Quarterback Sneak by Raiders’ Al Davis?

A scary Halloween joke? As Carl Maiers boarded a bus in Alhambra, he noticed that its destination sign carried one of the MTA’s cheery messages for local teams. Only it said “Go Raiders.”

Had the silver and black ruffians sneaked into L.A. and seized the New Coliseum, or Old Coliseum, or whatever it is? Apparently it was an old message stored in the computer system.

Maiers said that when he pointed it out, the driver “immediately apologized and changed it.”

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ONLY IN L.A. DINING GUIDE: Today’s recommendations include an implement evidently intended for dieters: a kettle grill with a diameter of just 2 inches (sent by Angela Root); an apparent vegetarians’ special (“branch”) at a Pasadena eatery (spotted by Gene Doss); and a serving of sober beef in Encino (submitted by Marilyn Reardon).

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10 YEARS AGO: Assemblyman Curtis Tucker (D-Inglewood) made history by becoming the first California legislator to win posthumously at the polls. Tucker, who had died the previous month, received 71% of the vote. Michael Davis, the GOP loser, complained: “The people have made it clear they wish to be represented by a Democrat no matter what the circumstances.”

The seat was filled through a special election by the late incumbent’s son, Curtis Tucker Jr., a Democrat.

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NO MORE PROPOSITIONING: On Wednesday, I had the most pleasant commute I’d had in weeks. Not once did my car radio blare those most dreaded of words: “The following is a paid political announcement.”

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READING BETWEEN THE PARENTHESES: Now that ex-wrestler Jesse “the Body” Ventura is the new governor of Minnesota, will the other state bosses soon be sporting nicknames? I don’t know what to call California’s governor. Gray “The Hair” Davis?

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CELEBRITY GARB: Wearing no costume, the star of the “Lassie” and “Lost in Space” TV shows attended a Halloween Party in Santa Monica last weekend. A fan came up to her and said, “Hey, how great--you came as June Lockhart!”

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FROM BEST TO WORST: The offerings of great movie lines appearing in this column gave Fred Dorsett of Tarzana an idea. “How about the Bottom 10,” he asked.

He nominated a nugget from “The Incredible Melting Man,” in which an astronaut poisoned by radiation, begins to fall apart--literally--when he returns to Earth.

“One of his friends is pursuing him through the woods,” Dorsett recalls, “finds an ear hanging from a bush, takes it in his hand, gazes at it soulfully and says, ‘Poor fella.’ ”

Bonnie Sloane sent this line, delivered to Charlton Heston in “The Ten Commandments”: “Oh Moses, Moses, you splendid, stubborn, adorable fool!”

And Lee Harris suggested a gem from “Plan 9 From Outer Space”: “Not far from Hollywood, in the town of San Fernando, reports have come in of flying saucers flying so low, the exhaust knocked people to the ground.”

Sounds more like MTA buses.

miscelLAny:

Speaking of Charlton Heston, I caught this one on the Internet: “Pssst. This is a secret. Spread this around to everyone on Earth. When John Glenn returns from space, everybody dress in ape suits. . .”