Pig in a pokey:The pig at Nick’s...

Pig in a pokey:

The pig at Nick’s Cafe had never been in trouble with the law until it was cited by a city inspector the other day. The problem: The wooden animal sign was straddling the sidewalk in the sparsely populated area north of Union Station.

“It was maybe six inches over the [property] line,” said waitress Lois Fuentes. “It may have been blown over by the wind and then someone set it up there.”

Re-enacting the crime, your Only in L.A. correspondent was able to nudge the unprotesting animal back onto private property with his foot.

You’d never guess the violation was simple (and inexpensive) to correct from looking at the citation.

The Street Maintenance Bureau warned that if the sign wasn’t replanted in its proper place, it would “be removed by City Forces.”

Yes, the city may not be able to make the streets safe, or even fill its potholes, but there’s always time to deal with an obtrusive swine.

FOOD FIGHT (CONT.): Nick’s, by the way, was also ordered recently by a different city inspector to change the descriptions of three dishes to “home-style”--items that had been listed as “homemade” on the menu for 48 years.

Co-owner Jim Crawford said his customers joke that it probably wouldn’t do much good to protest the treatment by the city inspectors to Mayor Richard Riordan.

After all, Riordan is the owner of the Original Pantry Cafe, a competitor of Nick’s.

LIST OF THE DAY: The real names of some local deejays as revealed in “Los Angeles Radio People,” by Don Barrett.

* Art Ferguson (Charlie Tuna, KIK)

* Rigdon Osmond Dees III (Rick Dees, KIIS)

* Edwin Gould (Jed the Fish, KROQ)

* Gary Altman (Gary Owens, KJQI)

* Margaret LiVigni (Shana, KRLA)

* Terry Ingstad (Shadoe Stevens, KEZY)

* Gene Baxter (Bean, KROQ)

* Barrett Hansen (Dr. Demento, KSCA)

* Thomas Wayne Rorabacher (China Smith, KACD)

* Robert Smith (Wolfman Jack, now working back East).

We still can’t understand how the name “Wolfman Jack” came into being. Bob Smith wasn’t glitzy enough for show biz?

WELL, THEY BOTH WORE UNIFORMS: On the local news Sunday night, one TV station broadcast a segment on Laurence M. Powell, the imprisoned former L.A. cop. Unfortunately, the photo that accompanied the story was that of retired Gen. Colin L. Powell.

ANAGRAM OF THE DAY: In scrambling the letters of the governor’s name, Phil Frankenfeld of Long Beach may have found one reason why Whisperin’ Pete is expected to enter the presidential race.

PETE WILSON: I.E., NEWT’S POL.

miscelLAny The middle name of Royal Oakes, the attorney and TV-radio commentator, is Forest. “With one ‘r,’ ” he added, “not two, as in Forrest Gump.”