FUN BANKRUPTCY? If you think there’s nothing...

FUN BANKRUPTCY? If you think there’s nothing funny about Orange County’s fiscal woes, maybe you haven’t played “Downwardly Mobile.” It’s a new board game by three ambitious young Orange County entrepreneurs, sold so far in limited markets, (800) 621-2075. . . . They based the game on the county’s planned community concept before the bankruptcy. But, says one creator, Mark Woodyard: “The object is survival, to be the last one to go bankrupt. Doesn’t that describe Orange County?”

END AROUND: As a Huntington Beach councilman, Ralph Bauer struck out twice trying to persuade his colleagues to file a lawsuit against the county that could have stopped the massive housing project at the Bolsa Chica wetlands. Now he’ll try a new approach: Bauer and his wife, Charlene, have donated $5,000 to an environmental group fighting the construction. . . . “It’s the only vehicle I have left,” Bauer says. “I’m a champion of open space in Huntington Beach.”

LOOKING EAST: Help for Japan in the aftermath of its earthquake last month has come from around the world--including from Orange County. George Chitty, chief executive of the county’s Red Cross chapter, is in Kobe now to appraise the damage and study prevention measures. . . . Chitty made the trip at the request of Mitsubishi Electric America in Cypress, which is paying part of his expenses. He’ll report his findings on better ways to prepare for future disasters to the Japanese government.

BURGER ‘N’ PRAYER: Fullerton resident Ken Jackson was coming out of a train depot recently when he happened to run into Carl’s Jr. founder Carl N. Karcher. When Jackson said hello, Karcher surprised him with a coupon for a free hamburger, plus a pamphlet with a prayer from St. Francis of Assisi. . . . Karcher says that for years he’s carried around Carl’s Jr. coupons and the religious pamphlet for strangers who greet him. . . . St. Francis is his patron saint, Karcher explains: “It’s a beautiful prayer.”