People and Events

Where was the Councilmobile?

The suspense mounted as media types armed with cameras and tape recorders camped outside City Hall on Thursday, waiting to be picked up by Councilman Marvin Braude in an experimental electric van.

Braude wanted to demonstrate why the city and local businesses should buy hundreds of the smogless vehicles, which reportedly can travel 60 miles on a single charge.

Five, 10, 15 minutes passed. Not a hum in earshot. Finally, Glenn Barr, a Braude deputy, emerged after 20 minutes to explain that the Councilmobile was stranded in the City Hall garage with dead batteries.

It was somewhat reminiscent of the time a few years ago when county officials were all set to take reporters for a ride on a revolutionary Hovercraft down the Los Angeles River. That contraption wouldn’t start, either. The Hovercraft was never heard from again, but the Councilmobile will be back, Barr said.

“I don’t know what happened, whether someone unplugged it too soon or didn’t connect it properly,” said the aide, who added that “There is nothing . . . inherently wrong.”

And, as he noted earlier, somewhat prophetically:

“It’s so quiet that you’re not sure you’ve turned it on.”

San Pedro’s centennial celebration this weekend is an unusual one in that it marks the 100th anniversary of the port’s incorporation as a city. Funny thing, though--it hasn’t been a city for 79 years, not since Los Angeles annexed it in 1909 to gain possession of the harbor.

As any local map will show, Los Angeles has been keeping San Pedro on a shoestring ever since. And the area’s late Assemblyman Vincent Thomas, who led a secession effort in the 1950s, never forgave the downtown powers. “I’ve lived in San Pedro nearly all my life,” Thomas said, “and I hate Los Angeles.”

Obviously, he and Randy Newman would sing a different tune about the town.

“People are constantly talking about how vapid TV anchorpeople in L.A. are,” explained Tom Leykis, KFI radio’s new talk show host.

So, as a public service of sorts, he decided to find out who his callers rate No. 1. The “Stupidest TV Anchorperson in L.A.” survey Thursday night drew several dozen callers in an hour.

The winner, with 31% of the vote, was Tawny Little of KABC (Channel 7), followed by Kelly Lange of KNBC (Channel 4) with 25% and Jerry Dunphy of KABC with 11%. One female caller said, “If I have to see Kelly Lange shopping in Seoul one more time, I’ll go crazy.” Another voter remembered her choice only as “the guy who jumped under the desk during the earthquake” (KNBC’s Kent Shocknek).

Leykis pointed out that no anchorpeople on stations KHJ (Channel 9), KTTV (Channel 11) or KCOP (Channel 13) received votes.

“I don’t know if that means they’re intelligent or if nobody’s watching them,” he said.

Sculptor Steve Simon is constructing a 2,000-foot-long blood vessel to call attention to the American Red Cross’ needs. “Flow,” as he calls it, will consist of 500 fluorescent tubes covered by a red fabric and will light up at night.

This isn’t the first charity-inspired artwork of Simon’s.

He previously glued together 35,000 discarded cigarette packs to create an 11-foot-long filter tip, which the American Lung Assn. exhibited in its “Kiss Your Butt Goodby” campaign.

The Red Cross, however, declined to accept the giant blood vessel, saying it’s against policy to incorporate such objects in blood drives. But the charity welcomed him to use it on his own to drum up contributions.

Simon isn’t sure where “Flow” will glow.

“Right now, I’m thinking of applying for a permit to put it in Sycamore Canyon State Park (near Pt. Mugu),” said the Christo of Corpuscles.