Ben Green

Tom Coston and I had dinner with Ben and Kelly Green on Wednesday evening at Colombo's in Eagle Rock.

Ben had just given Tom and me a private VIP tour of the Showcase House of the Design, which this year is the Cravens Estate, also known as Red Cross headquarters. It has been magically transformed and we were grateful for the free, behind-the-scenes access.

Ben Green and I have known each other for nearly three decades. We were the two division managers in the Department of Community Services and Promotions at the City of Palm Springs in the 1980s.


Ben headed up the Community Services Division -- parks and recreation plus the library.

I headed up the Promotions Division -- media relations, community relations, special events, press secretary to Mayor Sonny Bono.

Those were heady days, I'll tell you.

At dinner Wednesday we talked awhile about Henry Weiss, who was the lead city librarian in Palm Springs and reported to Ben. Henry's retired now, but there were a couple of times when we'd had it up to here, Henry would fire up his Corvette convertible, speed on down some back desert road and I'd stand up on the passenger seat, assume the "I'm the king of the world" position and yell at the top of my lungs.

Now I'm so old I wouldn't even think about taking off my seatbelt to do anything so reckless.

I'm going to Palm Springs next Thursday for my annual romp with other golden-ager PIO pals.

Darryl Dunn

Darryl Dunn is general manager of the Rose Bowl Stadium and that's no small job.

He oversees everything from facilities to finances, maintains relationships with biggies in the worlds of sports and entertainment, reports to the Rose Bowl Operating Company Board, and is a dedicated family man to boot.

Every year Darryl, Assistant General Manager Jess Waiters and I work on a top-secret, goofball presentation that is made at the annual dinner for key officials of the Tournament of Roses Association, City of Pasadena and Rose Bowl Operating Company. I'd show you but then I'd have to kill you.

Tuesday of last week we were in Darryl's office at the stadium, busily putting the finishing touches on our wacky ideas the day before the big event, and I took the liberty of snapping these photos of him during a casual moment. He's holding a commemorative football that was given to guests at the dinner (including yours truly).


Dang camera strap!

A couple of years after I left the City of Palm Springs to come to Pasadena, Darryl was working with a minor league baseball team there. I'm sorry our paths never crossed in the desert but I'm grateful we've worked together so well here.

Palm Springs, AKA Memory Lane

I was in Palm Springs Thursday through Sunday, hanging with nine long-time PIO pals. Most of us met 20 or more years ago when we became involved in the then-new California Association of Public Information Officials (CAPIO) and over the years became great friends for life.

On my way out of town on Sunday, I stopped by some of my old haunts and took some photos to share with you.

My children and I lived in Palm Springs for a few years before they flew the coop and I moved to Pasadena.

I loved living at 225 N. Orchid Tree Lane in the Sunrise Park neighborhood. It's a classic 1958 Alexander Home, a style that is iconic in Palm Springs. Many of the Hollywood elite of the '50s and '60s lived in this neighborhood.


Hey, it's for sale! $399,000 moves you in. Three bedrooms, two baths, living room, family room, circular driveway, plus a big pool and grapefruit trees in back.

We moved to Palm Springs from Walnut Creek because my friend Jan Curran had gotten a job as a senior account executive at The Jones Agency. We had worked together at a little agency in Lafayette, near Walnut Creek. When she told Palm Springs kingpin Milton W. Jones, president of The Jones Agency and publisher of Palm Springs Life Magazine, about me and explained that she and I were a dynamic duo, he flew me down at his expense, put me up for a couple of days, grilled me to the max about my experience and hired me as a senior AE.

So Jan and I continued our working relationship and our friendship at this building, owned by Milt. You can't tell from the boxy front of the building, but The Jones Agency is on the second floor. My office had a sliding glass door behind the desk that led to an inner courtyard with lush gardens and a big fountain. It was pretty nice.


(Side note: As I write this on Tuesday night, I just got off the phone with Jan and we agreed that we worked for a couple of freaks of nature!)

At The Jones Agency I developed major campaigns for clients including Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, The Living Desert and Las Casuelas Terraza. After I led an international tourism marketing campaign for my client the City of Palm Springs, the city made me an offer I couldn't refuse. That's when I first became a PIO for local government.

Speaking of iconic desert architecture, I worked here at Palm Springs City Hall.


My office was straight across the front lobby.

The mayor when I first worked there was the beloved Frank Bogert, an honest-to-goodness cowboy who became a PR man and photographer and was largely responsible for putting Palm Springs on the map as a celebrity playground during Hollywood's golden age.

About 20 years ago the city commissioned a sculptor to create bronze statue of Mayor Bogert. It stands in front of City Hall.


He was very kind to me and a pleasure to work with. After he left office he hired me to edit his book "Palm Springs: The First Hundred Years" and we had great fun working on it together. That book sits on my coffee table to this day and I cherish the inscription he wrote to me.

Sonny Bono ran against Mayor Bogert in a hotly contested race. During the campaign, Sonny often compared himself to Clint Eastwood, who was the mayor of Carmel at the time.

I'll never forget Mayor Bogert's most famous quote: "Comparing Sonny to Clint is like comparing chicken shit to chicken salad."

Sonny won, and at City Hall we prepared for the inevitable culture shock. I hit the ground running on a massive learning curve to soak up everything I could about entertainment media, with Sonny's help of course. He also taught me a lot about promotion. He started the Palm Springs Film Festival from nothing but his movie industry contacts, and I'm proud to say the first meeting was in my office! Those were heady times, I tell you.

To this day I can write his signature flawlessly, which I did on countless promotional t-shirts, posters and other items that were sent far and wide, in the U.S. and abroad. (I just tested my forgery skills and I've still got it!) That merchandise added a lot of money to the city's coffers.


I learned of Sonny's tragic death when a friend called me from Palm Springs before it even hit the media. By then I worked for the City of Pasadena. God, it was just horrible and it's still hard to believe. I immediately wrote a note to his wife Mary, who used to always stop by my office at Palm Springs City Hall for a chat when she made her daily visit with their then-baby boy Chesare.

That's my trip down memory lane. Thanks for humoring me!

We really can't turn back the hands of time but it sure is nice to reminisce.

It was a grand grand-opening!

The official grand-opening events at the newly expanded and ga-ga-gorgeous Pasadena Convention Center took place Friday through Sunday.

There have been a few events there already, such as the California Police Chiefs Association conference last month.

But this past weekend was the occasion of the big bashes!

First there was the ribbon-cutting on Friday.

(My camera battery was DOA, so many thanks to Terry Miller of the Pasadena Independent for providing this photo after I threw myself on his mercy! All other photos below are mine.)

Then a formal gala that evening in the ballroom.

I loved the stars hanging from the ceiling.

Here's my attempt at an artful ceiling shot: Mayor Bogaard speaking to guests under the stars:

This terrific group played the standards we all know and love, and the singer was reminiscent of ol' Blue Eyes himself.

Of course this inspired everyone to trip the light fantastic!

Linda Centell of my staff and her husband Ed Washatka

Left to right: Joan Marshall, executive director of Pacific Asia Museum; Taka Suzuki, field representative to City Councilman Steve Madison; Judy Kent, field rep to Mayor Bill Bogaard; Margo Fuller, field rep to Councilwoman Margaret McAustin.

James Canfield and I worked for the City of Palm Springs in the 1980s and were on the team that opened the then-new Palm Springs Convention Center. He was on the center's management staff and I was the city's PIO. What fun to be part of the opening of Pasadena's new center together! Jamie is the executive director of Pasadena Convention Center and Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

City Councilwomen Margaret McAustin and Jacque Robinson

City Councilman Victor Gordo and his wife Kelly

Police Chief Bernard Melekian and his wife Nancy

Left to right: Janet Pope Givens, adjutant to the chief of police; Judy Kent; Ben Green, executive director of American Red Cross San Gabriel-Pomona Valley Chapter; Tom Coston, president of Light Bringer Project; Ben's wife Kelly; and Jan Sanders, director of Pasadena public libraries.

City Attorney Michele Bagneris and her husband Jules


Fast-forward to yesterday (Sunday) afternoon when the ballroom was the setting for the final event of this year's One City, One Story community reading celebration.

Jan Sanders had a fascinating conversation with Luis Urrea, author of this year's book "The Hummingbird's Daughter" during which he discussed his 20-year journey of research into his ancestor Teresita and his life experiences that led to writing the book.

Prior to his coming to Pasadena I commented on his blog a couple of times and he sent me a couple of emails, so I was thrilled to finally meet him and his sweet family.

Another thrilling moment was meeting Teresita's great-granddaughter Sylvia (left), at the event with Luis's wife Cindy.


Finally, there was a private reception last night at Mijares Restaurant in honor of Luis Urrea, and we all had a grand time.

The talented trio from Mijares serenaded us, even playing my special request: "Hace un año."

The final photo: Luis Urrea and Catherine Hany (right), the communications director at Pasadena Public Library.

Reporters

I met Dan Abendschein today over lunch at Ventanas Restaurant at the Westin. He's new to the Pasadena Star-News, covering Pasadena City Hall and regional transportation. We had spoken on the phone several times, even when he was at the Trib, and it was nice to have some face time with him.



I have worked with a number of City Hall reporters over the years from the Star-News and other newspapers, plus in Palm Springs. They've always been professional with a nose for news, and most (but not all) have had that fire in the belly that has given them that certain edge. Sometimes a challenge, but always a good thing.

Before I became a public servant, I worked for advertising and PR agencies (1977-1986) from San Diego to the Bay Area to Palm Springs, and the reporters I dealt with had beats that were specific to my client base -- tourism/leisure, real estate, business, sports, etc. I often had to do a lot of hard-sell and schmoozing to get feature articles for clients ranging from Daiwa to Carmel Valley Ranch to Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

But these City Hall reporters really pay attention to the issues and have kept me on my toes. No hard-sell necessary!

Those Other Blogs

I received one blog comment and a couple of emails from people asking about the significance of the non-local blogs listed on the right-hand side of this page.

40-Ton Tourists -- My long-time pal Mike and his wife, Lori. Lori was a successful real estate agent who got out of the business when the downturn began, then took the course to become a trucker! She and Mike always loved taking long road trips anyway, so this was a dream come true. And now Mike, who is a fellow PIO, is getting ready to retire and join Lori full-time on the road.

Jan Curran Events -- Jan and I first met in 1981, I think, when she was Jan Goldberg and we both lived in Walnut Creek and worked as account executives for the same public relations agency in the Bay Area, for the nuttiest loon of an agency president who ever lived. We made him oodles of money with our hard work, clever campaigns and superb client relations. She moved to Palm Springs to work as a senior account executive at the Jones Agency, convinced agency president and Palm Springs kingpin Milton W. Jones that she and I were a team to be reckoned with (she was right), and Milt paid all expenses for me and my children to move to P.S., where I also was a senior account executive at the agency. Among my many other clients, I handled the City of Palm Springs, which, after I left the agency, hired me to do their marketing, publicity and protocol in-house. I got to work side-by-side every day with Sonny Bono, and I've been a public servant ever since. (Jan was hired to do network TV commentary and interviews for two or three hours before Sonny's funeral started. It was a horribly sad day for us all.) But I digress. Jan went on to become society editor of the Palm Springs Desert Sun (which we used to call the Desperate Scum), then retired to do occasional consulting work after a serious health issue developed. She has been battling it for years but she keeps on tickin' and has kept her sense of humor through it all, which is half the battle. Now she lives in Ventura where it's much cooler and better for her health.

Ventura City Manager Blog -- I get asked all the time what's happening with Rick Cole and what he's doing , so I decided to add his blog so everybody can see for themselves what he's up to. Rick is a great dad, which is #1 in my book. By the way, Jan and Rick don't know each other.

OK!!! Now that that's out of the way, I'm off to San Diego Thursday morning to attend my granddaughter Kimberly's high school graduation (yes, the jig is up -- I'm a geezer), then back here on Saturday, and then. . .

-- drum roll please --

. . .HOPPING A PLANE FOR LUDWIGSHAFEN AND JARVENPAA ON SUNDAY!!!

Stay tuned!