Last Act: A court in Lakeland, Fla.,...

Last Act: A court in Lakeland, Fla., has cleared the way for the remains of circus magnate John Ringling and his wife, Mable, to be buried at a Sarasota, Fla., art museum that bears their name. John Ringling’s nephew, Henry North, wants the couple buried there alongside John Ringling’s sister, Ida North. But Pat Buck, a grand niece of Ringling, had opposed burying Ida North with the Ringlings because Ida had nothing to do with the circus. Mable Ringling died in 1929; John died in 1936. Their bodies are in crypts in Port Charlotte, Fla. Ida North’s body has been at a Sarasota funeral home since her death in 1950.

PR Glitch: A newsman who had criticized Iowa National Guard fly-overs as dangerous was invited on a flight exercise--and almost was killed in a crash. The two fighters collided over northwestern Iowa Wednesday. Both pilots and Ward Bushee, executive editor of the Sioux Falls, S.D., Argus Leader, ejected. The pilots were not seriously injured; Bushee was hospitalized in fair condition.

Food Tour: The menu for the June 4 luncheon for Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco reads like a map of California agriculture. The hors d’oeuvres at the reception include “Dungeness crab legs on Central Valley endive” and Pacific smoked salmon; the lunch features “Sonoma greens” and a Napa Valley wine with lobster, “Sonoma baby lamb” and “San Joaquin Valley vegetables.”

Book Them: Prentice Hall Press has signed a contract with Washington writers Harry Jaffe and Tom Sherwood for a book on Washington in the era of Mayor Marion Barry. They intend to cover the period from 1965, when Barry came to Washington, through his arrest and trial on pending drug charges.