The Case of the Purple Poppy: A...

The Case of the Purple Poppy: A government-distributed poppy could cloud your thinking in the coming election.

Perhaps we should let the county registrar-recorder explain:

“State law requires all ballot cards to be printed with a distinctive design furnished by the secretary of state,” says a notice from the office. “Due to a printer error on certain absentee ballots, the poppy design was printed in dark violet ink that may obscure certain voting positions. . . . Please review your ballot card carefully and use special care to punch the holes that reflect your choices.”

The boo-boo reminds us of the 1990 flub in which some Democratic primary ballots in Southern California were printed with a watermark of the state that was flip-flopped, setting off a temporary run on beachfront property in Needles.

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Pie in the sky: Rue Pine of West L.A. wonders if the person who compiled a list of Southern California addresses for the Baker’s Square restaurant chain was past the main course.

(list reads: High Dessert) *

Holding court: The National Law Journal conducted a computer search of the most-quoted lawyers in the nation--we congratulate the newspaper for taking on this undesirable task--and found that one of the seven was L.A.’s own Gloria Allred.

Herewith, the quotable Allred from the pages of The Times:

* “Women have a right to go to the cleaners without losing their shirts” (on a cleaner’s policy of charging more for women’s shirts because “they button from right to left, instead of from left to right”; the store later abolished male-female price lists).

* “This is sex discrimination on its face. Girls are charged more even if their haircut takes less time and less expertise” (on the pricing policy of a West L.A. salon, which agreed to charge henceforth strictly according to “the length and thickness of hair”).

* “Children should know they can play with any toy” (on a store that had signs that said “boys’ toys” and “girls’ toys”; they were changed to read “juvenile toys”).

* “It was the last bastion of all the rituals having to do with the subordination of women” (on a French restaurant’s policy of giving women menus with no prices listed; it agreed to give whoever is designated as host the menu with prices).

* “A classic show of sexism on the sidelines” (on the Rams’ refusal to hire male cheerleaders).

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Or you can consume it right on the premises: Ted Wu of West L.A. spotted a printing shop’s sign that said: “Copy to Go.”

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The grub sounds good to us!One of Liz Taylor’s ex-cooks filed a libel lawsuit against the National Enquirer on Tuesday for asserting that she was fired for preparing meals that set Taylor off on a “runaway eating binge.”

Ladoris Jackson, who was employed by La Liz for two months in 1992, “whipped up huge plates of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, calorie-rich lobster dishes and pork roasts followed by mouth-watering desserts,” the Enquirer said.

The story also claimed that Larry Fortensky, Taylor’s seventh husband, told the cook she would have to change her style or be fired.

Jackson, who says she left voluntarily, contends that the article portrays her as “someone who will not follow direction . . . who refuses to listen to her employer and . . . who only knows one way to cook.” Officials for the National Enquirer were not available for comment.

miscelLAny: The interchange between the 91 and 110 freeways is named for Edmond J. Russ, a former mayor of Gardena who supported the interchange project.