Batting Third: With the National Pastime under...

Batting Third: With the National Pastime under way, Sally Dunbar sent along a photo of a Little League banner in Palos Verdes Estates that has its “priorities in the right order: Peace . . . Environment . . . then Baseball.”

Well, sometimes collecting rent is like pulling teeth: Art Vinsel of San Pedro notes that the Apartment Owners Assn. magazine, a Southland publication, includes these positions in its masthead: “AOA Property Management,” “AOA Political Action Committee,” “Attorney” and “Dentist.”

Bumping along: We keep compiling material for our forthcoming book, “How to Say Speed Bump in 101 Countries.”

Diana Britt of Pasadena writes: “Speed bumps, judder bars (New Zealand’s version)--descriptive, but boring.”

She prefer’s Jamaica’s term. Britt observes that yellow road signs in that nation say: “Watch for Sleeping Policemen,” which has “a lot more color and panache than ‘speed bump’ ” though it “may give tourists a poor impression of the local constabulary.”

A porker that thrives on auto exhaust?Don Durkee of Downey snapped a photo that “shows the concern of Caltrans for the safety of the rare, elusive animal known as the landscapig .” Durkee added: “I have yet to sight one of these shy creatures, but if I do, ‘Only in L.A.’ will have the exclusive photos.”

Thanks for choosing us over Geraldo.

Hey, big spender: In our discussion of outdated movie dialogue, another line that grows funnier as the cost of living increases is uttered in “The Nat King Cole Story” (1955). A drunk in a pre-World War II saloon demands that Nat (playing himself) sing “Sweet Lorraine.” Cole, performing solely as a pianist, refuses. But the saloon owner demands that Nat launch his singing career. Why? Pointing to the drunk, the owner says: “This guy spends as much as four bucks in here some nights.”

If you fail, you can always become the partner: One of the classes offered by the West L.A.-based Learning Annex is: “Become a Ventriloquist.”

Entremanures: We recently mentioned Kurt St. Jean, a professional pooper-scooper who makes house calls in the South Bay. Lest the San Fernando Valley feel left out, we’ve learned that Tim Stone’s Scoop Masters offers the same service in that region, as well as in the Santa Clarita Valley. Stone has expanded his business--he also cleans up after turtles and goats.

But what about landscapigs?

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Since publishing a list of some L.A. institutions surviving from the 19th Century, we’ve heard from others: Jewish Family Services (founded in 1854), one of L.A.’s oldest nonprofit organizations; Smart & Final, which began as Hellman Haas Grocery Co. in 1871, and L.A. Cold Storage, which is in its 98th year.