Sheraton Anaheim Hotel

Ronald Y. Butler soon marks his 15th anniversary as this county's public defender. He almost got the boot his first year. Butler's staff got a murder defendant to clam up before his office was appointed to represent the man. The supervisors clearly sided with Sheriff Brad Gates' angry complaint about it. So they set up a blue-ribbon commission of judges and lawyers to determine if Butler was simply too aggressive in defending the local indigent.

The setting in the Anaheim Convention Center lobby was makeshift and audience members drifted in from meetings and exhibitions, but the performers easily took command of the situation. From theatrical fables to renditions of Broadway show tunes, the acts--the Williams School Puppeteers, Carl Harvey Singing Choir and Hope Music Makers--delighted the noon-hour crowd with their unmistakable artistic prowess.

With a distinctive horse-collar grill, push-button transmission in the center of the steering wheel and exaggerated chrome lines, the 1958 Edsel was supposed to appeal to that era's yuppies--"The young executive on his way up," according to Ford Motor Co.'s advertising campaign.

Question: In the realm of bottle collecting, how does one separate bottles from flasks, and how far back do flasks date?--C.C. Answer: A rule of thumb appears to be that any bottle that has flat sides is technically a flask. It's not quite clear when the flask first appeared, but it can be documented that distillers began using flasks as promotional items in the early 19th Century. Some history can be found in "Glass Bottles, Lamps & Other Objects" by Jane Shadel Spillman (Knopf, 1983, 478 pp.

In a run-down block of apartments almost under the shadow of Disneyland's Matterhorn mountain, 7-year-old Victor Magana played in the warren of alleyways. Men drinking warm beers leaned back on chairs in the shade of open garages. The yells of children and gunning motors--mostly engines being repaired--pierced the air around the apartments on South Jeffrey Drive. But Saturday evening, one gunning engine didn't stop.

Major dealers from many parts of the United States are expected at Stamp Expo '87/West, the 49th show in a series sponsored by the International Stamp Collectors Society. It's scheduled Jan. 2-4 at the Anaheim Holiday Inn, 1850 S. Harbor Blvd., Anaheim. Three exclusive covers and a pictorial postmark noting the first anniversary of the Challenger space shuttle tragedy will be available at the show at discount prices of $1.95 each or $5.85 for the set. By mail order, the envelopes are $3.

St. Clement's By-the-Sea Episcopal Church will have a meditative, walk-through labyrinth on display from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today in the patio. Labyrinths were used during the Middle Ages in churches throughout Europe as part of worship. The church is at 202 Avenida Aragon, San Clemente. (714) 492-3401. Cornerstone Bible Church Improbable People Ministries concert featuring recording artist Sally Klein O'Connor will take place at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at the Doubletree Hotel in Orange.

To symbolize the spirit of Christian unity while accommodating their growing congregations, two African American pastors will conduct a joint Easter morning service April 7 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Breaking ranks with local builders, more than half the executives surveyed by The Times said they would vote for the slow-growth initiative even though they expect it to hurt Orange County's economy. Most of the 562 executives polled by The Times said they thought the initiative would cut jobs and raise housing prices. And even more said their own businesses would suffer if voters approve the initiative in the June 7 primary.