When Coby King, 55-year-old chief executive of downtown L.A. PR firm High Point Strategies was planning to scale the tallest mountain in Washington state, he didn’t need much help.

As a frequent climber, he turned down the idea of going on a tour guided by one of the three companies that take less experienced climbers up daunting Mount Rainier, which has an elevation of 14,400 feet. Instead, he found a freelance guide who prefers to personally escort more experienced climbers, such as him, and that expert accompanied King and his friend, Joe Krovoza, former mayor of Davis, up the mountain.

Also with him for the invigorating climb was a full beard that the normally clean-cut businessman grew especially for the trip.

“In theory, I grew the beard to stay warm, but it was really just an excuse,” he said. “It was about 20 degrees at the top and 40 degrees at camp, so, only cold by L.A. standards.”

Delivering Name

In just a couple of weeks – on Jan. 18 – Stacey Brenner is due to deliver her first child. But what she’ll name her new son is still up in the air.

According to her religion’s tradition, Brenner said she plans to name her baby after her grandfather, Max, who has passed away.

“Ashkenazi tradition is to name the child after a family member who has passed,” Brenner, 36, said. “It can either be the exact name or the first initial of the one family member who passed.”

Even so, Brenner, director of the Southern California office of Sacramento political consulting firm Gonzalez Quintana Hunter & Cruz, still hasn’t decided whether Max will be her baby’s first or middle name.

But meanwhile, many of her clients and family members who are men are lobbying her to name her child after them.

“So far, we have Stanley Jr., Rick Jr., John Jr., etc.,” she said.

Staff reporters Hannah Miet and Cale Ottens contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].