Caring Hearts love men in shirts

“C aring Hearts,” held Sunday at Tivoli Too, was a fashion show with a twist.

The fundraiser for the Laguna Beach Community Clinic showcased fashions from local shops and a silent auction of five bachelors.

“This was a beautiful warm afternoon where everyone sipped cold champagne while enjoying gorgeous models and high fashion and reminded each other of the vital role that the clinic plays in Laguna,” said Faye Kirk-Chapman, a clinic board member and chair of the event.

Her committee included Karen Kredel, Mary Anderson, Carolyn and Dr. Tom Bent, Sandra Cassarella, Pam Corliss, Glori Fickling, Ron Herrin, Debbie Mulligan, Madeleine Peterson and Pamela Simpson.

“Volunteers are the core of the clinic,” Kirk-Chapman said. “They play a vital role.”

Fashions were provided by Bardot Collection, Gallery of Wearable Art, Hobie Sports, Indian Summer, Just Looking Boutique, Kiri Brooke Collection, Meeschka, Sutton Place Boutique, Textile Dreams and Tops.

One item from each collection was auctioned by Anne Morris.

The Tops shirt Dr. Bent wore in the show is the prototype for a shirt that Jimmy Buffet will be wearing for the cover of his next album.

Besides Bent, models included Mulligan’s daughter, Kate Johnson; Kirk Chapman’s daughter Kiri, who provided all the jewelry for the show; Robin Whitelock, Pam Corliss, Julie Yurkus of the Parents Club; Heather McDowell; Haven Schneider, Thurston Middle School eighth-grader Chris Muccillo, Charlene Fleckenstein and her daughter Rocio, a junior a Laguna Beach High School, as are models Andrew Raub and Madison Zraick. Heather Eaton, a 1987 LBHS graduate, bumped up the bid on her outfit by singing a few bars of a song requested by the bidder.

A highlight of the evening was the auction of dinner dates with five bachelors, at host restaurants and floral gifts: Mark Andren, dinner at Tabu and a bouquet from Bill’s Flowers; Luis Carranza, dinner hosted by Salt Creek Grill with flowers from Brown’s; Brian Fitzgerald, dinner at Ristorante Robilio, flowers from Stems; Mark Hawakawa, dinner at Five Feet, flowers from Stems.

A date with Matt Nelke, the youngest of the group, was won by an 85-year-old bidder -- with a bouquet from Laguna Flowers and dinner at Five Crowns.

“About $10,000 was raised,” clinic administrative assistant Kredel said. “Not bad for only the second year we have held the event.”

Proceeds from the event will benefit programs and services of the clinic at 362 Third St., which is now beginning its 36th year of providing medical care for the community on a sliding scale.

The fashion show is one of the ways the clinic raises funds for its services and programs. Other means include donations, grants, foundation contributions, some state and federal funding -- which is rapidly drying up -- and payments by patients who can afford to pay.

“Money is always tight,” Kredel said. “Right now, we are trying to refurbish the examination rooms and the exterior. We’d like the outside to look as good as the care the patients get inside.”

For more information, visit www.LBClinic.org or call (949) 494-0761.

Medicare update

I lucked out. On Jan. 3, I got my monthly prescriptions without a hassle and at considerable savings -- thanks to hours of research on Medicare Part D by my son, Kenny, who also filed my application on the internet in the waning days of December.

However, a poll taken in January of 1,000 people who thought they might be eligible for PART D found that 52% of them thought the program was too hard to understand. Of the people aged 60 and above who were polled, two out of three said they were confused.

Sadly, the confusion is costing seniors money, money that many of them cannot afford.

The longer they wait to sign up, the more it could cost them to enroll, not to mention missing out on the discount on drugs every month they are not on board, according to Kate Tschudin, seniors’ program manager at South Coast Medical Center.

“Another thing people don’t understand is that your choice of a PART D plan can affect your HMO standing with an existing insurance carrier,” Tschudin said. “The very first thing you should do is call your company to clarify its policies.”

Plan to attend a Medicare Part D Update, to be held at 2 p.m., Monday, Feb. 27 in the hospital auditorium.

Laguna Beach Seniors Inc. Executive Director Anne Morris has arranged for a speaker from the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program, California health advocates that offer free Medicare counseling under the auspices of the Orange County Council on Aging.

Refreshments will be served.

The program is a follow-up to the workshop by senior insurance advisor Harry Thal held in November at the center.

For more information, call Morris at (949) 497-2441.

Hosts’ names omitted

Steve and Jill Edwards’ names were inadvertently omitted last week from the list of generous hosts who opened their homes to dinner guests to raise money for Friendship Shelter.

“Jill’s involvement with Dinners Across Laguna for years has been invaluable,” 2006 event co-chair Barbara McMurray said.

In fact, Edwards is a past chair of the dinners.

Our apologies.

A pizza the action

Z Pizza was featured recently on “Good Morning America.”

“The West Coast Affiliate of ABC came out and filmed about three hours for a 30-second sound bite,” Z owner Sid Faranof said.

He was asked how pizza has changed and how East Coast Pizza differs from California’s.

“The real difference is a napkin,” Faranof said. “In New York, you have to have a napkin to blot up the grease.”

And pizza had been put on a diet. Faranoff said. A slice of Z Pizza, which used to have about 500 calories and 28 grams of fat, now has trimmed down to 132 calories and six grams of fat. Like who eats just a slice at Z?

* OUR LAGUNA is a regular feature of the Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot. Contributions are welcomed. Write to Barbara Diamond, P.O. Box 248, Laguna Beach, 92652; hand-deliver to Suite 22 in the Lumberyard, 384 Forest Ave.; call (949) 494-4321.

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