Snapshots of life in the Golden State. : Where to Draw the Line on the Mountain Lion?

Just when is a mountain lion dangerous?

That question has been stirring debate in the Eastern Sierra since California voters approved a permanent ban on hunting the big cats a year ago.

The state Department of Fish and Game now kills the animals only when they threaten people or damage property. But a few people think that a state warden took the law too seriously when he declined to pursue a mountain lion that attacked a pet dog standing next to its owner. Instead, the homeowner, Teri Burgess, was issued a permit allowing her to try to find and kill the lion herself. “It’s a little bit confusing to me in my job,” acknowledges Vern Bleich, a Fish and Game wildlife biologist in Bishop. “I mean, what is a public safety threat? Is it a lion that has a kid up a tree?”

Fish and Game Warden Mike Wolter of Bishop assures that stronger action would have been taken in the Burgess case “if (the mountain lion) had gone for her instead of the dog.”

CAPITOL INSIDER

Duke demurs: Despite rampant speculation, former Gov. George Deukmejian insists he has never been contacted by President Bush to become the next U.S. Attorney General--nor would he accept. “(I’m) very pleased with life as a private citizen,” he told the Times.

Deukmejian, now working for an L.A. law firm, had been prominently mentioned as a possible successor to Dick Thornburgh--whose plans to resign went awry when a federal judge nullified Pennsylvania’s method for filling the U.S. Senate seat he intended to seek following the death of Sen. John Heinz.

Behind the budget: Steven A. Olsen, 35, may be practically invisible to anyone outside the State Capitol. But as Gov. Pete Wilson publicly twists arms to close the $14.3-billion state budget deficit, Olsen is helping the governor determine which proposals actually would work. In a larger sense, his task is to advise Wilson and other state officials on virtually all budget matters.

Olsen, who serves as deputy director of the Department of Finance, is a scraggly-bearded UC Berkeley graduate who previously served as budget adviser for state Senate Republicans. His appointment by Wilson has been seen as one of the governor’s most popular moves with the Legislature.

Comfortable in his background role, Olsen, who earns $82,000 a year, has sought to downplay his importance. “I sort of manage the legislative program,” he says, making his handling of bills that call for $7.7 billion in tax increases and service cuts sound almost routine.

The Luck of the Lottery Million-Dollar or More Lottery Winners* The Top Five Cities

CITY NO. OF WINNERS TOTAL AMOUNT WON 1. Los Angeles 39 $213,511,292 2. San Diego 18 $82,641,360 3. San Francisco 14 $62,260,000 4. San Jose 13 $66,640,000 5. Long Beach 9 $61,020,000

* Since games began 10/3/85 through 6/22/91. Includes Lotto and “Big Spin” winners.

Top Five Lotto Retailers*

SALES FOR CITY RETAILER WEEK** 1. Nipton Nipton Trading Post $73,553 2. Hawthorne Bluebird Liquor $72,739 3. Baker Will Fargo County Store $62,493 4. Truckee 7-Eleven $34,470 5. Los Angeles George’s Liquor $24,526

ALL FIRED UP

Insurers may sue: Santa Barbara residents and government officials are fuming at the prospects of a $120-million lawsuit planned by 11 insurance companies in connection with the June, 1990, fire that destroyed more than 500 homes.

The insurance firms, including Allstate and Farmers, have filed notice of an intent to sue county, state and federal agencies, claiming they contributed to the devastating blaze by failing to trim weeds and chaparral. Officials of Allstate acknowledge that there is also a possibility that the suit may include private landowners whose land was scorched--if they were insured by firms not part of the 11-member coalition.

Declaring that the fire was fueled by extraordinarily hot winds rather than negligence, the Santa Barbara News-Press, in an editorial, calls the prospective suit “a low blow,” “ludicrous” and “reprehensible.”

State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi says he will study the matter, terming the idea of suing private landowners “strange.”

ON CAMPUS

Water wizards: UC Berkeley may not be at the top of the heap in football or other major sports. But when it comes to concrete canoe racing, the Bears are legitimate heavyweights.

Last weekend in Orlando, the Bay Area brains won the national college concrete canoe championships, sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers, for the third time in four years.

Berkeley’s 18-foot-long canoe was made of concrete mix reinforced with wire mesh. Dubbed the “Bearing Straight,” the two-seater weighed a mere 97 pounds.

Team president Farid Javandel says the canoe operates “on the same principle that keeps Navy ships made of steel floating.”

What’s that? Taxpayers’ dollars?

No, Javandel says. “It’s the displacement of water.”

EXIT LINE

“Let us know if you want a room on the same floor as the Hollywood celebrities or if you would prefer a quieter floor with the delegates.”

--Memo from the California Democratic Party, polling political reporters on their preference for accommodations at next year’s Democratic National Convention in New York City.

California Dateline appears every other Friday.