Back on the Beat

THE BEST NEWS in a long time for the legions of Joe Wambaugh fans is that the ex–L.A. cop-turned-author has gone back to work. San Diego’s Wambaugh, whose long list of bestsellers includes The New Centurions, The Blue Knight, The Onion Field and The Choirboys, has also gone back to his roots. And to his original publisher. His first novel in seven years, Hollywood Station, revolves around action at the storied Wilcox Street Cop Shop, at the epicenter of old Hollywood. Well-known for his reportorial style of research, Wambaugh interviewed scores of working cops—many of them women, in both Los Angeles and San Diego—for his new tale. It’s due in December from Little, Brown. And what was the inspiration for the book? “My wife Dee bought another new house,” Wambaugh says.

MEANWHILE: San Diegans may soon have another best-selling ex-cop in their midst. Tom Basinksi, a former Chula Vista policeman who also served time as a district attorney’s investigator and did time as San Diego City Attorney Mike Aguirre’s sidekick, has his first major book due May 2 from Berkley True Crime (Penguin/Putnam). The true-crime story, No Good Deed, involves a love triangle that led to the murder of David Stevens in La Jolla in 1998. The 38-year-old shooter and his 18-year-old girlfriend are both serving life sentences for first-degree murder. Basinski, his own best publicist, decided the local angle might merit him a book-signing party at Warwick’s in La Jolla. “I told them the case had substantial local interest, since the victim’s body was found only a few miles from their bookstore, and the majority of the police investigation was in La Jolla,” Basinski says. “The next day, they told me no; the signing didn’t really match their La Jolla market.” At first, he was put out, he says. “But on further reflection, I took it as a badge of honor. I was rejected by the same store that welcomed Hillary Clinton and her nonfiction book, Living History, to La Jolla. At least,” Basinski snipes, “my book is really true.”

MUSICAL NOTES: Humphrey’s Concerts—a happy San Diego tradition—launches its 25th anniversary season this month with an ambitious five-and-a-half-month schedule that offers a few new faces and more of the usual suspects. It’s a diverse lineup, with ticket prices that run the gamut. If you’re looking for a bargain, you could try a country music newbie named Miranda Lambert who’s apparently gaining some momentum. Her July 12 concert’s just 25 bucks. At the other end of the spectrum, there’s Ringo Starr & His All-Star Band, who are at the top of the scale at $115 a pop. Ringo’s getting a bit long in the tooth, but the lure may be more about who’s in the All-Star Band. Among his backups: Richard Marx, Edgar Winter and Sheila E. . . . The Kingston Trio—the legendary folk group founded by Coronado’s Nick Reynolds and featuring former San Diegan John Stewart—is re-forming for a 15-day concert cruise from San Diego to Hawaii next January. And if you want to feel really, really old, you should know this is billed as the group’s “50th anniversary celebration.”

OUT OUR WAY: The story last month from the SDPD blotter was a bit of a downer. In Hillcrest, it said, an armed robber walked into a medical marijuana clinic and got away with a half-pound of grass at gunpoint. Somewhat ironic, in light of the name of the clinic: San Diego Compassionate Healing & Safe Access. No word on any arrest, but Bill Smuggins offered a tip: “The cops might want to check out the junk-food aisles at nearby 7-Elevens.”

ITEMS INFINITUM: According to a British market research outfit, TNS Financial Services, the number of U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more reached a record 8.9 million in 2005. The local angle: San Diego ranks fifth. And no, a millionaire San Diegan isn’t anybody who owns a two-bedroom house. This ranking excludes principal residence from the formula ... Dr. Jan Schnitzer, scientific director of La Jolla’s Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, and one of San Diego Magazine’s 50 People To Watch in 2006, just got more watchable. He’s been awarded a $2 million grant for new technologies aimed at mapping proteins found in human kidney cancer tumors . . . San Diego’s Episcopal bishop has appointed Jake Young the new acting executive director of the diocese’s charitable arm, Episcopal Community Services. Young, a former principal at the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche, may have been the logical choice to succeed former executive director Amanda May, who left under a cloud of alleged financial improprieties at the charity.

WORTH REMEMBERING: San Diegan Clifford Fearl’s death last month at 90 merited only a brief, paid death notice in the local newspaper. But he was front-page news to followers of the Broadway musical. Among his astonishing credits: Mame with Angela Lansbury, Two’s Company with Bette Davis, Kismet with Alfred Drake and Happy Hunting with Ethel Merman.

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Listen for Tom Blair’s Friday reports on KOGO News Radio (600 AM) at 7:25 a.m. You can also click here to listen to his column.

Items for the magazine or radio may be e-mailed to tblair@sandiegomag.com.

© 2006 San Diego Magazine

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