The local Salvation Army received one of its biggest donations ever – in terms of size, that is. In response to its appeal for vehicle castoffs, a Bonita couple recently donated a converted 40-passenger bus that had starred in Clint Eastwood's 1977 movie, “The Gauntlet.”
Ron and Mary Reid bought the bus years ago and spent two years and $60,000 repairing its fake bullet holes (police blasted the bus in the climactic scene of the film) and turning it into a plush RV for their travels. The Reids now prefer ocean cruises to highway ones, so they donated the motor home to The Salvation Army's adult rehab program.
Rising fuel costs could have turned their gift into a white elephant, but the RV – with its elegantly finished living room, bedroom, bathroom with sunken tub and crystal chandelier, and kitchen equipped with dishwasher and trash compactor – could serve as a home.
It was the perfect solution for Bill Harris, an Eastwood fan who plunked down $10,500 and drove away in “Gauntlet's Ghost” last week. When not in use for Harris' annual vacation, the RV will serve as his Spring Valley guest house.
San Diegans Ink
Lani Lutar is leaving the helm of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association to become a vice president of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. Beginning Sept. 2, Lutar will oversee the chamber's governmental affairs and public-policy planning. A taxpayers association search committee will look for her successor. . .
Tracy Silberman-Frick, executive director of the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation, left her posts there and at the William Heath Davis House Museum last week. Silberman-Frick is headed to Hemet to take over as business manager of the Western Center for Archaeology & Paleontology.
Street seen
Texas Gov. Rick Perry and his wife, Anita, apparently had a hankering for some barbecue while vacationing here last week. They stopped for lunch at Phil's BBQ on Sports Arena Boulevard. The couple said they were escaping the Texas heat. . .
When actor Owen Wilson showed up at the San Diego Museum of Art last week, the “Wedding Crashers” star didn't crash the gate; he bought a ticket. Wilson, casually dressed in a baseball cap and chinos, also bought some books about artist Georgia O'Keeffe at the museum store. . .
When an Anthology employee told the nightclub's owner, Howard Berkson, that Robin Leach, host of TV's “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” was among diners the other night, Berkson was sure there was a mistake. Berkson explained that he had taken a reservation for Steve Leach, the brother of one of his former law-school buddies, who was bringing his father.
Unbeknownst to Berkson, though, was the fact that Robin Leach is Steve's father.
Play of the day
Anita Simons was shocked when her play, “Heartland,” co-written with fellow La Jollan Lauren Simon, earned top prize at the Dayton, Ohio, FutureFest playwright competition last month. “Heartland,” a wartime drama about German internment camps in the United States, will be produced in November at MiraCosta College in Oceanside.
Another winner
Rita Otero, court reporter for San Diego Superior Court Judge Theodore Weathers, just won the silver medal of her profession. In a national court-reporting contest last month, Otero placed second overall, typing as fast as 280 words per minute with more than 98 percent accuracy.
Diane Bell's column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Fax items to (619) 260-5009; call (619) 293-1518; e-mail to diane.bell@uniontrib.com; or mail to The San Diego Union-Tribune, P.O. Box 20191, San Diego, CA 92112-0191.
