The Frosting on the Cake ...

WHAT’S COOKIN’: San Diego’s Bill Lerach, once king of the class-action lawsuits, is serving out the second year of his two-year conspiracy and obstruction-of-justice sentence in an Arizona prison — his chances of returning to the practice of law next to nil. Meanwhile, someone has to keep the home fires burning. And that would be his wife, Michelle Ciccarelli Lerach, also a lawyer, although she refers to herself these days as a recovering attorney. But then Michelle is a chef, too — one who’s taught at Sonoma’s famed Relish Culinary Adventures — and she’s been busy cooking up a new career: baking cupcakes. Michelle’s Cups, an organic “cupcakery” opening this fall on La Jolla’s Girard Avenue, will specialize in cupcakes, but she’ll also offer classes in catering and party planning.

THE GROUNDED EAR: A rumored merger of San Diego’s Economic Development Corporation and Connect, two powerful business-generating organizations, may be a step closer to reality. A committee of the two is expected to issue a feasibility report sometime next month. Possible stumbling blocks to the marriage: two powerful chief executives, EDC’s Julie Meier Wright and Connect’s Duane Roth, with two powerful salaries ... Karl Strauss Brewery’s Chris Cramer has been busy seeking funding for a new celebration called San Diego Beer Week, a huge, 10-day festival envisioned for November. Ten days of beer just one month after Oktoberfest? No problem, says Cramer. It only takes a day or two to recover ... NBC Nightly News covered the Loews Coronado Bay Resort’s annual Surf Dog Competition for its “Making a Difference” segment Monday night. Priceless footage; not too late to catch. Check the Web site: msnbc.msn.com.

FOR A CAUSE: Bumper snicker on a yellow VW bug, chugging through Ocean Beach and driven by an environmental elitist: SAVE THE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE.

NAME’S SAKES: Robert Foxworth, who’s starred in half a dozen plays at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre over the years, owns a new distinction. He’s now among the Globe’s handful of “associate artists.” Foxworth, one of those journeyman actors whose face is more recognizable than his name, started his career in such big-screen sequels as Airport ’77 and The Omen II. But he’s better known for his TV work in the hit series Falcon Crest, The West Wing and Six Feet Under ... City Councilman Kevin Faulkoner kicks off his reelection campaign tomorrow with a major fund-raiser at Mission Valley’s Town & Country hotel — just outside his council district ... Cardiff’s Rob Machado, who won the first of his three U.S. Open of Surfing crowns in 1995, is coming out of semi-retirement next month to compete in the U.S. Open at Huntington Beach. The old man is 35 now ... Diane Powers was the undisputed queen of Old Town food and fun until the state strong-armed her out of the park three years ago. And so she relocated her popular Casa de Bandini restaurant to Grossmont Center in La Mesa. Instant success. She opens a second Casa de Bandini at The Forum in Carlsbad next Tuesday.

BOTTOM LINE: San Diego’s latest Top 10 honor: Coastal Living magazine’s list of the “Best Secluded Beach Destinations in the U.S.” San Diego’s winner: Windansea in La Jolla. No votes for Black’s Beach. Right. Not secluded enough. Too many people hanging out there.

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