Jim Wagner

Jim Wagner, a Burbank civic and business leader known for wearing red socks, has died. He was 57. Wagner suffered a fatal heart attack Nov. 19 after playing racquetball at the Burbank YMCA, according to his family. Born Oct. 17, 1939 in Chicago, Wagner earned a business degree from the University of Illinois. In 1959 he began a six-year stint in the U.S. Army, during which he married and moved to California.

Jim Wagner, a Burbank civic and business leader known for wearing red socks, has died. He was 57. Wagner suffered a fatal heart attack Nov. 19 after playing racquetball at the Burbank YMCA, according to his family. Born Oct. 17, 1939 in Chicago, Wagner earned a business degree from the University of Illinois. In 1959 he began a six-year stint in the U.S. Army, during which he married and moved to California.

He was quietly bobbing, low in the water, like an alligator waiting for something unsuspecting to happen by. And when a Sunny Hills High School opponent finally tried to force a shot into the goal he was guarding, Jim Wagner rejected it and launched it into a counterattack already under way. Chris Oeding scored a goal that allowed Corona del Mar to upset Sunny Hills, 8-7. The events at Newport Harbor's pool Saturday didn't exactly make Sunny Hills Coach Jim Sprague gawk. Not the blocked shot.

Someone must have spiked his drink, because Newport Beach's Jim Wagner is hearing things. Wagner, a former water polo standout at Corona del Mar High and Cal, looks up from a steaming cup of espresso and squints, as if his eyesight will compensate for what he believes is some sort of hearing impairment. The questions: "What happens if you don't win right away? What happens if you lose? " have been posed. The squint has evolved into a look of befuddlement.

Someone must have spiked his drink, because Newport Beach's Jim Wagner is hearing things. Wagner, a former water polo standout at Corona del Mar High and Cal, looks up from a steaming cup of espresso and squints, as if his eyesight will compensate for what he believes is some sort of hearing impairment. The questions: "What happens if you don't win right away? What happens if you lose? " have been posed. The squint has evolved into a look of befuddlement.

Jim Wagner, a Corona del Mar High School senior, doesn't concern himself with numbers. He's the kind of athlete who doesn't keep track of his individual statistics, preferring instead to focus on team achievements. After all, Wagner's job is defense, not piling up statistics. As the most dominating water polo goalie in Orange County this year, an achievement that has earned him honors as The Times' water polo player of the year, Wagner wasn't racking up the numbers.

Eric Vinje, who led Corona del Mar High School's water polo team to a 26-0 record and a No. 1 ranking in the state during the regular season, was named the most valuable player of the Sea View League in a vote of league coaches. The Sea Kings placed three players on the first team. Newport Harbor, University and Tustin each had two players selected.

The City Council has awarded a $379,000 contract to a company that specializes in using shredded rubber tires mixed with asphalt for street repairs. The council this week hired Manhole Adjusting Contractors of Monterey Park to use the rubber and asphalt mixture to seal streets in the Greenbrook and Highlands neighborhoods. City Manager Robert C. Dunek said funding will come from Measure M revenues, state grants and gas tax proceeds.

USC and Stanford fought off upset bids Friday night to join California and UCLA as winners in the first round of the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. water polo tournament at Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool in Long Beach. Zoltan Berty scored twice in the last 1:44 to give third-seeded USC a 13-11 victory over UC Irvine. The Trojans, who were tied at 9-9, 10-10 and 11-11 after blowing a 7-2 lead, got 4 goals from Robert Lynn.

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Jim Wagner, a Corona del Mar High School senior, doesn't concern himself with numbers. He's the kind of athlete who doesn't keep track of his individual statistics, preferring instead to focus on team achievements. After all, Wagner's job is defense, not piling up statistics. As the most dominating water polo goalie in Orange County this year, an achievement that has earned him honors as The Times' water polo player of the year, Wagner wasn't racking up the numbers.

He was quietly bobbing, low in the water, like an alligator waiting for something unsuspecting to happen by. And when a Sunny Hills High School opponent finally tried to force a shot into the goal he was guarding, Jim Wagner rejected it and launched it into a counterattack already under way. Chris Oeding scored a goal that allowed Corona del Mar to upset Sunny Hills, 8-7. The events at Newport Harbor's pool Saturday didn't exactly make Sunny Hills Coach Jim Sprague gawk. Not the blocked shot.

As a Social Security recipient, I would like to commend Lamm for his proposal to apply a means test to this retirement program. Yes, every recipient of a government pension should indeed have a means test. Let him start with retired governors and state legislators, then proceed to retired presidents and senators. What about the retired military officers who live a life of ease, collecting their generous pensions while working for the very contractors for whom they arranged lucrative projects?

The medical examiner's office on Sunday identified the three casualties of a weekend boat fire as a deputy San Diego County counsel and an El Cajon resident and his father. David Bruce Florance, 36, of San Diego died after being airlifted to UC San Diego Medical Center, U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Ed Heilbrun said. Florance had been a deputy county counsel for about two years.