Gadfly

Re " 'Gadfly' Gets Unusual Reward -- a Victory," Oct. 28: City watchdog Fred Siegel of Lawndale has helped redefine the ubiquitous city hall gadfly: a civic-minded resident who does his or her homework before stinging deserving, inept bureaucrats and their tunnel- visioned city councils. Lino S. Paras Duarte

When voters in the small South Bay city of Lawndale read down to the local section of their Nov. 5 ballot, they can thank -- or blame -- Fred Siegel for what they see. And for what they don't see. That's because Siegel, after three years of regular railing against what he considers municipal injustice, went to court over a ballot proposal designed to give the city's redevelopment agency broader powers. And he won.

The bear market has been tough on most investors, but some have suffered what could be called the ultimate insult: The performance of their stock mutual funds over the last five years now lags the inflation rate. Roy Weitz, a self-appointed fund industry gadfly who runs the FundAlarm.com Web site (www.fundalarm.com), found that 416 stock funds--about 10% of those in his database--trailed the rate of inflation for the five years through the end of the first quarter.

Since the recent death of Long Beach political gadfly Ski Demski, I've wondered how his parrot Peppy was doing and whether the blue macaw might run again for political office. Demski, who himself sought the mayor's job numerous times, entered Peppy in the 1992 presidential race after having a falling-out with Ross Perot. Demski heavily promoted Peppy with converted Perot stickers. He added "ppy" to the stickers and, as he explained, "took the 'rot' out of Perot."

Art lover Don Cribb gazed at the abandoned brick building in downtown Santa Ana--past the rats, trash, broken glass and water damage. He saw the once-splendid Grand Central Building and envisioned the 1924 architectural treasure as a jewel in the crown of a vibrant city arts scene. "I felt I had discovered a Duesenberg that could be brought back to life and celebrated," said Cribb, a 52-year-old Santa Ana resident who loves cars as much as he does architecture. Seven years and $7.

Gadfly Rick Selan and the Los Angeles school district have reached a tentative settlement that would keep Selan away from 13 women who sought a restraining order against him but would let him continue to represent students in special-education proceedings, his lawyer said Friday. The out-of-court settlement identifies two school district employees whom Selan would have to notify when he wants to attend certain meetings, attorney Howard Z. Rosen said.

Calling Rick Selan a "workplace menace" who has caused them anxiety attacks, migraines and high blood pressure, 13 Los Angeles Unified School District employees sought a restraining order Wednesday against the special education gadfly and former school board candidate. "We really feel that at this point, he's become dangerous," said Sharon Giglio, assistant principal at Mark Twain Middle School in Venice, where Selan taught math for 22 years until 1999.

Maybe The Times shouldn't have asked us, Kevin and Bean, from the morning show at KROQ-FM, to write an article about the red carpet arrivals at the Academy Awards. Because we work in radio and nobody sees us, we get to wear shorts pretty much every day of the year. We'll take shorts, T-shirts and tennis shoes any day. Tuxedos are just male torture devices.

A judge sent a well-known local gadfly to jail Wednesday for disrupting meetings of the Board of Supervisors. Superior Court Judge Christopher Warner sentenced Bob Nelson to a 30-day term--along with three years' probation, community service and a fine of $110--after rejecting a plea that he be spared time in jail. San Bernardino lawyer Allen Bartleman argued that any jail time would have a chilling effect on free speech in the county.

Advocates for open government say politicians across the state are becoming increasingly intolerant of their critics, but San Bernardino, where the gadfly may become the area's newest endangered species, is emerging as an emblem of that trend. Officials statewide are balancing their charge to run an efficient government with their duty to run an open government--two notions that do not always jibe.