Your government at work for you:Several motorists...

Your government at work for you:

Several motorists phoned local radio stations Tuesday morning to complain that traffic was jammed on the Santa Ana Freeway in the Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs area because of a Caltrans street-sweeper sloshing through the rain.

List of the Day:

The Times’ Valley View section, inspired by the adoption of chic names (North Hills, West Hills, etc.) by neighborhoods to improve their image, held a contest the other day to re-christen the entire San Fernando Valley.

“Wit, sarcasm and outright self-hatred--these were the qualities that scored highest with the judges,” wrote Times staffer David Wharton.

The runners-up included:

* Absolutely Not Sepulveda, by Gary Bolen, Studio City.

* Beige-Air, by Rick Sarabia, Burbank.

* Homes R Us, by Joseph Feinstein, Sherman Oaks.

* Minimallia, by Ken Drucker, Topanga.

* McValley, by Michael Silverstein, Sylmar.

* Rancho de los Ranchos, by Elizabeth Bates, L.A.

* Suburbank, by Mark Maxwell-Smith, North Hollywood.

* Valle de Nada, by Ann Kenney, North Hollywood.

* West Emphysema, by Matthew Brown, Woodland Hills.

And the winner, submitted by Thomas Rezzo, Canoga Park:

Twenty-nine Malls

The region’s motto could be the classic line from L.A. City Councilman Joel Wachs on the mini-mall explosion::

“Who eats all those doughnuts?”

Reader Ben Pine wonders where the time goes, especially on the 1992 calendar he received from Commuter Transportation Services, the Commuter Computer people. It omits Feb. 29.

“Guess it’s going to be so clear--or so smoggy--that day that you won’t be able to see it,” Pine theorized.

“Here’s a little change from the phone company,” says a cheery new GTE billboard.

Below that line are the numbers “310.”

Considering the inconvenience and expense that the utility’s customers will experience with the new area code, that promo is every bit as side-splitting as Pasadena’s “Smile--You’re on Radar” signs.

Then, again, as many longtime Angelenos can attest, when you use GTE, you have to have a sense of humor.

Venturing into the enemy camp:

Zero Population Growth has scheduled a meeting Thursday night in Reseda at the Magic Years Nursery School. Reseda, by the way, is in western Twenty-nine Malls.

miscelLAny:

Via Marisol in Highland Park was named by Art Snyder, then an L.A. city councilman, for his daughter, Erin-Marisol .