DRIVEN TO HUMOR: Maybe it’s because the...
DRIVEN TO HUMOR: Maybe it’s because the freeways here are so crazy at rush hour that the Irvine Spectrum people hired the Orange County Crazies to promote ride sharing. . . . With the state’s Ridesharing Week starting Monday, the comedy troupe has been appearing at businesses in the Irvine Spectrum office park, near the El Toro “Y.” They’re using zany routines to highlight traffic reduction. Today’s bit is at the Irvine Medical Center at 11 a.m.
CUPS RUNNETH OVER: You may wonder who’s doing the counting, but at Anaheim Memorial Hospital today, they’re turning in their 1 millionth foam cup since starting a recycling program two years ago. . . . The event takes place during a ride-share fair, which combines the car-pool sign-ups and recycling promotions. Foam cups, by the way, can be turned into videocassettes, toys and even some office equipment.
TODAY’S HERO: Retired history professor Robert V. Hine of Irvine is surprised by the critical acclaim being generated by his new book, “Second Sight.” It chronicles his 15 years of blindness and a dangerous operation that restored his vision (E1). . . . Hine, who spent 36 years at UC Riverside, says one perk he and his wife, Shirley, especially enjoyed was NBC’s “Today” show recently coming to their home: “The place was just filled with lights and reflectors. It was wild, I must say.” The NBC show hasn’t yet set an air date for the segment.
HARRY’S OTHER SIDE: If you know actor Harry Hamlin, it’s likely from his starring in TV’s “L.A. Law” or because of the tabloids’ insatiable interest in his love life. But Hamlin’s real passion seems to be the environment, which is why he’s on the board of Irvine’s Advanced Physics Corp., an energy research firm. . . . On Tuesday he appears on Public Broadcasting’s “TechnoPolitics” (KCET, 2:30 p.m.). He’ll talk about environmentally correct alternatives to some of the government energy programs.
