Gawkers’ block at 1,000 feet: As KNX’s...

Gawkers’ block at 1,000 feet: As KNX’s retiring Bill Keene gave one of his last traffic/weather reports from the roof of Columbia Square in Hollywood, several helicopter and plane crews from other radio stations saluted him by staging a flyby.

A traffic reporter from KFWB was later overheard as he radioed his assignment desk to ask if he should mention the tribute and, if so, should he mention the rival all-news station?

KFWB’s assignment desk radioed back: “We’ll pass.”

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Only in L.A.’s tribute: We can’t think of a more fitting going-away present for Keene, who is retiring today after 50 years in broadcasting, than to publish a map with the freeway terms he helped make infamous.

By the way, Keene’s doing his own part to reduce traffic congestion here. He’s moving to Tucson.

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History lesson for Anaheim: Voting to overturn an Anaheim city ordinance that banned street vendors from selling in residential neighborhoods, Justice William Crosby Jr. of the 4th District Court of Appeal noted:

“Did Walt Disney’s studio begin in a residential garage and Carl’s Jr. restaurants originate with pushcart vending? If our memories serve, it is surely ironic that a citadel of capitalist success such as Anaheim would attempt to banish these small businesses from most of the city.”

Both pioneers got their starts in L.A., Disney in Hollywood, Karcher at the corner of Florence and Central avenues. Karcher’s first stand was called The Blimp in honor of a nearby landing strip, not the caloric content of the burgers.

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Great moments in law (cont.): We recently mentioned how the state Court of Appeal threw out an L.A. judge’s fine against a law firm whose crime was filing 1 1/2-spaced paperwork, instead of double-spaced. That case took 33 months to reach its conclusion.

Now the Court of Appeal has overturned another L.A. judge’s $1,500 fine against a lawyer who had been ordered to file a memorandum no longer than seven pages. The lawyer did so but angered the judge by tacking on a 1,500-page appendix. This great issue--the Court of Appeal ruled the page-limitation order did not apply to the appendix--helped clog up the courts for more than two years.

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Another survey L.A. could do without: A Zero Population Growth study found that the City of Angels was the sixth most stressful city in the nation for children. No doubt L.A. once would have ranked higher but the Jackson Five have grown up.

miscelLAny:

A bargain-hunter at a government auction paid $77 for an item that belonged to Stephen Wagner, an admitted embezzler and former Orange County school official. It was Wagner’s Carson High ring.