A Pasadena woman received a letter of...

A Pasadena woman received a letter of commendation from the city the other day because her water usage had dropped 25% in the last year. The note asked whether she’d consent to have her photograph run in the Pasadena Star-News, along with the reason for the decrease.

“I doubt they’d want to print my reason,” she said. “It decreased because I got a divorce.”

“The Scariest Rides in California” is the cover story in the current issue of California magazine. It’s about amusement park stuff. There’s not a single mention of the scary rides that L.A. commuters make every day for free--free, unless you figure the toll on the nervous system.

Thrillers such as:

--Raging Drivers: Almost any off-ramp of the Pasadena Freeway, where motorists speeding 70 m.p.h. are required to suddenly slow to 10 m.p.h. or so in order to negotiate a 90-degree turn.

--Loop the Loop: The inbound stretch of the 101, just east of downtown, where the driver suddenly hooks into a tunnel and must merge in the dark with cars from the 10.

--Merger Mania: The outbound Harbor Freeway, where motorists attempting to swing right on to the Santa Monica must battle rivals entering the freeway and attempting to swing to the left into the mainstream.

And, the one that should be tried only by drivers with five years of L.A. experience:

--The Naked Reverse: The 3rd Street/Beaudry Avenue off-ramp of the northbound Harbor Freeway, where drivers wishing to make a right turn on Beaudry must cut across five lanes of traffic on 3rd.

Now, those are breathtaking.

It was birthday time for Bugs Bunny on the roof of the Hollywood Holiday Inn Thursday. Perhaps it was the excitement of the moment or the traumatic nature of the anniversary. But, judging from the accompanying photo, the usually irreverent rabbit seemed reluctant to stand up to the fact that he was 50 years old.

While we’re at it, Willis Eden celebrated a 50th anniversary of his own at a different hotel. That’s how long he’s worked as a porter, bellhop and bellman at the Biltmore (the job title has changed through the years). He now works just 3 1/2 days a week. But, then, he is 81.

When hotel officials called “Front!” Thursday morning, he found, not luggage, but a giant cake to celebrate the occasion.

Only in L.A. Menu Item of the Week: At S.K. Restaurant and Coffee Shop in midtown L.A.--Teriyaki Taco (American cheese optional).

It’s the old domino theory: First, L.A. falls, then . . .

L.A.-based ARCO said today its subsidiary has completed a deal with a group of Thai investors that will result in the construction of more than 500 mini-marts in Thailand by the year 2000.

miscelLAny:

The Southern California Air Quality Management District estimates that, of the 12 million gallons of gasoline used by motor vehicles each day in the Southland, 3 million are burned by drivers stranded in traffic.