FIRE & ICE: When Laguna Beach nursery...
FIRE & ICE: When Laguna Beach nursery owner Kevin Naughton reopened after the fire, he quickly sold out his stock of more than 3,000 ice plants, and is getting dozens of calls for more. Ice plant is the succulent ground cover that many people in Mystic Hills say saved their homes from the fire (N1). . . . “One guy’s home, it scorched right up to the ice plant,” says Naughton. “He swears it saved his house.” The homeowner also ordered another 100 flats of the plant, to replace the ones that died in the fire.
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A NICKEL’S WORTH: Dwight Manley and Greg Roberts of Spectrum Numismatics in Santa Ana recently picked up their largest single-coin purchase: A 1912 Liberty head nickel. Only five were made before the mint folks learned the buffalo head had been decided upon. . . . The pair paid $962,500 for it. Says one Spectrum employee, “I thought I’d put a hole in it and wear it around my neck.” He was joking.
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ROBYN’S BOY: Sports Illustrated for Kids this month is bestowing “Good Sport” awards to five athletes for outstanding contributions to children. But the magazine decided to add an award for 12-year-old Jon Wagner-Holtz of Rancho Santa Margarita, “to show that you’re never too young to make a difference in someone’s life.” Jon, whose mother, Robyn, is a cancer victim, formed a support group for children in similar circumstances. “I didn’t want other kids to go through what I did,” he said.
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PROM NIGHT: The high school prom is one of life’s benchmarks--because you loved it, or you’re a little melancholy that you never went. . . . “Now’s your chance,” says Carol Starcevic, an organizer of the fourth annual Seniors’ Prom. It’s swing band music, and takes place tonight at the NCO Club at the El Toro Marine base, $10 per person. It’s for all ages, but the money goes for a senior citizens’ Meals on Wheels program. “It’s for anyone who loves to dance,” Starcevic says. Tickets are available through the Irvine Senior Center.
