NOT HIS JOB: Anaheim Police Chief Randall...

NOT HIS JOB: Anaheim Police Chief Randall Gaston is thankful for the job he hasn’t got at a time like this. At a City Council budget session this week, Gaston traced his department’s history back 125 years to when the town marshal began keeping law and order. . . . “In tracing this information, we found that the town marshal was also the tax collector,” says Gaston. “I’m glad they’ve separated those two functions.”

DRAMA TALK: Officials from the South Coast Repertory plan to be on hand for a weekend symposium in Los Angeles by African American playwrights taking stock of their art (F1). The theater had a hit last year with “Jar the Floor,” its first production by a black writer in its 30-year history. But there are no plans yet for a second. Spokesman Cris Gross says the focus is developing new talent. . . . The theater has commissioned two works by emerging black writers. Says Gross: “It’s important to be working with a new generation.”

FOR ALL TASTES: The first serving will be a heap of the blues Friday when the seventh annual Taste of Orange County kicks off a weekend of music, samples from local eateries and, for the first time, an improv comedy stage. Legendary guitarist B.B. King anchors Blues Night on Friday at the Irvine Spectrum. The three-day festival also offers oldies and an orchestra, plus children’s activities. And, of course, all that food. Adult admission, $6; children ages 3 to 12, $3.

FANTASY COUPLE: When Michelle Shinn and fiance Mark Gonsalves decided to elope, they picked a wedding spot no relatives would expect: Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. The San Jose couple will marry in front of the Disneyland landmark today--the park’s first official wedding. The newlyweds will honeymoon at the park. Says Gonsalves: “It kind of wraps it all up in one.”