Orange County

Apples and Oranges: Three Orange County business leaders will be in the Big Apple today to lobby Wall Street on behalf of the bankrupt county, which is trying to bolster its weak credit rating. Roger Embrey, general manager of Southern California Gas Co., Orange County Business Council Chairman Wayne Wedin and Irvine Co. Executive Vice President Gary Hunt are meeting with bond-rating agencies, investment fund directors and members of New York’s financial press. In addition, Embrey said, “our message also is that a lot of private-sector enterprises in the county might be going for financing soon, and that Wall Street shouldn’t confuse the local economy with the county bankruptcy.” The delegation’s trip to New York dovetails with a four-day visit by a statewide economic development group that’s hoping to showcase California’s strengths at a time when media coverage is focusing on the state’s wave of bad economic news.