One flavor fit all back then: During...

One flavor fit all back then: During this heat wave, let’s all pause for a moment of silent tribute to pioneer Joseph Newmark. It was Newmark who introduced a new dish to L.A. in 1856 for his daughter’s wedding: ice cream.

*

In this weather, we might make a bid ourselves: Glendale police are accepting bids until Aug. 25 for several vehicles seized in narcotics raids, including one that would be of little use to the department’s land-locked force--a Kawasaki Jet Ski.

*

A role in “The Fugitive” would have been more appropriate: LAPD officer Pete Weireter has a small part in the movie “Clear and Present Danger” as a bodyguard to CIA man Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford). He is bumped off.

After the filming had finished, Weireter had a bigger role in a live TV drama where he had more success. He’s the SWAT officer who spent 50 tense minutes on a cellular phone before persuading O.J. Simpson to give himself up.

*

Outdoor lounge lizards?Cal Behr of North Hollywood saw this sign posted on a beach in Santa Barbara, where the moratorium on dumping old sofas and toasters seems to have come to an end.

We knew all those RVs couldn’t just vanish: We mentioned that not only is the baseball season threatened, but there’ll be no L.A. Recreational Vehicle Show at Dodger Stadium. Syd Robinson informs us that the show will be held Oct. 14-23 at the Fairplex in Pomona (who needs a World Series, anyway?)

“We have enough room out there for the Dodgers, too,” Robinson said, “though they probably wouldn’t be interested in moving. But maybe the Rams will give us a look.”

*

Extra! Extra! Don’t read all about it!In the L.A. County Mall near the Music Center, an entrepreneur was observed selling what he called “The Homeless Newspaper,” which he advertised this way:

“The only newspaper guaranteed not to mention O.J.”

*

Speed bumps of yesteryear: Now that we’ve exhausted all the foreign terms for speed bumps--from “judder bars” to “sleeping policeman”--we get a bit of history from Keith Stark of Alhambra.

“In the days of horse-drawn wagons, they were used in hilly country to provide support for the wagon wheels while giving the horses a chance for a few moments’ rest,” Stark writes. “They were then called ‘thank-you-ma’ams’ (the horses’ unspoken expression of gratitude).”

*

Could be a close shave: James Brubaker of Arcadia snapped a photo of a business that either trims people’s hair or their fenders.

*

L.A.-back: Even in these tense times, you can still find traces of Southern California’s lazy charm. Such as the Culver City Municipal Bus whose electronic destination sign said: “Nowhere Particular.”

miscelLAny:

Pity any group of conventioneers coming to town this week. But a group meeting at the L.A. Convention Center should be able to cope. Greetings from L.A. to the 12,000 delegates of the American Psychological Assn.