SMOKE THIS: When the Marlboro van pulled...

SMOKE THIS: When the Marlboro van pulled in front of a 7-Eleven store in Mission Viejo this week, anti-smoking people--including the county’s Health Care Agency--were ready. While the Marlboro folks passed out cigarette coupons, residents held up anti-smoking banners. . . . Marilyn Cowan, who heads the county agency’s tobacco prevention program, insists: “Our support group protested; we in county government only passed out education literature.” It worked; the Marlboro folks packed up and left.

FUNNY MONEY: Todd Glass is making a name with the public for his stand-up comedy at local clubs. He’s making a name with his fellow comedians for knowing when something isn’t funny. . . . Glass has organized them to help out for several good causes. The latest: Sunday night, a $10-per-person night of stand-ups at the Irvine Improv. The money is for 13-year-old Kelli Casas of Laguna Hills, afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis. Says an Irvine Improv spokeswoman: “Todd is a very funny guy with a very big heart.”

RIVERS OF MONEY: “Flood our phone lines,” the KEZY radio deejays encouraged listeners this week in raising funds for Midwest flood relief. Corny maybe, but it got the job done. The Anaheim easy-rock station raised $25,000, and split it between flood relief and the local Red Cross. “When we looked into this, we learned the Red Cross is always short of money because it’s always sending its money to help others,” says KEZY’s April Whitney.