Change of venue:Two San Francisco attorneys traveling...

Change of venue:

Two San Francisco attorneys traveling together had their tickets upgraded to first class on a flight departing from L.A. Their seats were apart so a flight attendant asked if a nearby passenger, who was wearing dark glasses, could move to another seat.

No soap. “I got my aisle seat, I like my aisle seat,” muttered the man in dark glasses, who turned out to be attorney Christopher A. Darden.

When the plane touched down, a flight attendant handed one of the San Francisco lawyers his coat.

Glancing in Darden’s direction, the irritated attorney tried to rekindle memories of one of the O.J. Simpson prosecution team’s most disastrous trial maneuvers by saying in a loud voice: “I don’t think it’s my coat. It doesn’t FIT!”

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AT LEAST THEIR PLAQUES CAN’T BE FIRED: The category isn’t in the Guinness Book of World Records but we suspect that KABC (AM-790) may be the first radio station to fire two people who are on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The latest victim was talk show personality Roger Barkley, who was recently axed from the Ken and Barkley Co. show. Barkley shares a star on Hollywood Boulevard with a former partner (Al Lohman).

The other Walk of Fame recipient to get a pink slip was Bob Arthur, who was honored along with Ken Minyard before he was fired from the Ken and Bob Show several years ago.

Minyard is now paired with former KMPC personality Peter Tilden, who doesn’t have a star (and might think twice about accepting one if it’s offered).

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MATCHMAKER, MATCHMAKER FIND ME A BESTSELLER: Sara Meric of Santa Monica found an ad placed in the Jewish Journal by a writer who will tell your life story and even find you a spouse, if it doesn’t harm the plot (see excerpt).

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DEPARTMENT OF REDUNDANCY DEPT.: Ed DiGiulio of Beverly Hills noticed a sign whose English-language portion puzzled him. “As best as I can determine,” he said, “it is intended for those Spanish-speaking people who can only read English.”

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LIST OF THE DAY: “Down by the Station,” a coming book by archeologist Roberta Greenwood, will explore the recent excavation of Old Chinatown during Metro Rail construction. The book, which is due out in a few months, also will carry a timeline of events in Chinatown, and L.A. in general, from 1850 to 1939, including the following:

* 1850s: The zanjero (ditch tender) is the highest-paid Los Angeles official and earns $1,200 per year.

* 1851: First L.A. newspaper, the Star, appears, with two pages in English and two pages in Spanish.

* 1870: There are 110 saloons in the pueblo, one for every 50 residents. (In 1996, there is one bar for every 800 residents.)

* 1883: Worried pedestrians request that the City Council enact a law requiring bells on speeding bicycles.

* 1897: “Guide to Los Angeles Brothels” is distributed during the city’s annual fiesta.

* 1913: Automobile Club of Southern California reports that California leads all states in number of autos owned, one car per 28 people.

* 1916: David Jung, Los Angeles noodle manufacturer, invents fortune cookie.

* 1917: First Los Angeles parking lot, at 4th and Olive streets, charges 5 cents a day.

miscelLAny:

Do you think the owner of the nickel parking lot allowed in-and-out privileges during the same day?