The Wandering I ...

LAW & DISORDER: Back in the 1970s and ’80s, he was among the first lawyers to pitch clients through advertising. And his barrage of “Let Sam Do It!” TV commercials made Sam Spital a household word in San Diego. Alas, hard competition and harsh lawsuits took the wind out of Sam’s sails in the ’90s. After a $7.5 million malpractice judgment led him into personal and corporate bankruptcy, Spital found himself working out of a one-man law office near San Diego State University. Even then, he was handling just a few clients as he segued into a new career in “business marketing consulting,” he said. Now, a decade later, Sam is embroiled in a new legal tangle— this time, apparently, as the injured party. In another career turn a couple of years ago, Spital was hired by the county of San Diego as a probation officer. The job was short-lived— county sources say his employment was terminated partway through his first year. But that was after he’d already filed a claim for workers’ compensation after suffering a “debilitating back and neck injury.” Spital said he’d slipped and fallen on the downtown trolley tracks on his way to visit a prisoner at the county jail. And now he’s upped the ante. A few months after his termination, he filed a claim with the county this spring for a full service-connected disability. The county retirement board has twice put off a decision, saying it needs more information on the case. But Sam’s odds look good. The county maintains a “presumption of disability” with any case involving a public safety employee—and the board can only approve Spital’s claim or continue to seek more information. So far, they’ve twice chosen to seek more information. Meanwhile, Sam is still in the law business. His Samuel Spital & Associates Web site contains a long shopping list of legal specialties. Among them: slip-and-fall injuries.

ENTRÉ NEWS: In the months just before his death, actor Marlon Brando had been spotted during several visits to Scripps Clinic in La Jolla. His obituaries cited lung disease as the cause of his death last month. But sources say Brando, tipping the scales at 325, was being treated for obesity and heart disease . . . Brando’s attorney David J. Seeley, who emerged as the acting legend’s de facto spokesman after Brando’s death, earned his J.D. from the University of San Diego in 1989 . . . Tech titans Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were spotted at the Four Seasons Resort Aviara last month—in for the Wall Street Journal All Things Digital conference . . . Big gains in real estate have helped turned a record number of San Diegans into millionaires. According to Merrill Lynch’s World Wealth Report, San Diego now has a record 31,566 millionaire households . . . The just-ended season of MTV’s Real World, filmed in San Diego, garnered the highest ratings of any in the series’ 14 seasons . . . Comedian Billy Crystal’s autobiographical play 700 Sundays, which first saw life as a La Jolla Playhouse workshop production this past spring, goes to Broadway in November. And Playhouse artistic director Des McAnuff goes with it as director.

FLASHBACK: As the election year continues to generate more heat than light, I’m reminded that, on rare occasions, something memorable can be gleaned from the process. Reader Erik Minten forwards a yellowed, 20-year-old clipping from my old newspaper column with the evidence. Congressman Don Edwards, stressing the importance of the fall election, it says, told the multitudes gathered for the California Democratic Convention in Oakland: “The year 1984 is going to be the most important day in your life.” To which one delegate added: “Also the longest.”

DINNER CONVERSATION: When it comes to dining out, San Diegans can always find plenty of food for thought. Each August brings our annual “Best Restaurants” issue, and a deluge of helpful suggestions from readers on how our local restaurateurs could do better. This year, as usual, it’s the service that makes most of us dyspeptic. “I want a waiter or waitress that knows their craft, not some kid who wants to be my friend,” writes one reader. “ ‘Hi, I’m Chance, and I’ll be your server tonight.’ I hate that!” Among the other service gripes: “Immature and unprofessional hostess/receptionists.” “Unkempt employees.” “Servers who say, ‘You guys’ and ‘No problem.’ ” “Service without info; pouring wine too full; pushing drinks; not knowing who gets what. . .” Or more succinctly: “Sucky service!” Not that service is our only problem. There’s the high price of valet parking. Restaurants that refuse to accept reservations. Exorbitant wine prices and corkage fees. Oh, and our bagels are “too gentile,” according to one reader. Again this year, as usual, readers want more dining categories in our poll. Newest suggestions: best coffee, best Irish, best ice cream, best drive-thru. And best Hawaiian. Really? Gourmet Spam? But it’s not all negativity out there. Some of us actually think we have it pretty good. “So many great restaurants,” writes one reader, “can’t try them all in one lifetime.” Another: “I live in Hillcrest and love not having to leave the neighborhood to get any cuisine—great food and cool restaurants.” And another: “San Diego has so much more to choose from now. Isn’t it great?” It is. .

Listen for Tom Blair’s Friday reports on KOGO News Radio (600 AM) at 7:25 a.m. You can also hear his radio column at sandiegomag.com. Items for the magazine or radio may be e-mailed to tblair@sandiegomag.com.

Do you like what you read? Subscribe to San Diego Magazine »