CAMERA-SHY: A reduction in convenience store robberies...

CAMERA-SHY: A reduction in convenience store robberies in Orange County shouldn’t be attributed to criminals turning over a new leaf. Most experts tie the drop to the increased use of in-store video equipment--especially monitors immediately visible when you walk through the door. . . . The 7-Eleven food store chain takes things a step further by equipping doors with height detectors. Says 7-Eleven official Steve Granados: “What we’ve seen is that the bad guys just don’t like being seen on television.”

NEW HANGOUT: If there’s any doubt about who’s in charge of the state Assembly, new Speaker Curt Pringle quickly dispelled it Monday when he rearranged the Capitol’s portrait gallery, giving a place of honor to Republican icon Ronald Reagan. Pringle (R-Garden Grove) ordered Reagan’s portrait moved to a wall just outside the Assembly’s main entrance and across from his new office. . . . Says the speaker’s acting press secretary, Ken Colombini: “It’s a way of saying the Assembly is finally back safely in Republican hands.”

COP ROCK: Santa Ana Police Officer Mike Gorajewski has found a novel way to tie his day job to his nighttime passion--he plays drums for an all-cop rock ‘n’ roll band, Mutual Aid. (E1) Like his eight bandmates, Gorajewski has no plans to leave law enforcement. Playing in the band, he says, “goes hand in hand with police work. . . . It’s reaching out to the community--especially when we play in uniform.”

UP, UP AND AWAY: Steve Fossett, a 1962 Garden Grove High School graduate, lifted off from Rapid City, S.D., Monday on what he hopes will be the first nonstop trip around the world in a balloon. The flight is expected to take about 21 days. . . . Fossett, a securities trader from Chicago, is competing against English and Dutch teams. His parents, Dick and Charalee Fossett, still live in Garden Grove.