MEAN STREET: If you’re tired of all...

MEAN STREET: If you’re tired of all the road construction headaches in Orange County, here’s another one to groan about: Main Street in Santa Ana will close a week from today between East Owens Drive and Santa Clara Avenue--for two years. It’s to rebuild the Main Street bridge above the Santa Ana Freeway. . . . Broadway is the recommended detour route. There is some good news though. The Bristol Street/La Veta Avenue bridge leading to Main, which has been closed for a year, finally reopens today, which will help motorists reach alternate routes.

HAPPY CAMPERS: O’Neill Regional Park in Trabuco Canyon on Friday will finally reopen its campground (B1), closed almost a year for renovation. . . . To celebrate, the county will offer a bargain: The first 15 families who arrive to camp on opening day will get a free weekend. . . . The park’s usual camping fee is $10 a night, $5 for seniors. Park officials expect a full campground.

WORK & PLAY: New UC Irvine Chancellor Laurel Wilkening starts her first day on the job today, with an up-close look at the talents of some of the people she’ll work with. . . . The Butler Street Blues Band, made up of all faculty members, will perform for her at a noon welcoming outdoor ice cream social at the Student Center Patio. It’s for students, faculty and staff. Just to make sure she knows where she is, school mascot Peter the Ant will be there to party with her.

ALGONQUIN WEST? T. Jefferson Parker, whose new novel, “Summer of Fear,” is about an Orange County serial killer (E1), misses the camaraderie of local writers he used to fraternize with. “I wish there were a place in Orange County where the writers hung out,” he says. “You know, on any given night Kem Nunn, Elizabeth George, Thomas Keneally, Gregory Benford and Donald Heiney would be knocking back martinis and shooting the bull. That would be like heaven.” His choice: The oceanfront patio of the Hotel Laguna.