INSIDE SCOOPS

“Irrelevant” might seem like an unflattering word to apply to somebody --

especially an exalted figure like this year’s Mr. Irrelevant, Michael

Green of the Chicago Bears.

But Paul Salata, the man who started Irrelevant Week, recently explained

that the term is meant as a compliment.

When Salata kicked off the event in the ‘70s, Salata explained,

“relevance” was a catchword of hippie culture, a quasi-Marxist word that

was supposed to signify a connection to things that were socially useful.

Salata thought the idea was preposterous. He named his event after

irrelevance because he wanted to stand for charity, family and other such

“useless” ideals.

BUDGET BORE

Costa Mesa’s riveting discussions about the 2000-01 budget last week drew

twice as much interest from the public as last year. A grand total of six

residents showed up for the three scheduled meetings. About four made

though the entire session.

“There’s a much greater interest in the budget when times are difficult,”

City Manager Allan Roeder explained last week. “People seem to show up

when they think programs will be cut.”

DON’T EVEN GO THERE

When Wendy Leece raised questions about about science textbooks during

Tuesday night’s school board meeting, she figured everyone thought she

was going to bring up the Bible and creation. But Leece insisted that she

“didn’t need to go there.”

If she had brought up religion, then there might have been heck to pay.

“We’re not bringing in the Bible Scripture,” she said. “I know I can’t go

there or they’ll beat me up.”

That is figuratively, not literally.

-- Compiled by the Daily Pilot staff