Joetta Brown

Irvine banker JoEtta Brown has often played the role of liaison between social causes and corporate America. The American Dream Coalition begins offering incentives this week to help Californians of modest means become homeowners, and Brown has been a leader of the effort. As community outreach coordinator and vice president of American Savings Bank, Brown, 53, chaired one of two key committees for the Coalition, an alliance formed by 30 banks, mortgage lenders and the California Assn.

Irvine banker JoEtta Brown has often played the role of liaison between social causes and corporate America. The American Dream Coalition begins offering incentives this week to help Californians of modest means become homeowners, and Brown has been a leader of the effort. As community outreach coordinator and vice president of American Savings Bank, Brown, 53, chaired one of two key committees for the Coalition, an alliance formed by 30 banks, mortgage lenders and the California Assn.

Jerry Hulse's article regarding the manner in which he was treated at the Sheraton because he paid in cash has happened to us many times. Our most recent experience was at the Marriott-Albuquerque. I can understand that some people may leave without paying their bills, but hotel personnel should be trained to tell the difference. We now have an American Express Gold Card, simply because of the treatment we have received from hotels. It is too bad that a consumer must be forced to use credit, when in fact he wishes to pay in cash.

The South Orange County YWCA threw a birthday party complete with lollipops, birthday cake and balloons to a deserving 5-year-old: the YWCA's Hotel for Homeless Women. About 200 guests filled the YWCA auditorium in Santa Ana on Thursday for the hotel's Fabulous Fifth Celebration. The party included a silent auction and raised about $15,000 for the facility, built to provide temporary shelter for homeless women without children.

Racing fans are familiar with Indianapolis, Monaco and Long Beach, but Friday night it was Anaheim--specifically the Disneyland Hotel--that was the site of a grand prix that attracted racing great Mario Andretti and other celebrity drivers. This wasn't an actual race, of course, but the seventh annual Black & White Ball to benefit Olive Crest Homes & Services for Abused Children. "Every Child Is a Winner" was the theme of the grand prix dinner-dance.

Anybody who thought Brooke Shields would sweep into Le Meridien Hotel in a cloud of greasepaint, baubles and chiffon got a surprise on Friday night. The actress/cover girl wore little makeup, her signet ring from Princeton and a simple black jumpsuit to the Black and White Ball in Newport Beach that benefited the Olive Crest Abused Children's Foundation. And she walked with a cane. "I just had foot surgery," she confided.

Until recently, Eddie Gage and many of his friends walked around Orange County with do-it-yourself haircuts. Their only other choice was to drive to Long Beach to find a barber. African Americans like Gage who seek services here find that few are offered. And products from black literature to Southern-style barbecue are lacking. Gage, a 33-year-old private investigator who owns a business in Fullerton, said he usually goes to Los Angeles for shopping, dining and entertainment.