Maybe Her Lawyers Wanted It for Evidence at the Next Trial

The unkindest cut of all:

Somebody stole Nancy Hoover Hunter’s laudatory plaque from Seagrove Park.

A Times photographer discovered the theft Friday. As required by law, he notified me immediately.

I called Del Mar City Hall.

“We don’t know anything about it,” said John Bahorski, assistant city manager. No ransom demands, no notes to news agencies claiming responsibility.

The plaque was dedicated in “grateful appreciation” for Hunter’s “tireless efforts to preserve Del Mar’s open space” while serving on the City Council from 1974 to 1982.

As you know, Hunter’s more recent life has been a bummer.

She’s doing a 10-year stretch in prison for income tax evasion. She’s being retried on 192 counts of fraud and conspiracy from her adventures as live-in companion and business partner with swindler J. David (Jerry) Dominelli.

The first jury split 11 to 1 for conviction. Hunter’s “dazzled by love” defense fell flat.

But at least the home folks rallied ‘round with “Free Nancy” bumper stickers, petitions asking for leniency, sympathetic letters to newspapers.

The last time I wrote about Hunter, a woman called me and pointed out sharply that Hunter got a harsher sentence than hotelier Leona Helmsley did.

“It just proves that a wife gets better treatment than a lover in federal court,” the woman said. It’s hard to argue with logic like that.

I visited the crime scene on Saturday. There were no clues.

Joggers jogged, sleek blondes lounged nearby and prosperous-looking locals took their strolls. No one noticed the forlorn stump of concrete in a patch of sea lavender.

Bahorski had speculated that the theft may have been the work of souvenir culprits. That happens in Del Mar. About three times a year, the city has to replace the sign for a half-block street called Little Orphan Alley.

Conclusion: It’s easy to slip from being famous to being merely a curiosity.

Get the Picture? Click.

No end in sight.

* Word at San Diego City Hall is that Councilman John Hartley has ordered the removal of a picture of the neon sign over El Cajon Boulevard (“The Boulevard”).

During his campaign, Hartley lashed the incumbent for using public money for the sign. Then a framed picture of the offending sign popped up outside his office door.

He won’t confirm or deny the grumpy removal order: “I don’t want you calling me again.”

* Mike Gotch, running for the California Assembly, is on the defensive about his support for building a shopping complex at Belmont Park while on the City Council.

He sent out a “Dear Friend” letter to voters explaining his support for Belmont Park and accusing opponent Jeff Marston of “outright lies.”

The Marston camp plans its own letter, quoting a scalding grand jury report about how the council dealt with the issue.

* The council today debates voluntary versus mandatory water conservation.

The San Diego County Water Authority wants mandatory. The Navy, Sea World, UC San Diego, Caltrans and American Golf Corp. pledge a 10% voluntary cut.

The council is divided.

Mayor Maureen O’Connor supports voluntary: “San Diego should not have a water pistol held to its head.”

* The National Green Party, the political party for environmental absolutists, plans a Mexfly and Medfly War Crimes Tribunal.

Also, a mock trial for San Diego County officials who support aerial spraying.

And Another Thing . . .

Names and dates.

* Standing title for psychology column in Bravo newspaper: Mental Floss.

* Look for a 50% cut in the library system budget when the proposed San Diego city budget is released Tuesday.

That’s better than the feared 62%, but not much. No closures of libraries, but severe cutbacks in hours and staffing.