CREDIT COURT: In South Orange County, handling...

CREDIT COURT: In South Orange County, handling a traffic ticket is getting as easy as going to the mall. The Municipal Court there will now let you pay any misdemeanor fines or traffic citations by MasterCard or Visa. You can pay by phone, mail or in person. . . . “We hope this will minimize the lines at the counter and make it easier for people,” said Caroline Swift, administrative analyst for the court. Sorry, no American Express.

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MR. PUNCTUALITY: Irked by official tardiness, Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange) recently established a bipartisan “On Time” committee to prod lawmakers to be more punctual for floor sessions and hearings. It was partly for good fun, but it has produced results. Last year’s 40 minutes late starting time average has been cut to less than 10 minutes. “For the first time in decades,” Conroy boasted, “we conducted the people’s business in a timely, professional manner.”

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NO SHORT STOP: Talk about your stereotypes: Tonight at Nordstrom’s in South Coast Plaza they’ve got a Capizzi modeling an Italian evening jacket. But it’s all for a good cause. . . . Shortstop, the juvenile-crime prevention program run by the Orange County Bar Foundation, is holding a fashion show as a fund-raiser. The volunteer models include county Supervisor Thomas F. Riley and District Attorney Michael R. Capizzi. . . . Jokes the D.A.: “Someone thinks I’m a tall, slender Italian. I guess they don’t know I’m a short, chubby guy.”

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FOOT THE BILL? Cities here routinely face huge money claims as a prerequisite to personal injury lawsuits filed against them. Which is why the claim by April Armendariz stood out to Westminster officials. The 40-year-old Huntington Beach woman wants . . . $25. She twisted her ankle stepping off a sidewalk on 13th Street there. But she’s only asking money to repair damage to her new shoes. . . . “It’s the principle,” she says. City Council members may have been amused, but they denied her claim.