L.A. demands a refund, Mr. Mayor: We...

L.A. demands a refund, Mr. Mayor: We were suspicious when we heard Richard Riordan declare during his campaign that he would take the job for $1 a year. And in the kind of investigative journalism for which Only in L.A. has become famous, we have determined that he’s being paid more than that. A confidential document (see photo) procured by our staff investigators show that His Honor is raking in 4 cents per pay period. That’s $1.04 a year where we come from.

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More pre-shocks: The eerie signs were evident before Jan. 17. Several readers have pointed out that the cover story in the Auto Club magazine, Avenues--which hit the stands before the temblor hit the Southland--was “Quake Safe.” Fedco’s shopping bags, printed up several weeks ago, contain a quake warning. And Ken Rosenhek sent his friend Linda Fitzpatrick a calendar titled “Life’s Little Destruction,” whose message for Jan. 17 is: “Don’t do anything today.”

Then there was the Channel 5 movie that began at 4 a.m., 31 minutes before the quake. Its title: “At the Earth’s Core.”

You can say that again.

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Quake denial: Residents might not have been so prepared, however, if they were reading “Southern California Geology and Los Angeles Earthquakes” by R.T. Hill. The introduction, faxed to us by Dave Reichert of West L.A., states that the scholarly work “proves that this area is not only free from a probability of severe seismic disturbances but has the least to fear from ‘Acts of God’ of any city under the American flag.”

Thanks for the info, Hill. It was written in 1925.

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Now she wants people to put on their clothes: Heidi Fleiss will make a Feb. 13 charity appearance at the Downtown dome village for the homeless to sign undergarments--Heidi Wear Boxer Shorts, of course. The duds, which cost about $40, must be purchased in advance. Half of the sales proceeds will be donated to the dome village. It’ll be interesting to see if Heidi becomes known as Clothier to the Stars, rather than something-else to the stars.

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Quake rocks: There’s been some discussion over whether the 6.6 jolt should be called the Northridge or the Reseda quake. After all, its epicenter was in the latter town. And we’re talking posterity here. Meanwhile, Curtiss Briggs, the man who is packaging I-10 freeway chunks for sale, says some potential customers in the East have questioned his product’s name, “Authentic Santa Monica Freeway Rubble.”

Briggs explained: “They (Easterners) associate L.A. with freeways. They want it to say, ‘Authentic Los Angeles Freeway Rubble.’ ”

miscelLAny:

The dealerships in Cerritos Auto Square are located on Studebaker Road.

Mayor Richard Riordan’s pay stub from the city shows he is actually earning $1.04 per year. Los Angeles Times