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Dennis Brown, a Los Angeles County paramedic,...

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<i> From staff and wire reports</i>

Dennis Brown, a Los Angeles County paramedic, came away with a conversation piece of sorts after conducting a cardiopulmonary resuscitation session at one school.

When Brown wasn’t looking, someone scrawled the gang name, “Compton 1,” with a ballpoint pen on the bottom of the foot of a demonstration mannequin. It’s so deeply ingrained that it won’t wash out. “Some of the people in the class were rehabilitated gang members,” said Brown.

He added: “I guess some were still in gangs.”

A Superhero cape, a white tuxedo, a red cummerbund and the left foot of a gorilla costume were among the items stolen from Eric Oswald’s car in West Hollywood the other night.

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“Who would want one gorilla foot?” asked Oswald, a singing telegram messenger, politely ignoring the most obvious possibility (another singing telegram messenger).

The burglar, who left Oswald’s outfits neatly placed in their boxes, neglected to nab the other gorilla foot, as well as a simian mask and hands.

Oswald is leaving it up to Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies to catch the thief. They’re better equipped for the job, especially since Oswald’s 6-foot-long Tarzan vine was also taken.

W hen a homeless invasion of Malibu was threatened, it was pointed out that the community houses no coin laundry because of its lack of sewers. Malibu also boasts nary a car wash, a mortuary or a car dealership.

In fact, several communities in Southern California can make intriguing claims as to what they don’t have.

Bellflower, whose motto once was “Twenty-Nine Churches, No Jails,” now offers more than 50 places of worship, but still not a single calaboose.

Beverly Hills has no hospitals or billboards.

Palos Verdes Estates and Avalon have no traffic lights.

Vernon is without parks or shopping centers.

Irwindale has no pro football teams.

By city ordinance, no motels are allowed in Palm Springs--only “hotels.”

And Irvine is considering a law that would ban Styrofoam-type cups and other products containing chemicals that may be damaging to the ozone layer. After all, Irvine’s motto is, “Another Day in Paradise.”

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“Fast Food Week” begins Monday, Mayor Tom Bradley has ordained. The mayor noted that the industry is “the greatest single source of employment for the young people of Los Angeles,” if not the greatest source of nutrition.

It’s one thing to clear out your roaches. But, please, let’s spare the humans.

A Long Beach woman on Thursday set out 16 canisters of a roach killer that releases fumes, and inadvertently set off an explosion in her apartment that blew out the windows and caused $6,000 in damage, Long Beach Fire Department dispatcher Marie Boice said.

The fumes were ignited by a gas pilot light in her kitchen.

Boice said one canister was more than enough to kill the critters in the 700-square-foot space.

“This,” said Boice, “was a case of overkill.”

Fortunately, no one was injured and none of the other units were damaged.

No report yet on roach casualties.

Sorry about that, Wolfgang. . . . An industry survey says that Orange County ranks first in the nation in terms of dollars spent at restaurants--$2,700 per year, per family. Los Angeles came in at a distant 13th.

Villas and palaces are sprinkled throughout the real estate ads in the New York Times Sunday magazine, ranging from a manor house with five fireplaces in Greenwich, Conn. ($2.9 million) to a 40-acre estate in Charlottesville, Va. ($850,000).

There’s also one Santa Monica property listed, boasting “one bedroom, two bathrooms”--for just $1.5 million. If you don’t like the looks of the cabin, don’t let that discourage you. The ad suggests: “Tear down existing structure and build your dream house.”

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THOMAS KELSEY / Los Angeles Times

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