HOW NOT TO DO IT: Former Seattle...

HOW NOT TO DO IT: Former Seattle Treasurer Lloyd F. Hara has announced he’s starting his own firm specializing in advice to municipal investors. His inspiration? The Orange County bankruptcy. Hara says he planned to write a book about the Orange County debacle, “but I decided it was better to assist public entities in avoiding similar pitfalls.” . . . One Hara revelation not necessarily new: Some governments are poorly managed.

AFFORDABLE NEWPORT? If you thought about buying a house in Newport Beach last year but decided to wait until this year, you saved yourself about $22,000. New Coldwell Banker Corp. statistics show Newport Beach as the fourth-most-expensive housing market in the United States. That’s up from the fifth spot last year but with a drop from $541,667 to $519,666 for an average 2,200-square-foot home. . . . Biggest one-year plunge: Honolulu, from about $556,000 to $479,000.

HIT THE BOOKS: Gareth C.C. Chang, corporate senior vice president of Hughes International, is reading Colin Powell’s memoirs again. With good reason: Chang will be master of ceremonies at the Cal State Fullerton bash for Powell at The Pond of Anaheim on Thursday night. Chang is still struggling with how to introduce the military leader: “I want to do this with a reasonable amount of humor but the right level of respect and recognition.” . . . When he reads Powell’s book, he sees parallels in their humble beginnings: “When I look at Powell and at my own life, I think, ‘This is what America is about.’ ”

RADIO READERS: He rarely promotes his books much, but best-selling suspense writer Dean Koontz of Newport Beach is doing a string of radio interviews every Friday morning this month to publicize his new latest, “Intensity.” (E1) Koontz also found time to do his annual book signing at Book Carnival in Orange. He signed 500 books Sunday and returned Monday to sign 600 more. Says owner Ed Thomas: “He kiddingly told me he’s going to sue me for carpal tunnel syndrome.”