Has Simi Valley become embroiled in the...

Has Simi Valley become embroiled in the Middle East situation?

That’s what newsman Steve Futterman wondered when he picked up a copy of a Conejo Valley paper and saw the headline:

“Simi Valley Council Will Consider Jordan Annexation.”

This Jordan, however, is not a Middle East country. Rather, it’s a property owned by entertainer Bob Hope--and slightly smaller than a Middle East country.

Forget about stocks and bonds. The most eagerly awaited financial figures in L.A. are the gasoline quotations.

KFI radio is asking listeners to call in the lowest unleaded, self-service rates that they spot. The station verifies, then broadcasts, the results at 7:20 and 8:20 a.m. and at 4:20 and 5:20 p.m.

It’s the idea of talk show host Tom Leykis, who, in characteristic understated fashion, says: “I want to stick it to these bandits (gas stations).”

KCAL (Channel 9), meanwhile, is issuing its own nightly quotations at the end of its hourly newscasts.

The low-ball champion Tuesday was an Arco station at Denni Street and Avalon Boulevard in Wilmington that was offering the precious liquid for a mere $1.09 per gallon.

Fawn Peck took off on his first airplane flight from Rogers Field, which isn’t listed on any current maps. It was at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue.

Soon afterward he took a job as a mechanic at a two-hangar facility called Mines Field. You might know it better by its current name, Los Angeles International Airport. The year was 1928.

Peck, 92, is still working at LAX. He greets visitors at the information desk in the airport’s Theme Building restaurant. And, today, he’ll be honored by friends and co-workers as the oldest city employee.

Not that he’s retiring or anything. Peck said he’s having too much fun “meeting people from all walks of life and all parts of the world.”

The pressure of being considered as the site of a Port Disney amusement park evidently has some Long Beachites taking a long, hard look at their city.

The Grunion Gazette’s Elaine Medosch writes that “certain things have to be taken care of” if Long Beach restaurants expect to be considered major league and not Mickey Mouse. Long Beach waiters could improve their manners, she suggests.

Medosch’s personal horror stories include the time her party decided to leave one area restaurant after futilely “waiting, waiting, waiting” to be served. The eatery’s “aghast” hostess asked: “Well, what was your table number?”

On another occasion, Medosch’s group ordered pizza and the waitress chirped: “That’s going to be $18. Do you want to pay now or would you rather wait until after you eat?”

miscelLAny:

Julie’s, near the Coliseum, claims to be the only restaurant in L.A. that also houses a carwash.