NO SNEEZING: The county investment debacle is...

NO SNEEZING: The county investment debacle is hitting at low levels. In Municipal Court in Fullerton, one set of employees was told: No more county-issued Kleenex to blow your nose. Plus, employees have been ordered to turn in their little yellow Post-it stickers--only management gets them now. Also: Just two pencils per week per employee. . . . Says one employee: “What next? Are we going to have to start bringing our own toilet paper?”

RECALL-PROOF: If you’re hot to recall county supervisors over the bonds crisis, don’t look toward William G. Steiner--at least for now. Steiner, named by the governor last year to fill Don Roth’s term, falls through a crack in the state’s recall law. No one can be recalled whose term ends within six months. . . . Steiner, who handily won in the June primary, doesn’t start his new term until Jan. 4. . . . The same law also keeps him safe from a recall the first 90 days of his new term.

BACK TOGETHER: Stan Oftelie was once Bill Hodge’s college journalism instructor. Later they were friendly rivals working for different county supervisors. . . . Now Oftelie, who heads the Orange County Transportation Authority, has coaxed Hodge, above, into leaving his post as executive director of the local League of Cities to join him at OCTA. Hodge will be external affairs director, in charge of state and federal legislation. . . . He agreed to the job before the county’s bankruptcy. But now, says Hodge: “The significance of the job has gone up about three octaves.”

YOU DON’T SAY: This could rank among the year’s top understatements. . . In the January issue of Money, the magazine says of the county’s municipal bonds problems: “The Orange County fiasco is a reminder that munis do carry some risk.” . . . It adds this advice: “Putting all your eggs in one basket is not a prudent investment.” Also: “Keep in mind that high credit ratings do not guarantee safety.” The Orange County bond issues had high credit ratings.