OFF THE WALL? Ex-Dana Point Councilwoman Eileen...
OFF THE WALL? Ex-Dana Point Councilwoman Eileen Krause and her husband, Robert, told Mother Jones magazine this month it was happenstance that the house they wanted was in gated, walled Monarch Bay. Now they like its reduced noise and traffic. . . . But the writer, Stanford University journalism professor Dale Maharidge, decries walled communities in his eight-page piece on Dana Point: “The isolation of walled communities will only increase as generations of children grow up in them and accept their reality.”
NO DOC HOLIDAY: Most high-stakes poker tournaments start out with a combination of amateurs and professional players, but the handful at the end are all pros. . . . Not so at the recent Hall of Fame tournament at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas. Barry Schwartz--a full-time Huntington Beach family doctor--won the top prize of $184,000. . . . Schwartz declines to discuss his poker exploits, explaining: “I just play as a hobby.”
PEOPLE MOVER: With the national collegiate title at stake in Sunday night’s Orange Bowl game between Miami and Nebraska, the Cornhuskers are counting on their dominant offensive line. Said one Miami coach in awe: “They could make a great basketball team. They’re 300-pound guys who can run.” . . . Included on that line: All-American guard Brenden Stai, 6 feet 4 and 305 pounds, from Anaheim’s Esperanza High School.
ORANGE & ROSE: How can Orange County not get caught up in Rose Bowl fever, with one team called the Ducks? . . . Fans of the Oregon Ducks and the Penn State Nittany Lions are filling up many of the hotels here--the Penn State football team itself is at the Westin South Coast Plaza hotel. (D1) And both schools have students from here. . . . Says Angie Tyson of Fountain Valley, an Oregon sophomore who will play in its band at the Rose Bowl game plus the Tournament of Roses Parade on Monday: “Growing up just around the corner, to finally have this opportunity is fantastic.”
* The Top of Today’s News is on A2
