Orange County Blog

Everyone's piling on the news of a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by the former housekeeper of Kobe and Vanessa Bryant, but it is TMZ.com that's got the juice.

Maria Jimenez is suing in Orange County Superior Court for wrongful discharge, invasion of privacy and emotional distress and unpaid wages. Both Bryants are named, but it's obvious from the court papers that Vanessa is the alleged abuser at their tricked-out pad behind gates in Newport Coast's Pelican Ridge.

The suit claims Vanessa called Jimenez "lazy, slow, dumb, a fucking liar, and fucking shit." And that's when she arrived at work!

The Mrs.--the pride of Huntington Beach's Marina High--is also alleged to have:

* Falsely claimed Jimenez stole her retainer;

* "Badgered, harassed and humiliated Maria by yelling and screaming at Maria and criticizing her in front of Kobe, the Bryants' children, employees and other people in the household";

* Forced Jimenez to put her hand in a bag of dog feces to retrieve the price tag for an expensive blouse the maid had put in the washer.
 
Jimenez claims that she wanted to quit right then and there over the dog crap issue, but that Vanessa Bryant made her stay on the job until she worked off the $690 cost of the blouse. The maid alleges at another point that she threatened to quit but Kobe talked her out of it. It's unclear if that was also related to the pooch poop matter.

Kobe must be so glad the Lakers are on the road right now.

TMZ.com concludes with a reader poll solicitation asking what's a shittier job: Being Kobe's maid or his wife?

I had visions of hordes of Long Beach ocean-view apartment inhabitants spilling out onto the beach this past Saturday for the monthly (second Saturdays) half-hour "Clean Alamitos Beach" event. After all, if you run here, ride your bike here, walk your dog here, bring your kids here, stroll here, play volleyball here, make-out here, surely you'd take a little time to pick up a few of the million pieces of plastic or styrofoam that lurk visibly in every direction on this little beach.

I was met by a smaller but ardent group of regulars and newcomers.

Last week, I came home to this:

And this week:

No, really. My drag queen ditched me for a doctorate student and UCI housing. That schmo. I'll miss you, Christian! Hello, Anaheim.

Laguna Beach Mayor Toni Iseman was on hand Saturday for the ceremonial lighting of the Sawdust ArtisTree to kick off the 17th Annual Winter Fantasy at the Sawdust Art Festival.

The younger sibling to the "Best of OC"-winning summer fest (check out pics here), Winter Fantasy features 170 artists peddling hand made jewelry, crafts, fine art, photography, and more. Keeping in the pro-arts spirit of Sawdust, hands on demonstrations of glass blowing, ceramic throwing and painting as well as face painting and crafts for the kids mean visitors not wanting to shop can just come and hang out.

Weekends through December 9th. Click the image for more photos from Saturday's event.

Click the photo for more singed scenes along Santiago Canyon Road.

Photographer Christopher Victorio hung out at Angel Stadium yesterday evening to snap pix of rabid fans and former Angels. Click the photo to see them. His notes on the event:

"Last night was pretty cool. Total access for the entire stadium! It was like a boyhood dream, but I was disappointed that the team was not there and that I couldn't get an autograph without running the risk of being blacklisted.

The Register reports that some 15,000-20,000 fans showed up. Hearing the roar they made from the field level was deafening! The whole thing was a trip, but it sort of flat-lined after the former Angels spoke.

In other news, The English Beat was great! They did their hits. But the USC marching band was a disappointment. It was a partial squad and I'm pretty sure it was just freshmen and sophomores on the green. Perhaps the upperclassmen got a break since they did play in Seattle this past weekend.

After the former players spoke, they did a highlight reel of the season. Then, fireworks. Ooh, Fireworks! Great for the kids, but not for me, unless choreographed by the National Philharmonic."

Gah. Victorio's a tough guy to please. But thanks for the pictures, dude.

OMFG. Britney f'n Spears graced our fair county, dropping in on a fashion show at Sutra Lounge in Costa Mesa last night.

Check out the TMZ video here.

One would think sitting at an Anaheim Wal-Mart and signing copies of The Condemned would be a career low for former WWE champ Stone Cold Steve Austin. But the line winding through the store aisles and the chaos that was the Wal-Mart parking lot yesterday evening indicate otherwise. A friend and I had stepped in to check out the Halloween decor - completely spacing LYT's post about the event - and were scratching our heads at the some-thousand people there. Then we saw the man and everything made sense.

More pix behind the cut.

"Blondie Clocks!!! Come ON Blondie! Kill! Kill!" yells the huge gent on the folding seat behind me at the Anaheim Hockey Club.

Then, "Kill! Kill! Take your top off!"

Blondie, the OC Roller Girls' lead jammer, grins and waves at her white trash fanbase before taking off and knocking a chick twice her size aside. At the end of the night, OC would fall to Sac City, but it was still good fun.

Click the photo for more shots from last night's bout.

It's 6 p.m. Thursday when a bell tolls outside the Fullerton Museum Center.

Inside, Aimee Aul is leaning against the front counter, dressed in black from the neck down. Aul, museum educator and ghost mistress, is waiting for the evening's batch of ghost hunters to come through the center's double doors.

Minutes later, a group of about 15 gathers around the little lady, most wearing running shoes and some clutching water bottles. The tour's a great chance to learn Fullerton history "through a ghostly lens," says Aul, switching on a pedometer. Flats are a must for the two-and-a-half hour walk through the downtown area.

Looking down at my three-inch boots, I know I'm in trouble. But it's a little late to dash to the car for some flip flops.

"Let's go find some ghosts," says Aul before charging out the door.

Click here for ghost stories and photos from the trip.