Purple Is Not Where It’s At in Encinitas

Fazal Bandukwala has learned a sad lesson: North County is not as hip as it appears.

He thought Encinitas, along Old Highway 101, would be an ideal spot for one of his Gamma Gamma stores. Where better to sell avant-garde clothing and jewelry than a beach community known for its laid-back life style and tolerance of the idiosyncratic?

It hasn’t worked out that way. As soon as Gamma Gamma opened, the complaints began.

His merchant neighbors didn’t like the fact he painted the storefront purple, painted his

interior walls black, and put up a black awning. Their fronts are sandstone, their walls are white, and most of their awnings are green.

There were also concerns that Bandukwala’s offbeat merchandise and decor would attract the rowdy punk-rock crowd.

A formal complaint over the purple front was filed with the city. Bandukwala’s landlord was told to either return the front to its original color or file for a painting permit, which would allow the other merchants to air their objections.

“I don’t know what decade these people are living in,” said Bandukwala, who has stores in Long Beach, El Cajon, Hillcrest, Mission Beach and the State College area. “All I want to do is sell to people who don’t feel comfortable at Nordstrom or Sears. It’s just plain harassment.”

John Gessel, owner of Jerry’s Shoes across the street, says Gamma Gamma opened just as the newly formed Downtown Encinitas Mainstreet Assn. was working to spiffy up the area and keep it commercially viable.

“What we don’t want is for the area to look like Berkeley or some sort of circus, with one front red, another green, one mauve, like a barber pole,” Gessel said. “We’re not harassing anybody, just asking them to join us in making the street look respectable.”

The city has sent two notices to Bandukwala’s landlord. One more and the case goes to the city attorney.

Gamma Gamma clerks are circulating a petition asking the city to back off.

“At first I was willing to do whatever they want, now I think there’s a principle involved,” Bandukwala said. “This community is definitely not as hip as I thought.”

Drawing the Line

Joseph Wambaugh’s 1984 book “Lines and Shadows,” about the San Diego Police Department’s two-fisted Border Area Robbery Force, never achieved the success of his other efforts.

It did not sell as well as “Choirboys” or “New Centurions.” It spawned a $91-million civil suit by a disgruntled cop, which is still in the courts, where a trial setting conference was held last week.

And now Home Box Office has shelved plans to make “Lines and Shadows” into a made-for-television movie. Executives could never agree on a script and began to worry that the market for cop movies is overloaded.

Fun at Any Price?

A 22-year-old San Diego man was nabbed at a Target store in Encinitas for allegedly shoplifting two-dozen condoms and a compact disk of an English pop group.

A store security guard spotted the man stuffing the condoms (worth $4.69) in the pocket of his sweat shirt and the compact disc ($13.99) in his shorts. As he began to tip-toe away for a weekend of fun, he was snatched in the parking lot.

The musical group on the disk: Simple Minds.

Now Class, Back to Work

A wood-shop teacher at San Dieguito High School in Encinitas was surprised when a young woman he had never met showed up in his class.

He was even more surprised when the woman told him, “Congratulations, you’re a (body part),” and then sprayed his face with whipped cream and doused him with confetti.

Sheriff’s deputies are investigating. It looks like a conspiracy, with the 18-year-old hit person, a former student, working in cahoots with a student who has a grudge against the teacher.

Assistant Principal Simeon Greenstein says the teacher handled the “mean-spirited prank” rather well.

“It’s a potentially humiliating experience to have that happen in front of a class,” Greenstein said. “But he was low-key in his response.”