CLOUD WALK: It’s a busy time for...

CLOUD WALK: It’s a busy time for Rebecca Cox’s family. She and husband Christopher Cox, the Newport Beach Republican congressman, are in Florida with their two children for Thursday’s launch of the space shuttle Endeavour. . . . Her brother, Mike Gernhardt, is not only an astronaut aboard the shuttle but is scheduled for a dramatic space walk, untethered to a lifeline. . . . Says Chris Cox: “This is a very big deal for our family. We are very excited. . . .”

FRIEND & FOE: Sunday’s 60th birthday bash for Tony Forster at San Juan Capistrano’s Swallows Inn is being billed as “one of the great parties of Western civilization.” One of the oldest area families, the Forsters owned the famous mission 125 years ago. He’s a former mayor of San Juan Capistrano, which has a Forster Canyon Road, a Forster Ranch Road and a Forster Street. . . . The invitation says it’s an occasion to join his friends and “a few of his enemies.”

RISING SUN FUN: Fourteen countries will be represented at this weekend’s annual three-day Orange International Street Fair, but much of the emphasis will be on Japanese culture. There will be a Japanese Street, and dragon dancers from Shikoku, Japan, will perform. Also, a planeload of dignitaries from Japan will attend, including the governor of Shikoku--arranged by the Japan National Tourist Organization, a fair sponsor. . . . They’re a fitting addition to the fair, organizers say, as coincidentally Japan’s Rising Sun flag is atop the fair’s logo.

EARLY CHRISTMAS: Carl’s Jr. may become a favorite restaurant stop for Anaheim police officers. Carl Karcher Enterprises threw a party for the police Tuesday at its flagship Carl’s Jr. on Harbor Boulevard--and surprised them with 11 new bicycles, complete with equipment. . . . The bikes are for the city’s community policing team, which works closely with neighborhoods in crime prevention. The party was to celebrate the corporation’s new Green Burrito menu, which will be in some two dozen of its Carl’s Jr.’s by the end of the year.