The neighbors don’t care: The Orange County...

The neighbors don’t care: The Orange County Metropolitan newspaper, decrying that region’s lack of interest in L.A.’s mayoral race, asked nine patrons of a coffeehouse to identify the two candidates. Only one person could do so.

But the Metropolitan didn’t fare much better, as Sydney Knott of Santa Monica points out. Knott mailed us the Metropolitan’s article, which was headlined:

“The Reardon-Woo (sic) Factor.”

Well, we can sympathize. We sort of lost interest in the campaign ourselves when Melrose Larry Green failed to make the runoff.

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Recession-era model: A truck was spotted in South Pasadena with the license plate frame, “My Other Car Is a Repo.”

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Legal backlash: When county Supervisor Gloria Molina asked for a legal opinion at a Metropolitan Transportation Authority board meeting, she found herself on the dais facing the backs of MTA attorneys Suzanne Gifford and Dave Kelsey.

So, she finished by saying: “Isn’t that correct, Mr. and Mrs. Lawyer?” The spectators chuckled, unlike Gifford and Kelsey (who are not married). Perhaps Molina is still testy over being referred to as an L.A. City Council member in a recent Newsweek piece. That would put anyone in a bad mood.

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More problems for aerospace: George Lane of Naples (Long Beach’s Naples) attended a banquet of some aerospace employees, who passed out drink-holders that had a small spelling glitch (see photo). We predict another cost overrun.

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Be careful not to trip over the broken TV set, though: The competition for customers among garage sale operators is apparently so intense, observes David Jarvis of Santa Monica, that some are throwing dances (see excerpt).

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Predator tribute: Les Sholty of West L.A. noticed that the inscription on a bronze plaque dedicating a mountain lion exhibit at the L.A. Zoo said, in part:

“Some animals are predators. Some are prey . . . “

The plaque also said: “A Gift from the Milken Family Foundation.”

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Philatelic attraction: A Montreal man wrote to The Times that he had purchased an Elvis Presley stamp that “has a significant error. It is a black blob on the nose in the center of the stamp.” He wondered if it might be worth a lot of money.

Sorry. It’s not a postal error. While Elvis was posing for the photo used on that stamp, he smudged his nose with a chocolate doughnut.

miscelLAny:

A small number of L.A. streets bear the full name of a famous person. Cesar Chavez is the latest honoree. However, the L.A. City Council once refused a request by actor Rudy Vallee to re-christen a street Rue de Vallee. And no person’s full name may be given to a street in L.A. while he or she is living. The exception: George Burns Road, designated on the entertainer’s 90th birthday.