Byline: MICHAEL CLANCY AND DOLORES TROPIANO
As author Ken Kesey said, you're either on the bus or off
the bus. Plenty of local politicos are on the Phoenix Block Watch National Night Out bus
tonight. Riding the bus, which looks like a Duracell battery, are Phoenix Mayor Skip
Rimsza; County Attorney Rick Romley; U.S. attorney Janet Napolitano; Arizona Public
Service Co.'s Charlie Thompson; Phoenix staffers Jacques Avent, Bob Rink and Maryann
Ustick; Assistant Phoenix Police Chief Gerd Kurtenbach; and Block Watch folks Richard Fox,
Cynthia Schwartz and Laura Nye. The bus will tour six neighborhoods hosting Night Out
parties. ''(U.S. Attorney General) Janet Reno couldn't make it at the last minute,'' Fox
said, ''but she's promised us she'll be here next year.''
MAKING MUSIC:
Duncan Sheik, former lead guitarist for Lisa Loeb, performs at 9
tonight in a free concert at the Hard Rock Cafe. It's part of a VH-1 promotion; the cable
channel has sent veejay Cynthia Garrett to town to do the intros. . . . Local music man
Vic Caesar heads to the Nixon Birthplace and Library next week for the release of his new
CD, Nixon's the One. The slogan from Richard Nixon's 1968 campaign was turned into a song
at the behest of Richard Kleindeinst, who would later become attorney general. At the
time, Kleindeinst was the lawyer for Caesar and his supper club in Phoenix, and Caesar
performed it for Nixon when the future president came to town to announce his candidacy. .
. . Dan Majerle, the former Suns golden boy whose career is on the ropes as an NBA free
agent, has made an infomercial. Along with Gary Plummer of the San Francisco 49ers and
golf analyst Roy Garibaldi, Majerle is selling a golf club. It is scheduled to air this
month.
SHARING THEIR JOURNEYS:
Two Arizona residents are featured in Saturday's CBS special
Smithsonian Fantastic Journey, honoring the 150th anniversary of the national museum.
Patty Wagstaff of Tucson, the first and only woman to win the U.S. National Aerobatic
Championship, does some loop-de-loops, and Tom Whittaker of Prescott climbs Mount Everest,
artificial foot and all. . . . Geordie and Jamie Hormel have put the word out about ''a
fabulous evening at our home'' to benefit the Craniofacial Foundation of Arizona.
Scheduled for Oct. 5 at the Hormels' Paradise Valley mansion, the night will feature
Geordie on piano, several of his (as yet unidentified) musical friends and some magicians.
Through his Village Recorders studio in Los Angeles, the Spam heir has plenty of musical
connections.
DIRT CHEAP?
Alan Jacoby's missing dirt has been found. Jacoby, whose company, Sportscom, uses the dirt for the annual Coors Rodeo Showdown at America West Arena, reported last week that 5 million pounds were missing. It turned out the dirt was taken from a municipal storage yard and used in Phoenix parks. ''One thing for sure, at least the golf courses and parks will be a lot greener and lusher thanks to the contribution we made,'' Jacoby said of the dirt, which has been enriched, so to speak, through two years of use at the rodeo. Jacoby, who is out the $10,000 cost of the dirt, doesn't begrudge what happened because the city has supported the rodeo strongly.
Color photos (2) Vic Caesar
Geordie Hormel