ELECTION GRAFFITI: The June election is over,...

ELECTION GRAFFITI: The June election is over, so now all those politicians will take down their glut of political signs, right? Heh, heh. Actually, some cities have improved efforts to get rid of post-election political signs. . . . In Irvine, candidates have a week to pull down their signs, or pay the city the cost of having it done. In Brea, you lose a $25 deposit if your signs aren’t down in 24 hours. Santa Ana was busy taking down signs illegally posted on public property before the election. The city has taken down 300 in recent weeks.

SOC IT TO ‘EM: Since the U.S. soccer team’s 1-0 victory over Mexico last week, soccer fever has heated up at the squad’s Mission Viejo training facility. More than 30 people showed up this week just to cheer the team at practice. . . . “This place is becoming a madhouse,” says Bill Irvine, vice president of the Mission Viejo Soccer Foundation, which brought the team to Mission Viejo. “The victory over Mexico really lifted everyone’s spirits.”

GUN S(L)INGER: Country singer Reba McEntire has added a twist to the old swords-into-plowshares idea. In several cities on her current tour, fans get a free ticket to her show if they turn over a gun to local law enforcement. But don’t bring your guns to town for Reba’s Orange County show. . . . She’ll be at Irvine Meadows on July 1, but Sgt. Brian Clifton says the Irvine Police Department lacks the resources to staff a drop-off point for her. . . . . “Everyone wants guns off the street,” he says. “It’s a question of how feasible it is to do.”

FOOD PATROL: For some people, buffet dining is a night out on the town (OC Live!). Country Harvest Buffet, with three Orange County locations, thrives partly from its popularity with seniors. . . . “Our repeat customers are amazingly loyal,” says Sean Hoang, a manager at Anaheim’s Country Harvest. They tell us if they see people leaving lots of food uneaten, he says. “They think we go over and talk to them, but we don’t. We hope they don’t come back.”