Roger Johnson

Kudos to Harriett M. Wieder, Kathryn Thompson, Roger Johnson, et al. for having the courage and integrity to stand up at this crucial moment and depart from a Republican Party that has clearly gone haywire! The Republican convention was an eerie display of dangerous divisiveness and inappropriate intrusion into domains which are private and personal. As for me, I'll fight tooth and nail before I let the likes of Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and the rest of the religious right run my life.

Police launched a program Monday that links cellular telephone callers with the city's police dispatch center. Dubbed "Cell Watch," the effort is part of the department's community policing effort, and is designed to be especially helpful for Neighborhood Watch groups, said Monrovia Police Capt. Roger Johnson. Until now, a cellular phone user reporting a crime had to call 911, which connected the caller to the California Highway Patrol.

ObjectShare Inc., the Irvine-based network computing software firm, said Thursday it named Winston Hickman as chief financial officer, replacing interim CFO Kevin Brooks. The company also announced that Jos C. Henkens resigned his board position to pursue other interests. ObjectShare did not name his replacement. Professor Mark Baldassare, an expert on public opinion research, was named Thursday to a chair in civic governance and public management at UCI's School of Social Ecology.

Lauding the Johnsons: Performing arts supporters Roger and Janice Johnson were honored by the Volunteer Center of Orange County last week when they received its coveted Giving is Living Award. Hundreds of guests squeezed into the Hyatt Regency Irvine to honor the couple. Roger Johnson is on the Orange County Performing Arts Center's board of directors. His wife is chairwoman of the Guilds of the Performing Arts Center.