One of 16 painted traffic cones briefly scattered around downtown Carlsbad last week has a new home with Roger the Juggler.

Roger Deem read in this space last week about the city removing the cones, decorated by local artists and placed in high-visibility areas -- a response to the Chamber of Commerce's "Art in the Heart of Carlsbad" adopt-a-hydrant campaign.

Wanting to support his fellow artists, Deem called Bryan Snyder of carlsbadcrawl.com and asked for a cone. He's proudly displaying it atop a 24-inch ball he uses as part of his act.

"I disagree with the (chamber) trying to charge somebody to display their art," said Deem. "I contacted the artist and said, 'Bring me a cone and I'll display it every night.' … It will be up there till the thing falls apart."

No word on whether he's juggled it.

Sculpture forest: Six of the "Urban Trees" lining the Embarcadero in San Diego have North County roots. The "trees," actually 31 sculpted pieces in various shapes, will decorate the waterfront through next June. The artists and their works: Christie Beniston, Solana Beach -- "Trimming the Tree"; Josh Bowman, Vista -- "Geometree"; Greg Eng, Vista -- "Fire Blossom Tree"; Mark Meier, Encinitas -- "Birds in a Tree"; Melissa Ralston, Escondido -- "The Blessing Tree"; and Ken Smith, Vista -- "Sea and Sky." … One of the Urban Trees that were created last year by James Stone is on display at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. The 14-foot glass and metal piece is called "Not Seen, Not Heard but Felt." Stone's studio is at the Bernardo Winery in Rancho Bernardo.

People: The Heritage Ball is down one celebrity this year. Actress Cindy Williams of "Laverne and Shirley" fame attended last year's Mission San Luis Rey gala and planned to attend the Aug. 23 event. But she had to demur to attend the "Bronze the Fonz" dedication of a statue of the iconic "Happy Days" character in Milwaukee. … Returning home Friday from the registrar of voters office after filing nomination papers for a seat on the Palomar Pomerado Health board of trustees, Jerry Kaufman's phone rang. Checking Caller ID, Kaufman was surprised to see the name Lee Thibadeau, another candidate for the seat. "I heard a rumor you were up to something," Thibadeau told Kaufman. "I heard the same thing," Kaufman replied. The two exchanged best wishes before hanging up.

Correction: I incorrectly spelled the name of Marine Maj. Gen. Michael Lehnert in Tuesday's column. My apologies.

Contact staff columnist Jeff Frank at (760) 740-5419 or jfrank@nctimes.com.