BEACHCOMBER? Walter W. (Bill) Knitz, the former...

BEACHCOMBER? Walter W. (Bill) Knitz, the former general manager of the Santa Margarita Water District convicted of conflict-of-interest charges, is a model trash hauler and toilet cleaner at county-run beaches in Laguna Beach--where he’s performing part of his court-ordered 200 hours of community service. Knitz recently recovered a lost wallet with $117 inside, which was returned to its owner. . . . Says Mark Carlson, supervising park ranger. “Mr. Knitz is one of our better court referrals.”

ARTISTS FOR ARTISTS: Not all the money for artwork sold at the ongoing Sawdust Festival in Laguna Beach goes into the artists’ pockets. Many of them are donating pieces--to help their fellow artists. . . . Paintings and ceramic pieces will be auctioned off at the festival today, to fill the coffers of the festival’s Benevolence Fund. The fund helps out local artists facing financial hardship. Says a spokeswoman: “Many of those donating pieces can identify with that situation.”

BROTHERLY LOVE: After 13 years as a Huntington Beach lifeguard, Lt. Mike Beuerlein finally has the schedule he wants--Sundays off. Now he can watch his brother, Steve Beuerlein, quarterback the Arizona Cardinals. Both Beuerleins are from Fullerton and graduated from Anaheim’s Servite High. Steve played football at Notre Dame; Mike, water polo at UC Irvine. . . . Says Mike: “For the first 11 years here I had to work weekends, then rush home and watch the highlights.”

ELECTRONIC STAMPS: The post office in Irvine is getting help from a foe: the fax machine. Customers there--one of two test markets nationally--are now ordering stamps by fax and getting them in the daily mail. . . . “People love it,” says Irvine Postmaster Jim Burns, who counts about 150 orders a day, mainly from businesses and the home-office crowd. Customers fax order forms and then pay the mail carrier later. The fax service is to go countywide Oct. 1.