INSIDE SCOOP

-- Compiled by the Daily Pilot staff

Speak Up Newport’s annual dinner honoring the city’s former mayors

drew quite a crowd of the community’s movers and shakers.

We saw Rush Hill, Tim and Annie Quinn, Henry Schielein -- oh, and a

bunch of the people who used to run those meetings held in City Hall.

It was the rich, powerful crowd that makes newspaper advertising

salespeople lose their usual collected cool over.

What better time to remind them all that the Pilot just started

publishing a Sunday edition? And whatever better person to do the

reminding than Pilot columnist, and event emcee Peter Buffa (himself a

former mayor, though not from Newport)?

It was -- trust us -- unsolicited. It may even have been insincere.

But Buffa didn’t forget to mention it a few too many times, to a few too

many groans for those of us who pull our paychecks here.

By the way, we have a Sunday paper, if you haven’t heard.

Speaking for the party

Nothing like putting yourself on the firing line.

Assemblyman John Campbell (R-Irvine) spoke out last week against Gov.

Gray Davis’ plan to buy power transmission lines from the utilities.

“This looks like a complete capitulation,” Campbell said. “Those lines

could be purchased in the private sector at no cost to taxpayers or our

state coffers.”

As a junior member of the legislative body, Campbell’s remarks

wouldn’t normally grab headlines. But this time, Campbell wasn’t just

speaking for himself.

His remarks carried the weight of the Republican caucus. It was the

first time Campbell spoke for his party since his election in November to

the 70th District seat. The seat was formerly held by Marilyn Brewer.