maps they moved the name southward and, being unable to read clearly the name Niguel, they corrupted it to Nigger and applied it to the canyon that drains into Emerald Bay 1.5 miles northwest of Laguna Beach.

Now THAT'S comedy. Gracias, everyone else for playing, and keep reading for other infrequent contests!

Halloween Swingthing, 8 p.m.
Contests, dance workshops and open dancing, featuring the dancers from "30 Seconds Of Fame" and "Star Search" finalists, Jordan Frisbee and Tatiana Mollmann.
Irvine Hyatt Regency
17900 Jamboree Road
Irvine, CA 92614
(949) 975-1234

420 Band, 9 p.m.
Toke up and groove down.
Mai Tai Bar
97 Aquarium Way
Long Beach, CA
562-435-1200

Evan Stone's Translucent Ham Sandwich Band, 7 p.m.
Something tells me that when ham becomes see-through, it's not safe to ingest.
Steamers Jazz Club
138 W. Commonwealth Ave.
Fullerton, CA
714-871-8800

Halloween Costume Ball, 9 p.m.
Featuring the Feelgood Love Show with DJs Charles Feelgood and Danny Love.
Ember
401 N. Anaheim Blvd.
Anaheim, CA

Nightmare on Santa Fe Ave., 9 p.m.
One, two, drink a 'lil booze.
The Continental Room
115 W. Santa Fe Ave.
Fullerton, CA
714-526-4529