Reporter's Notebook: The man, the myth, the judge

"Then the judge kept saying, 'Well, this is how it works, I'm the judge and you're either 'guilty' or 'not guilty,'" McClellan said, adding that the judge kept telling him, "Well, I'm the judge."

"And I thought, 'Wait a minute, there's a message in here somewhere.'"

The judge ended up letting Sparks off the hook for going five miles over the speed limit, saying he understood the dilemma about having to make it to Pirate Days on time.

Gordy Grundy, now the director of the Newport Beach Historical Society, urged everybody and anybody to buy "Bawdy Balboa" for $20. It's a good read, he said. Also, if anybody is interested, he said there's a great Facebook page called, "I grew up in Newport Beach before it became the OC."

Created by Tom Stillwell, who now lives in Brentwood, Tenn., the Facebook page has more than 3,000 fans, and its popularity is growing at a rapid clip, a show of force among some longterm residents who say reality TV and "The OC," which aired from 2003 to 2007, did nothing but hurt the image of Newport Beach.

At the Harborside Ballroom shin dig, Grundy encouraged the folks on hand to start recording their memories as far back as they can and to even join the Facebook page, if they have the time and the technological knowhow.

For those who are interested in buying "Bawdy Balboa," Grundy encouraged anybody and everybody to go to newportbeachhistorical.com.

Reporter TOM RAGAN can be reached at (714) 966-4618 or tom.ragan@latimes.com.