OK, Shangri-L.A. it ain’t: L.A. is fighting...

OK, Shangri-L.A. it ain’t: L.A. is fighting with the neighbors again, as Times writer Jim Rainey noted in Monday’s paper. El Segundo has posted a number of billboard messages with belittling comments about the City of Angels, including, “From El Segundo, you have a perfectly clear view of the smog that hangs over L.A.”

The goal, of course, is to lure L.A. business to El Segundo. It’s too early to tell whether the beach city will land the L.A. Dodgers, Hollywood Bowl, Mann’s Chinese Theatre or USC. But we wonder whether such additions would resolve El Segundo’s inferiority complex.

This sad condition stems from the circumstances behind its naming. It was the site of Standard Oil’s second refinery in California. Hence its name, which translates as “the second.”

Hey, El Segundo, it’s OK to be No. 2. Really.

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List of the Day: L.A.-bashing, of course, is one of the country’s oldest sports. One need only peruse some of the 19th-Century quotes from visitors in “What They Say About the Angels,” compiled by W. W. Robinson:

* “Two days brought us to San Pedro, and two days more (to our no small joy) gave us our last view of that place which was universally called the hell of California.” (Richard Henry Dana Jr., 1836)

* “(L.A.) contains a population of 1,500 souls, and is the noted abode of the lowest drunkards and gamblers of the country.” (Sir George Simpson, 1842)

* “The majority of its buildings present a melancholy aspect, a dark and gloomy aspect that resembles the catacombs of the ancient Romans.” (Leonardo Cota, 1845)

* “The City of Angels is anything else, unless the angels are fallen ones.” (John W. Audubon, 1849)

* “The place appeared to be decaying with inertia, and what work they did perform was done in a most primitive and slovenly manner.” (Charles Pancoast, 1849) Doesn’t sound as though local politicians have changed much.

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Dancing with danger: Gary Ruttenberg dispatched us a taxi receipt that contained the rates for several destinations, including Beverly “Hill.” A minor typographical error, you say. At first glance, perhaps. Unless one’s spouse was aware of the fact that there was a topless dancer in Hollywood by the name of Beverly Hill. She may still be there. Or maybe she moved to El Segundo to be closer to the airport.

Speaking of typos: It was a thrill to receive our first electronic mail via the Internet, though one tempered by the fact that the sender--A. T. Young--was pointing out a boo-boo of ours. He was joined by several letter and fax writers who cited us for saying that the Times Square Liquor Store on 42nd and Broadway in L.A. was 3,000 miles east of Manhattan.

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Now, there’s an idea: A friend of ours, who competed in the L.A. Marathon bicycle tour, bought a Giro helmet beforehand and read the accompanying directions.

He’s thankful to Giro for handy hint No. 2, which begins: “Do not have a wreck.”

miscelLAny Guess which luminary has been signed to host daily reports on the Simpson trial for L.A.-based Entertainment Radio Networks? None other than the longtime “reporter” on TV’s “People’s Court” show--Doug Llewelyn.