An earthquake seminar at Caltech on April...

An earthquake seminar at Caltech on April 25 will offer a grand drawing for a prize that would warm the heart of any Southern California homeowner: “One free foundation-bolting.”

Poll workers for a Mission Hills precinct at San Jose Street Elementary School found Election Day to be a disappointing proposition on a couple of counts. Not only was the turnout poor because no City Council seats were at stake, but the workers said gloomily that they were unable to partake of their customary Election Day lunch in the school cafeteria. It’s closed for Easter vacation.

List of the Day:

Believe it or not, there are some Angelenos who don’t drive gasoline-powered vehicles and instead rely on co-workers, spouses, friends, taxis and buses, including:

1--Author Ray Bradbury, who points out that a bicycle is a much better vehicle for appreciating your surroundings.

2--KCBS-TV sportscaster Keith Olbermann, who suffers from double vision as a result of a subway accident years ago.

3--MTV host Chris Connelly, who made a childhood vow never to learn how to drive after seeing how difficult it is to find parking places in New York City.

4--Times movie critic Michael Wilmington, who admits, however, that he recently bought a car and plans a “mighty effort” to learn how to drive it.

5--Ed Begley Jr., who has been spotted aboard an RTD bus while talking on his portable phone. An environmentalist, he does occasionally drive--his electric car, which is a Bradley.

After his visit to the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood (see photo), Alan Hill of Torrance wonders if one of the “things unknown” is the word uknown . Or is that another example of Jim Morrison’s mystical poetry?

Our hopes that the dry siege might be ending were momentarily boosted by a clipping sent by Erik Miller of Arcadia. “Experts Predict End of Drought on West Coast,” it says. Unfortunately, it was dated Dec. 3, 1988. Erik, don’t you know that old newspapers are supposed to be recycled (or placed in bird cages) and not be saved?

But let’s not disparage all media predictions. Becky Nicolaides of South Pasadena, who is writing a Ph.D. dissertation on the history of L.A., found an issue of the South Gate Press with the headline, “The Mediterranean Fruit Fly Menace.” It was dated July 5, 1925.

On second thought, the Medfly exclusive doesn’t reassure us any more than the drought headline.

miscelLAny:

With 1,140,546 meals served in 1990, Canter’s delicatessen on Fairfax Avenue was the fifth-busiest restaurant in the nation last year, according to The Top 10 Almanac.