Mitchell Freedman

What if Robert F. Kennedy had survived Sirhan Sirhan's bullets in 1968 and journeyed on through American political history? That's the tantalizing question pitched by author Mitchell Freedman, 46, in his debut novel, "A Disturbance of Fate" (Seven Locks Press). In it, Freedman, a lawyer and Thousand Oaks resident, fantasizes about that fateful June day and on through the year 2011. His parallel timeline is a bold though tendentious look at a vital era, when many roads seemed possible.

What if Robert F. Kennedy had survived Sirhan Sirhan's bullets in 1968 and journeyed on through American political history? That's the tantalizing question pitched by author Mitchell Freedman, 46, in his debut novel, "A Disturbance of Fate" (Seven Locks Press). In it, Freedman, a lawyer and Thousand Oaks resident, fantasizes about that fateful June day and on through the year 2011. His parallel timeline is a bold though tendentious look at a vital era, when many roads seemed possible.

Bill Clinton never did anything without political calculation. His sudden embrace of the war crimes treaty (Jan. 1) and the setting aside of 60 million acres of national forest land (Jan. 5) would not likely have happened if Al Gore was becoming president on Jan. 20. With Bush coming in, Clinton finally did something his critics have charged him with all along (those critics being mostly wrong, of course!): He acted like a "liberal." Who'd have thought it would take Gore losing to make Clinton undertake these actions?

* Crane Aerospace, Burbank, a division of Crane Co., announced promotions at two of its operating units. Greg Ward has been named president of Hydro-Aire Inc. Ward joined Hydro-Aire as vice president of manufacturing in 1993 and most recently was senior vice president, operations and customer satisfaction. Elise Kopczick has been named president of Lear Romec. For the past four years, Kopczick had been vice president, people and processes at Hydro-Aire.

What does it take to make a business recession-proof? There's more to the job than simply having enough cash on hand or a reliable source of bank financing. You must also use your capital wisely. That means running your business efficiently, paying close attention to three key elements of your operations: * production and distribution * staffing * receivables and payables These items are like boulders in a riverbed, which create swirls and eddies in the current.

TravelMax International Inc. has sued former officers and certain shareholders for more than $13 million, alleging that they misappropriated company funds and defrauded shareholders. The suit alleges that the former president, William Montgomery Alverson, and the former chief financial officer, Dale Paisley, conspired with other investors and associates to steer funds from TravelMax to other companies.

It was Arizona State's second consecutive look at an option offense, but this time the result was far more pleasing for Coach Bruce Snyder. The Sun Devils, who were trounced, 77-28, at No. 2 Nebraska last week, managed to muster enough big plays Saturday night to beat error-prone Oregon State, 20-11, in a Pacific 10 Conference game. "Defending that wishbone is not easy. It seems you run 40 yards to the right on one play and 40 yards to the left the next," Snyder said.

Peace activist Irving Sarnoff will deliver a talk on "Live to Save Our Planet" in an observation of United Nations Day Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church, 1259 Victoria St., Costa Mesa. Sarnoff has been active in peace and anti-nuclear movements around the world. He is vice president of the Southern California World Federalists Assn.

R. Jay Soward's performances are fueled by emotion--for better and for worse--and he got a talking-to after receiving a taunting penalty for tossing the football at Arizona State's Mitchell Freedman after catching a touchdown pass last week. "You know who--Coach [Paul] Hackett," Soward said. "He gave it to me kind of hard, and told me I'm a better player than that. "I agree with him totally. I never planned to do it. It just happened."

Randy Moss moved on Thursday. Ricky Williams, however, passed on the NFL draft for another season at Texas. The mad dash to the NFL reached the home stretch as many top college stars chose to pass up their remaining years of eligibility in favor of big bucks in the pros. Underclassmen have until the "end of the business day" today to decide whether to make themselves available for the NFL draft in April. By late Thursday, no fewer than five All-Americans had done so, including Moss.

Hooray for Assemblyman Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove)! He had the guts to vote against an increase in the sales tax even though the Republicrats (Gov. Pete Wilson and Speaker Willie Brown) pressured him to support the increase. Mr. Umberg rightly said that the sales tax hurts the poor and the working families, who are already suffering from the budget cuts and the recession. Tom Umberg, being an economic liberal, understands that if an increase in taxes is needed, then taxing the income of individuals making over $100,000 (and couples making over $200,000)