NAME CALLING: Former Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand...

NAME CALLING: Former Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) is accusing acting Secretary of State Tony Miller of using his duties “as a partisan sledgehammer to harass Republicans.” He even suggested the governor should replace him. . . . What was the heinous crime? Miller denied McClintock’s request to be called “taxpayer advocate” on the ballot in the race for state controller. The ballot designation is supposed to reflect a candidate’s principal profession, and Miller routinely rejects “taxpayer advocate,” except for tax lawyers. McClintock, who now works for an anti-tax group, vows to sue.

HUNGRY FOR ATTENTION: For 19 days, the founder of a fringe political party has refused food served at the Ventura County Jail in an ongoing protest over what he perceives as government atrocities. . . . Christopher McGrath, 41, the founder of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Party in Simi Valley, goes to trial today on trespass charges for holding solitary sit-ins at the Simi Valley courthouse. . . . The jail’s medical staff checks him daily, said Cmdr. Ken Kipp. “His weight is down to 172 pounds, a drop of seven or eight pounds.”

SIDEWALK BUSTERS: Towering trees provide shade, please the eye, and add to the value of any home. But some trees, particularly exotic varieties from overseas, can be a tremendous nuisance in the city (Ventura County Life, Page 24). . . . They bore into sewer lines, create fire hazards, buckle pavement. One of the most troublesome is the Indian laurel, described by one arborist as “our No. 1 concrete buster.”

AND THEY’RE OFF: The off-track betting facility at the Ventura County Fairgrounds has corralled world champion jockey Johnny Longden as a treat for longtime horse racing fans from 11 a.m. to noon tomorrow. . . . Now 87, Longden retired in 1966 as history’s winningest race-rider with 6,032 victories. He led most of his 32,000 races and other jockeys joked they didn’t know what he looked like from the front. “Pound for pound, he was the greatest athlete that ever lived,” said historian Biff Lowry.