Inside scoop

--Compiled by the Daily Pilot staff

As the Daily Pilot reported last year, Diane Coltrane has a new man

every Christmas.

The Corona del Mar real estate agent sends out her holiday greetings

to friends and relatives in the form of a photo postcard. The picture is

similar each year: Coltrane and a famous man.

She’s posed with Buzz Aldrin, Bob Hope and Tom Selleck, all of whom

she met at parties and charity receptions.

This year, however, Coltrane has outdone herself. She nabbed the most

talked about man in the nation: George W. Bush. (She was pictured with

former President George H. Bush in a past year).

DINNER, DESSERT AND A FIRE?

Eight people who thought they were just having dinner with

firefighters at the Newport Beach fire station on Santa Barbara Drive

were in for a surprise Tuesday night.

The visitors had won dinner and a tour of the fire station at a

charity auction. The firefighters association always donates gifts

certificates for such events.

They had just finished eating and were reaching for dessert when the

alarm bells went off. Firefighters rushed to Eastbluff, where a garage

had caught on fire.

The visitors didn’t waste time either. They hired a limo and drove to

the scene.

“So they really saw what our firefighters do,” said Capt. John Blauer,

a spokesman for the Newport Beach Fire and Marine Department. “We’re not

sure how they found out the location of the fire, but they saw everything

firsthand.”

They sure got their money’s worth.