NIGHT MOVES: One change during the bond...

NIGHT MOVES: One change during the bond crisis many political watchers should like: The county supervisors have their first night meeting tonight--7:30 at their Hall of Administration meeting room in Santa Ana. The idea, first pushed by new Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez, is to make it easier for the public to attend. . . . Traditionally, the meetings have been Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. The night sessions for now are set for once a month.

SPECIAL INTEREST: Who can blame Orange County Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Rackauckas Jr. for his special interest in the O.J. Simpson trial Monday. The court ruled that Simpson’s attorneys “sandbagged” prosecutors by not giving them advance notice of some witnesses. . . . Proposition 115 in 1990 put an end to defense lawyers calling “surprise” witnesses. Rackauckas, then a prosecutor, was the new rule’s architect. . . . Says Rackauckas: “All prosecutors at the time knew that it was unfair, but I don’t think any defense lawyers agreed.”

TALKING GREEN: County government environmentalist Ward Allebach has put together the county’s first monthly “Environmental Roundtable”--a brainstorming session set for Wednesday at the Holiday Inn in Irvine. Nearly two dozen local environmental groups are expected to attend. . . . Says Allebach: “I’m trying to bring the environmental community a little closer through networking.”

FULL CIRCLE: Democrat Tom Umberg, a Garden Grove assemblyman for four years, saw an end to his public service when his bid to become attorney general failed in November. But Umberg, a former federal prosecutor, doesn’t have to worry about where to hang up his shingle. He’s just signed on to work for the prestigious San Francisco-based Morrison & Foerster law firm. Umberg, who will work in its Orange County office of 30 attorneys, will concentrate on “land use, environmental and white-collar litigation.”