SEGRETTI SIGHTING: Watergate figure Donald Segretti has...

SEGRETTI SIGHTING: Watergate figure Donald Segretti has kept a low profile since he began practicing law in Newport Beach in 1978. But he made a rare public appearance this week at a Republican Party No on Measure R event. . . . Segretti, convicted of distributing illegal campaign literature during the 1972 Nixon presidential campaign, is critical of county leaders. “They put their names on public buildings and public parks and at the same time, they put their names on the largest municipal bankruptcy in history.”

LATEST WORD: Rudolfo Anaya, known in Latino literary circles as “El Jefe,” or the chief, signs copies of his detective novel “Zia Summer” Friday at Martinez Books and Art in Santa Ana. . . . In April, a Laguna Beach High parent complained that Anaya’s book, “Bless Me, Ultima,” contained profanity, violence and derided religious faith. School officials reviewed the book and found it appropriate reading for English classes.

BY DESIGN? Fullerton’s Sunny Hills High has spawned some famous graduates--Jackson Browne, k.d. lang’s steel guitarist Greg Leisz and former New York Mets catcher Gary Carter. . . . The latest celeb is Patrick Robinson (Class of ‘84), the new whiz-kid designer for Anne Klein (E1). In school, he was mesmerized by Jeffrey Banks and Calvin Klein and their rarefied fashion world: “All of a sudden it clicked, and from that day on there’s never been a doubt in my head.”

FUNNY BUSINESS: When Mark Anderson--owner of the Irvine Improv (OC Live!)--was casting about for a career, he tried psychology, oil and real estate. None caught on. Then he tried being a comedy impresario. . . . Success came with the San Diego Improv. “We didn’t know what we were doing,” Anderson concedes. “We were keeping money in shoe boxes. It was sort of sheer luck we survived our first year.”

TONIGHT: The Southwest String Quartet plays Beethoven at McGaugh Elementary, 1698 Bolsa Ave., Seal Beach. 8 p.m. Free. (310) 596-4649.

WEATHER: Morning clouds with partial clearing in the afternoon. Highs will be in the 80s. Lows in the low 60s. (B8)