Missed catch of the day: Henk Friezer...

Missed catch of the day: Henk Friezer of Eagle Rock heard a wild fish story that was confirmed by South Pasadena police.

A motorist was heading down Huntington Drive with a small aquarium in his front seat and a bucket of tropical fish in the back. “One of the fish jumped out of the bucket and went up into the front seat,” Officer Mike Neff said. “This startled him, and he took his mind off his driving and started reaching for the fish to put it back in the bucket. Unfortunately, he drove up on a center median and hit a tree head-on.”

The motorist, who was dazed, escaped serious injury.

The victim was somewhat cheered, Neff said, when city firefighters “put as many of the fish as they could find back into the bucket and gave it to paramedics. The bucket was put in the ambulance, and they all went to the hospital together.”

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He’s ready to head down the road to the White House, anyway: Californians aren’t shy about replacing officeholders between elections. And, from the looks of a car-repair bill that a colleague received, a Woodland Hills garage is campaigning to get rid of Pete Wilson. After all, his office comes with a warranty.

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Hollywood--spreading the word: Why would a marquee for a La Jolla church make reference to the Bad Boy of TV? Mark Dahle, the church pastor, says it referred to an episode where Bart prays for a snowstorm to shut down the school and enable him to avoid taking a test--a wish that God grants. Too bad the Chargers didn’t make a similar plea to avoid being tested by the 49ers in the Super Bowl.

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Shaking in Seattle: When last we heard from Northern California geologist Jim Berkland, he was correlating earthquakes in L.A. with a higher-than-usual number of missing pet ads in The Times. We got a howl out of that one.

For the last six months, Berkland has been predicting earthquakes to strike within 140 miles of Seattle. And, whaddya know, the city was hit by a 5.0 jolt the other day (much to the consternation, we imagine, of all those transplanted Angelenos).

Instead of pooch ads, Berkland cited another controversial theory--that quakes occur when the earth, moon and sun are aligned for maximum tidal influences. Other geologists pointed out, however, that his predictions cover so much area in an earthquake-prone region that he can’t help but be correct once in a while.

Besides, the Seattle Times reported, Berkland admitted that the reason he started predicting earthquakes near Seattle last year was that it was the home of the first three subscribers to his $35-a-year newsletter. The local angle, as we say in the news biz.

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A glitzy graveyard shift: Stan Kelton of Lakewood reports that a late-night panhandler near one on-ramp of the Artesia Freeway has installed lights on his sign.

miscelLAny:

As a promotion for safe sex, the ticket-taker for the comedy show, “The Riot Act,” at the Hollywood Playhouse will be dressed as a condom on Friday and Saturday nights. He will give a $5 discount to anyone who shows up with a condom wrapper. Limit one to a customer.