Fred Claire, the former Dodgers general manager who pulled off the scrappy 1988 World Series win, gets asked all the time about the team’s future.

“I’m simply hoping for the best,” Claire said tactfully last week. “It’s tough to see the struggles that the organization is going through.”

Claire, who hosts a weekly radio show and writes a column for Major League Baseball’s Web site, has been named to the board of the Los Angeles Sports Council. The council is a civic group that draws events, such as the 2006 Baseball World Cup. As part of his role, Claire represents the Rose Bowl Operating Co., where he serves as a director.

Also named to the board were Bill Husak, athletic director at Loyola Marymount University, and Bob van Schoonenberg, executive vice president and general counsel at Avery Dennison Corp. Jamie McCourt, vice chairwoman and president of the Dodgers, made a low-key appearance at her first council meeting last week.

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Hollywood publicist Michael Levine, who penned “Guerilla PR,” more than a decade ago and has represented celebrity clients from Michael Jackson to Ozzy Osbourne, is stepping aside from day-to-day operations at his firm after 22 years.

“Most people don’t know when to leave center stage,” said Levine. Dawn Miller, the firm’s executive vice president, will take over as president and chief operating officer.

Levine has been more than a publicist. Once described by writer Catherine Seipp as “one of Hollywood’s grand eccentrics,” he is a prolific author (17 books) and an occasional guest columnist for this newspaper and many others.

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Few money managers can match the phenomenal performance of Mark Anson, who resigned last month as chief investment officer of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. During his six year tenure, Calpers’ assets grew by 35 percent, to $196 billion. Anson is moving to London to become CEO of institutional fund manager Hermes. Several candidates to replace him are lining up including Christy Wood, Calpers’ senior investment officer for global equities.

*Staff reporter Kate Berry can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 228, or at

[email protected].