There’s No Justice in the Way Some People Feel About This Artful Lady

When it comes to erecting open-air statuary in San Diego, you have two options.

You can form a committee, hire a consultant and try to reach agreement about what is art. Or you can just buy a statue and put it up.

The litigators from Monaghan & Metz decided on the latter method.

Recently they bought an imposing-looking Lady Justice, complete with scales, blindfold and sword, and plunked it down outside the law firm’s office at Front and Beech streets. “Equal Justice Under Law,” it says.

It looks to be solid brass and about two tons. It’s not.

It’s a brownish-green Styrofoam prop built by Old Globe Theatre craftsman Rory Murphy for last summer’s “Measure for Measure.”

Senior partner Brian Monaghan had spotted it during the production. Veni, vidi, purchasi.

“We’ve had quite a response,” said Steven Amundsen, a lawyer in the firm. “Some people say it’s a wonderful addition to civic artistic betterment. Others say it’s an exercise in tawdry advertising.”

People wander in off the street to deliver their judgments.

“One guy came in and asked if we were soliciting public comment,” said lawyer David Strauss. “Before we could say no, he told us it was hideous and tasteless. We told him he’s probably right.”

I went over and asked passers-by what they thought.

One guy said the motto should be changed to, “In Tort We Trust.” Probably a sorehead from Jacoby & Meyers.

The guys at M&M; are attached to their statue, but not that attached.

On Halloween, they decorated it with a witch’s hat and robe. They took the hat and robe inside at night to prevent theft.

The statue, which is not all that securely fastened, is left out every night.

“Do you know anyone with a pickup truck who might like it?” Strauss asked.

Say Goodby to the Old Corps

Here they are, ready or not.

* The Old Corps is no more.

Freshly minted Marines used to leave boot camp in San Diego with curses from their DIs still ringing in their ears.

Starting this month, grunts can buy a “moving momento” of their 12-week experience for $19.95, a 45-minute video narrated by Gerald McRaney, who plays a Marine major on the CBS sitcom “Major Dad.”

* When the Soviet stars of “Boris Godunov” went to Lindbergh Field to catch a flight home to Moscow on British Airways, their luggage was overweight with VCR’s and home computers.

Rather than pay extra, soloist Alexander Morozov and two backups provided the airline clerks with an impromptu concert. The charges were waived.

* Not everything in San Diego was built yesterday. The Armed Services YMCA building on Broadway turns 65 tomorrow.

Its busiest year was 1944, when it averaged 21,770 customers a day; the current average is 2,400.

* UC San Diego founder and renowned environmentalist Roger Revelle has endorsed Bob Trettin in his uphill race for City Council.

Revelle broke with incumbent Abbe Wolfsheimer over her criticism of the development plans of a land-owning trust in the San Dieguito River Valley. Revelle is an officer of the trust.

An Important Pizza Information

The California Milk Advisory Board is at it again.

They’re the folks who last year discovered that San Diegans prefer their ice cream in a dish, Sacramento residents like a cone, and San Franciscans eat straight from the carton.

Now they’ve studied pizza consumption.

San Francisco is the pizza capital, with 31% of those surveyed eating pizza at least once a week. The statewide average is 24%. In San Diego, a mere 17%.

Sacramento residents eat more slices per sitting, 3.4, than anywhere else. The average is 3.1. In San Diego, a skimpy 2.7.

“We figure San Diegans must be busy eating Mexican food,” said the Milk Board’s Adri Boudewyn.

The survey also sought to see if new toppings might attract more eaters. Stand by for potato, sauerkraut and peanut butter pizzas.