1991 ORANGE COUNTY / THE YEAR...

1. Q: The tiny California gnatcatcher--a bird proposed for the nation’s endangered species list--has a distinctive song. The bird: a. Moos like a cow. b. Barks like a dog. c. Mews like a kitten. d. None of the above. 2. Q: What $5-billion project involving two major tourist Meccas--Anaheim and Las Vegas--was put on hold during 1991 because of the recession? a. An interstate casino. b. A 270-m.p.h. train. c. Discounted commuter flights. d. A theme park. 3. Q: Laura Small, who was mauled by a mountain lion at Caspers Wilderness Park five years ago, was awarded more than $2 million last summer by a jury ruling that the county was responsible for the attack. What was the then-5-year-old El Toro girl doing just before the cougar sprang on her? a. Having a picnic with her family. b. Feeding a deer in the park. c. Looking for tadpoles in a stream. d. Teasing the cougar with a stick. 4. Q: Richard DeHoyos, convicted of murdering a 9-year-old Santa Ana girl, was found sane even though he: a. Barked and growled like a dog during his trial. b. Shaved his head. c. Whipped off his clip-on tie and threw it at his attorney. d. All of the above. 5. Q: Sheriff Brad Gates received a jail sentence--later overturned--for what offense? a. Challenging campaign reformer Shirley L. Grindle to a fight. b. Violating state campaign fund-raising limits. c. Issuing early releases to prisoners in Orange County Jail. d. Posing as a homeless person during a raid at Santa Ana Civic Center. 6. Q: Laguna Lakes, three ailing ponds that will soon be restored by city and county officials, have never been named. But one of them is known around town as Bubbles Pond because: a. The owner’s nickname is Bubbles. b. Bubbles often surface on the lake from decaying algae. c. Bubbles the Hippo wandered away from an animal park and died there. d. A plant species with bubble-like seeds grows there. 7. Q: Which of the following events did not take place during the criminal securities fraud trial of Charles H. Keating Jr. in Los Angeles County Superior Court: a. An elderly woman approached him in court, grabbed his lapels and screamed at him. b. An elderly comedian hit him twice with a powdered blond wig. c. A federal regulator testified that he once dated one of Keating’s daughters. d. A U.S. senator testified that he became upset when Keating called him a wimp. 8. Q: Which of the following statements was not made by Keating while his company owned Lincoln Savings & Loan? a. “I don’t trust the regulators. I don’t want to go to jail.” b. “I’m beginning to wonder just how long this living nightmare is going to last.” c. “I owe a lot of money to bondholders. I can’t walk away from the bondholders. I have a tremendous obligation.” d. “Sell more bonds.” 9. Q: Which of the following things did Charles Keating not buy? a. A small South Seas island near actor Marlon Brando’s island. b. About 1,000 cans of Silly String. c. A movie script about a fictional attempt on the Pope’s life. d. A helicopter. 10. Q: Which county elected candidates to local political offices who campaigned on the express intent of avoiding becoming “another Orange County”? a. Ventura County. b. Riverside County. c. San Diego County. d. Marin County. 11. Q: State officials captured a family of red foxes from their den on a new stretch of the Costa Mesa Freeway. Two of the pups, now at the Orange County Zoo, were named after a write-in contest. Their names are: a. Road Kill and Truck Stop. b. Sig Alert and Freeway. c. Foxy and Roxy. d. Gaddi and Harriett. 12. Q: In UCI’s 1991 Orange County Annual Survey, the largest portion of residents reported that their most serious gripe about the county is its: a. Crime. b. Traffic. c. Air pollution. d. Board of Supervisors. 13. Q: In that same survey, four out of every five county residents polled reported that they: a. Recycle their trash. b. Rate county schools as excellent or good. c. Plan to move to Seattle. d. Earn an annual household income of $80,000 or more. 14. Q: A neighborhood controversy erupted in Laguna Beach when the city’s Design Review Board refused to give final approval to a new home because: a. A mural depicting beach scenes faced the street. b. The owners painted their garage door red. c. An American flag was painted across one wall. d. The house was painted “shell white” instead of “sandstone.” 15. Q: Another neighborhood controversy erupted in Laguna Beach when the same Design Review Board allowed a homeowner to: a. Place 30 old water heaters and house trailers in a tree as work of art. b. Play the “Star-Spangled Banner” on a loudspeaker every morning. c. Install a weather monitoring station on the roof. d. Keep a pet Shetland pony. 16. Q: What was the Lollapalooza?: a. John Wayne’s nickname for World War II. b. Rams sportswriters’ nickname for Eric Dickerson’s ego. c. A touring rock festival that played three sold-out dates at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre. d. A Jackie Gleason career retrospective sponsored by the UC Irvine film society. 17. Q: Tristan Martin, 7, was kicked off a Saddleback Valley Unified School District bus almost 2 miles from school last June for: a. Carrying three pet lizards in a plastic box. b. Fighting with the bus driver. d. Listening to the rap group Run DMC on a boom box. 18. Q: In a case likened to the War of the Roses, a county woman was found guilty of hiring two men to force her estranged husband into signing a $600,000 property settlement. The men persuaded the husband to sign by: a. Holding a pair of scissors to his ponytail. b. Holding a can of red paint over his Mercedes-Benz. c. Holding a burning road flare to his groin. d. Holding his cocker spaniel hostage. 19. Q: Which sports league or event has agreed to use the Anaheim Arena--on which construction began in June--when it opens in 1993: a. National Basketball Assn. b. National Hockey League. c. World Wrestling Federation. d. None of the above. 20. Q: The Balboa Cinema in Newport Beach was closed. In recent years it specialized in art and foreign films, along with midnight showings of “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” but it has also been home in the past to: a. A repertory of classic and cult films. b. Adult movies. c. Vaudeville. d. All of the above. 21. Q: The story of what county figure attracted millions of viewers to NBC during a two-part miniseries in February: a. Donald L. Bren and the inside story of the Irvine Co. b. Anna Johnson and the battle over the baby she bore for an infertile couple. c. Richard K. Overton and allegations that he poisoned his wife. d. David Brown and the plot to have his daughter kill his wife. 22. Q: What thrill did Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) feel for the first time recently? a. White-water rafting. b. Hang gliding. c. Sky diving. d. Bungee jumping. 23. Q: This county lawmaker likes to sing country tunes, attend professional wrestling matches and crack jokes about eating spotted owls roasted over an old-growth fire. He also lost his Assembly leadership position this summer when he clashed with Gov. Pete Wilson over raising taxes. a. Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach). b. Statw Sen. John R. Lewis (R-Orange). c. Assemblyman Ross Johnson (R-La Habra). d. Assemblyman Tom Mays (R-Huntington Beach). 24. Q: 1991 was a momentous year for the much-maligned Santa Ana River because: a. State officials stocked it with trout. b. It was converted into a roller-blade playground. c. It was added to the national list of protected scenic waterways. d. A $200-million sewage cleanup plan was approved. 25. Q: What city slogan did Huntington Beach officially adopt? a. Surferville. b. America’s Beach Town. c. Speed Trap City. d. Surf City. 26. Q: After weeks of debate and flip-flops, including a loud and boisterous meeting before 1,500 people, the Anaheim City Council in August imposed a 2% tax on: a. Angels and Rams tickets. b. Mickey Mouse ears. c. Utilities. d. Parking fees. 27. Q: What spectacle capped ceremonies for Chapman College’s transformation into Chapman University? a. President James L. Doti sang a new university theme song. b. Board of Trustees chairman George Argyros danced with the campus mascot, a panther. c. Alumni raced vintage cars around the campus. d. A sky-diving team landed on a patch of lawn to help unveil the new Chapman University sign. 28. Q: What extraordinary measure did some departments in UC Irvine’s School of Humanities use to meet their budget reduction targets? a. Asked faculty members to teach an extra class each quarter for free. b. Required faculty to pay for their own office telephones. c. Charged students for class handout materials. d. Put office staff on a four-day workweek. 29. Q: When the Rev. Robert H. Schuller was injured in the Netherlands, he was en route to: a. The Low Countries. b. A sneak preview tour of the English Channel tunnel. c. The Soviet Union and the Vatican. d. The world-famous zoo in Amsterdam, where he planned to buy animals for the Crystal Cathedral’s holiday pageants. 30. Q: Why was a new ocean channel cut through the sand at Huntington Beach? a. For a new Disney theme park. b. To drain off oil from the big spill there. c. For a new waterfront development. d. To improve wetlands. 31. Q: What piece of evidence helped prosecutors gain an indictment of Richard K. Overton on charges that he fatally poisoned his wife--a prominent San Juan Capistrano school board member--with cyanide in 1988? a. Disclosure that Overton was part owner of a mining business that used cyanide. b. Testimony from his first wife alleging that he tried to poison her years before. c. Computer diary entries purportedly showing that he had spied on his wife and suspected her of having an affair. d. All of the above. 32. Q: A humanitarian group in Santa Ana, working with the city, hit upon the idea of helping homeless people who live around the Civic Center by: a. Giving them Coleman lanterns and weekly rations of kerosene. b. Giving them 65-gallon trash cans on wheels to hold their belongings. c. Giving them one-way train tickets to Ventura County. d. Giving them free kit bags with toiletries, vitamins and food coupons. 33. Q: How many local Marines were sent to the Middle East in the Persian Gulf War? a. 700. b. 4,000. c. 7,000. d. 40,000. 34. Q: After a morning visit from a local activist group, Tustin High School students traded what kind of candy-colored items with each other? a. Baseball cards. b. Balloons. c. Rabbit-foot key chains. d. Condoms. 35. Q: The Environmental Protection Agency announced this year that a Westminster neighborhood qualified for the national Superfund list of hazardous waste sites. What is happening at the site? a. Tarlike blobs are seeping into lawns and swimming pools. b. Residents have been told not to eat home-grown fruits and vegetables. c. Homes recently sold for just less than $200,000, despite the seeping waste. d. All of the above. 36. Q: Biology teacher John Peloza sued Capistrano Unified School District for $5 million after school officials suspended him for allegedly teaching what theory in his class? a. Flat-world geography. b. Creationism. c. The birds and the bees. d. Dinosaurs died from inhaling volcanic smoke. 37. Q: After storms in March, federal officials opened the floodgates of Prado Dam and let millions of gallons of water flow into the ocean during the drought. The water was wasted because: a. County officials did not have $5 million to buy the water from the federal government. b. An endangered bird nests behind the dam, and officials did not want their habitat inundated. c. The water was severely contaminated with urban runoff. d. Homes were flooding behind the dam. 38. Q: How many banks and savings and loans based in the county failed in 1991? a. None. Financial institutions tightened their belts and rode out the recession. b. Six banks and eight S&Ls.; c. Four banks and 10 S&Ls;, the worst year on record for local financial institutions. d. One bank and five S&Ls.; 39. Q: The Peppers Golden Bear concert nightclub in Huntington Beach went out of business less than a year after it opened because: a. It was infested with rats. b. It was infested with skinheads. c. It alienated its clientele by pricing drinks too high. d. It couldn’t stop sound from leaking into the movie theaters above it. 40. Q: Bradley Hudson of Laguna Beach canceled his gay-oriented weekly radio program after just six shows were broadcast out of a Tijuana-based station because: a. The station was besieged by calls from anti-gay protesters threatening to boycott its advertisers. b. Station management discovered that Hudson could not speak Spanish. c. Hudson didn’t want to compete for advertisers with a news show devoted to gay and lesbian issues airing on the same station. d. Media magnate Ted Turner bought the station and switched its focus to global environmental issues. 41. Q: Which of the following did county supervisors not do to balance their $3.7-billion budget this year? a. Order layoffs of county workers. b. Close the Commission on the Status of Women. c. Cut their own salaries. d. Extend a countywide hiring freeze on non-emergency positions. Times staff writers Kristina Lindgren, Matt Lait, Jeffrey A. Perlman, James S. Granelli, Jim Newton, Tony Lioce, Terry Spencer, Lily Eng, Marcy Springer, Bill Billiter, Ralph Frammolino and Eric Lichtblau contributed.

Trivia Answers These are the official answers to The Times Orange County Trivia Quiz that begins on B1. 1. c. 2. b. 3. c. 4. d. 5. c. 6. c. 7. c. 8. b. 9. a. 10. a. 11. c. 12. b. 13. a. 14. d. 15. a. 16. c. 17. a. 18. c. 19. d. 20. d. 21. d. 22. c. 23. c. 24. d. 25. d. 26. c. 27. d. 28. b. 29. c. 30. d. 31. d. 32. b. 33. c. 34. d. 35. d. 36. b. 37. b. 38. d. 39. d. 40. c. 41. c.