LOW KEY RACE? Steve Twomey of the...

LOW KEY RACE? Steve Twomey of the Washington Post on Sunday toured Gunston Hall in Fairfax County, Va.--home of Founding Father George Mason. He was startled to see in his tour group Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove)--alone. . . . Wait a minute, isn’t Dornan out running for president? Dornan, who’d almost gone unnoticed, explained later he’d just flown back to Washington from campaigning in Iowa and had a few free hours. Dornan said he enjoys these “time-machine experiences, cranking myself back to 1755.”

PENCIL GOVERNMENT: Irvine is the city with the most money in the failed county investment pool--$208 million. So its City Council members, some facing recall efforts, make a public issue of trying to save small amounts of money. . . . Example: For minor redesign of architectural plans for the planned $18.8-million Civic Center Park, it was even suggested using a grease pencil to show the changes instead of making a standard $1,000 payment to the architect for fixes. . . . Project architect Bob Mueting finally offered to do it free: “I have an emotional investment. Parks are my thing.”

KING KONG: Pianist Xiang-Dong Kong of Irvine leaves Monday to fit a last-minute invitation to China into his busy concert schedule. He’ll play the “Yellow River Concerto” at the Great People’s Hall in Beijing, with its Central Philharmonic Orchestra. It’s for a national broadcast to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. . . . Why was he invited? His CD version of the concerto became the first recording of Chinese music to mark $1 million in sales.

GETTING MALLED: Regional malls are popular, except with those trying to compete with them. La Habra doesn’t have a mall. So the city and its chamber of commerce are selling 30-second cable-TV spots to local businesses. Says the chamber’s John Holmberg: “We’re doing something to tell the people to stay in the city to shop.” . . . The spots come at the end of the city’s own commercials urging residents to shop in La Habra.