This Is Only a Test

For Orange County, it was the year of “the oust.” Oustees included a principled bus driver, a congressman who refused to believe he’d lost, a baseball manager canned by a band of Angels and a former tax collector-treasurer who finally got his comeuppance. We look back on 1996 with the 10th annual Times Orange County news trivia quiz, a review of the events that made headlines during a year in which Bob Dornan said goodbye and the Orange County Board of Supervisors told its South County constituents, “You’re getting a new airport whether you like it or not!” To quote Loretta Sanchez: “Enjoy!”

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

1. Maybe it’s time to get some new knickknacks.

Which of the following items could not be found in the local office of Rep. Robert K. Dornan, in the wake of his surprising defeat by Democrat Loretta Sanchez?

A. A machete used by a Nicaraguan contra.

B. A picture of Mother Teresa.

C. A sympathy card from Hillary Rodham Clinton.

*

2. Build it, and you won’t have to worry about jet noise.

What massive structure did Irvine Councilman Barry Hammond propose building adjacent to the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station to prevent the construction of a commercial airport?

A. A six-screen drive-in movie theater.

B. The Gene Autry-Roy Rogers Wild West Museum and Horse Show.

C. A 50-story day-care center.

*

3. Show-and-tell can go a little too far.

Orange County supervisors were startled when one local resident used an object during a board meeting to simulate the sound of aircraft that he angrily predicted would fly over his home should a commercial-cargo airport be built at El Toro. What was it?

A. A kazoo.

B. A bullhorn.

C. A circular saw.

*

4. At least he has hobbies.

In what symbolized the end of the Orange County bankruptcy, a judge sentenced Robert L. Citron, the former tax collector and treasurer, to one year in jail and fined him $100,000 for skimming interest earnings from schools, cities and small agencies to put into a county account that failed. Citron, who used dementia as his legal defense, was described as a quirky man with a penchant for:

A. Turquoise, Chryslers and the occult.

B. Country and western line dancing.

C. The novels of Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

*

5. Give me liberty, but don’t you dare give me their water.

Residents in the South County wilderness enclave of Silverado Canyon successfully challenged then-Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle’s efforts to consolidate the local water district with a larger one in a nearby city and, in the process, compared him to which historical figure?

A. George Bush.

B. George Harrison.

C. King George.

*

6. Southern hospitality, California style.

In October, hours before he appeared on the steps of the Old County Courthouse in Santa Ana to bolster the campaign of congressional candidate Loretta Sanchez, President Clinton was running on the beach at Coronado. He encountered a woman who, running about 30 yards away, yelled what words?

A. The fries are hot at McDonald’s, Mr. President!

B. I know Paula Jones and she’s a scumbag, Mr. President!

C: You’re a draft-dodging, yellow-bellied liar!

*

7. Maybe he’s spent too much time on the grassy knoll.

Steven J. Frogue, president of the Saddleback Community College District Board of Trustees, accused which group of playing a role in President Kennedy’s assassination?

A. The Bolshoi Ballet.

B. The Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith.

C. The Orange County Board of Supervisors.

SPORTS, ARTS AND LEISURE

8. If only he’d been that clever when he played in Anaheim.

Former Los Angeles Rams defensive back Darryl Henley was accused of masterminding a scheme from his jail cell wherein he arranged the shipment of $1 million worth of heroin via a jail guard and plotted to kill whom?

A. A cheerleader.

B. A federal judge.

C. The entire roster of the New York Jets.

*

9. You just think you won.

The president of a local university took the astonishing step of forfeiting every single victory by his football team during the season because two of the players were found to be ineligible. The institution in question was:

A. Chapman University.

B. Cal State Fullerton.

C. UC Irvine.

*

10. Build it, and he won’t necessarily move.

Donald T. Sterling, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, surprised local sports fans by choosing not to move to the Pond of Anaheim. Had Sterling moved the team, Los Angeles would have become one of several cities abandoned by the Clippers. Name one other.

A. Buffalo.

B. San Diego.

C. Kansas City.

*

11.Give me an “A.”

The $100-million make-over od Anaheim Stadium will include:

A. An open area where fans can see out.

B. A courtyeard entrance with two giant Angel helmets.

C. Mickey Mouse on the pitching mount.

*

12. Can’t buy me love.

The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano celebrated its 10th anniversary. Which of these artists has a standing offer to perform there at $100 a ticket, which would mean a $40,000 payday?

A. Bonnie Raitt.

B. Hootie and the Blowfish.

C. Jackson Browne.

*

13. We’re having some fun now!

Disneyland announced to plans to build a second theme park, a $1.4-billion addition called California Adventure, that will celebrate and sometimes satirize the wonders of the Golden State. Featured attractions will include:

A. A hang-gliding flight over the Golden Gate Bridge.

B. A ride propelled entirely by Santa Ana winds.

C. A day in the life of an insurance adjuster handling earthquake- and flood-related claims.

*

14. Picky, picky.

The Pond of Anaheim, home of the Mighty Ducks, was accused of having:

A. Bad karma left over from when the Clippers played there.

B. The worst ice in the National Hockey League.

C. Hot dogs that give you heartburn.

*

15. Who’s No. 1?

Calling it a “thriving, exciting, desirable area in which to live,” Places Rated Almanac listed which region as the best place to live in North America?

A. Love Canal.

B. Austin, Texas.

C. Orange County.

COPS AND COURTS

16. Whodunit?

In a story that read like a murder mystery, a small finance company in Huntington Beach was linked to the killing of a Fountain Valley flight attendant, the attempted murder of a San Clemente businessman and the murder of one other victim whose occupation was:

A. Hollywood recording executive.

B. Major League umpire.

C. Orange County Sheriff’s deputy.

*

17. More O.J.

In an Orange County child custody case, football great O.J. Simpson challenged the parents of Nicole Brown Simpson, his late ex-wife, for the right to rear his two children from his marriage to Nicole. Before the judge issued a verdict, one of the children’s caretakers was removed as guardian. That person was:

A. Grandmother Juditha Brown of Dana Point.

B. Grandfather Louis Brown of Dana Point.

C. Neither.

*

18. Is it a chicken-or-egg question? Dr. Ricardo H. Asch, former director of a famous fertility clinic at UC Irvine, was indicted by a federal grand jury in November on 35 counts of mail fraud. Which of Asch’s medical procedures became world-famous in fertility circles?

A. GIFT.

B. THRIFT.

C. Buy now, pay later.

*

19. Running on empty.

Charles H. Keating Jr. won the right to a retrial on charges that he looted Lincoln Savings & Loan and defrauded its investors in a 1980s scandal that had national repercussions. In which Orange County city was the S&L; based?

A. Irvine.

B. Yorba Linda.

C. Newport Beach.

*

20. On the hot seat.

Almost a year after winning the election that left his political career embroiled in controversy, Assemblyman Scott Baugh pleaded not guilty to redrafted charges of campaign finance fraud. Baugh’s victory in a 1995 recall election had the effect of:

A. Temporarily tipping the Assembly’s balance of power to the GOP.

B. Raising questions among prosecutors.

C. Defeating Doris Allen.

*

21. You are what you stand for.

An Orange County Transportation Authority bus driver was fired for refusing to pass out coupons for free food as part of an ad campaign. He said he could not do so in good conscience because he was:

A. A vegetarian.

B. A panhandler who needed the coupons for himself.

C. A narcissist who simply refused to do it.

ODDS AND ENDS

22. Take this job and bless it.

Setting a staggering new standard for generosity to employees, the co-founders of Kingston Technology Corp. of Fountain Valley unveiled a $100-million bonus package at the company’s holiday party and will soon begin giving workers checks for up to three times their annual salaries. The average amount of each check promised is:

A. $4,500.

B. $75,000.

C. $1.3 million.

*

23. The rich are different from you and me--they have more money.

Worth magazine rated what city among the wealthiest in the United States, saying that its citizens represent a new breed of affluence that is less ostentatious, more reserved and most likely the result of earned--rather than inherited--income?

A. Villa Park.

B. Los Altos Hills, Calif.

C. Saddle River, N.J.

*

24. Keeping up with the Joneses and the Smiths and . . .

According to a recent Times technology poll, 46% of the households in Orange County contain one of these. Which is it?

A. A toaster oven.

B. Nintendo 64.

C. A personal computer.

*

25. We’re mad as hell, and we’re not going to take it anymore.

Surfers at a local beach were so furious over repeated closings because of commercial surfing contests, the interrupted the competitions by surfing into the middle of them. In doing so, they risked large fines and jail time. Where did it happen?

A. Victoria Beach.

B. Seal Beach.

C. Lower Trestles.

*

26. Smart dudes.

Two winners of the Nobel Prize who teach at UC Irvine are F. Sherwood Rowland and Frederick Reines, who were honored by the Legislature for their contributions to science. Reines, 77, received the award in physics for tracking down an elusive subatomic particle called a neutrino, a discovery that changed theories about the nature of the universe. Rowland, 68, won the chemistry prize for discovering that:

A. El Nino is changing the world’s weather patterns.

B. Life may once have existed on Mars.

C. Chlorofluorocarbons are eating a hole in the Earth’s protective ozone layer.

*

27. On the road again.

The California Highway Patrol reported that the stretch of Interstate 5 between the Orange County-San Diego County line and Camino de Estrella in San Clemente is:

A. Owned by the In-N-Out hamburger chain.

B. The most heavily ticketed “speed zone” in all of California.

C. The area most likely to find illegal immigrants being arrested.

*

28. Give us a walk.

A group of South County parents formed a Youth Baseball Athletic League chapter, the first in Southern California, as the outgrowth of a dispute over safety concerns regarding what piece of equipment?

A. The bat.

B. The ball.

C. The helmet.

*

29. Put those plans on ice, buddy.

Technical problems and extreme cold thwarted Steve Fossett, formerly of Garden Grove, in his quest to:

A. Circle the globe nonstop in a hot-air balloon.

B. Complete his postal route.

C. Surf naked.

*

30. Sorry, but Mensa rejected your application.

A would-be burglar from Huntington Beach was foiled in his attempt to complete the crime when police found him:

A. Taking a shower.

B. Reading Dante’s Inferno.

C. Snoring under the victim’s bed.

*

Answers:

1. C.

2. C.

3. C.

4. A.

5. C.

6. C.

7. B.

8. B.

9. A.

10. Either A or B is correct.

11. Either A or B is correct.

12. C.

13. A.

14. B.

15. C.

16. A.

17. B.

18. A.

19. A.

20. A, B or C will suffice.

21. A.

22. B.

23. All three.

24. C.

25. C.

26. C.

27. B.

28. B.

29. A.

30. C.

Compiled by Michael Granberry