NO TIME TO WASTE: It’s going to...

NO TIME TO WASTE: It’s going to get tougher to dump your used motor oil. With the bond crisis at hand, the county’s four hazardous waste collection centers next month reduce from six-day operations to just one : Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. . . . And even then, each center shuts down after the first 100 customer cars. . . . But, local officials point out, most counties have no such centers. Most people use them to get rid of old oil or batteries, pool supplies, paints and pesticides.

HE’S AVAILABLE: As attorney Shawn Steel of Westminster sees it, public agencies affected by the bond crisis will be suing somebody . And to sue, you need lawyers, right? . . . . But officials at the La Habra City School District were more than a little offended when they got Steel’s letter, offering his small firm’s services on any litigation related to the financial crisis. One school trustee called it “ambulance chasing in the worst form.” . . . . Says Steel, who sent the same letter to many such agencies: “I prefer to call it free market enterprise.”

POND POWER: Michael Stipe, above, and his R.E.M. are making The Pond of Anaheim the arena for top shows. Comparing the first case where Pond and Inglewood Forum tickets for the same act went on sale the same day: The Pond this week sold out its May 12 R.E.M. date in 45 minutes. Then it immediately added a second date for May 13, which is nearly sold out. It far surpassed demand for May 9 R.E.M. tickets at the Forum. . . . Says one concert organizer: “The fans voted, and the preference is The Pond when there’s a choice.”

KEEP IT SHORT: You may think there’s a new magazine on Orange County’s newsstands: O.C. Metro. But if you take a closer look, it’s just the Metropolitan with a new name. . . . Owner Steve Churm says the business-oriented magazine’s recent first issue under the name change “moved faster than any issue we’ve had.” Churm says the new name is easier to pronounce, and “besides, many people already called us that anyway.”