Hearse Owner’s Lively Business

Some Woodland Hills residents claim it’s Halloween every day at the home of one of their neighbors. The resident “has some hearses parked out in front of his house,” said Jackie Keene, a field deputy for Councilwoman Laura Chick. “And we’re told that people drive up and pay for the privilege of lying in his hearses there.”

Apparently to give themselves the ghostly pallor of vampires, “Some of them come with some sort of white substance on their face.”

The city Building and Safety Department is investigating whether the resident is conducting an illegal business.

Some questions remain unanswered. Keene noted, for instance, that it isn’t clear whether “the customers go in ones or twos” into the hearses.

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SPEAKING OF UNUSUAL BUSINESSES: Richard Chase came upon what must be the smallest open-air farmers’ market in the Southland--or at least in Santa Monica (see photo). “The tabletop mart,” Chase wrote, “included a strongbox [cardboard] with placard directing shoppers to drop money in slot, and a stock of paper bags anchored by a small rock against the ever-present sea breezes.”

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THIS COFFEE CRAZE IS REALLY GETTING OUT OF HAND: Susie Hansen of Carson came across a blurb on a package of coffee in which the company bragged that it has been “roasting” customers, among other things (see accompanying). Pretty scary, except perhaps for hearse fans.

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BACKGROUND CHECKS: Geographical places in Southern California that were named for people with interesting pasts:

* Baldwin Park: E.J. “Lucky” Baldwin, a 19th century businessman known for his torrid love affairs (two women fired shots at him in courtrooms).

* Brown Mountain (above Altadena): Pre-Civil War abolitionist John Brown, who was hanged in 1859 for treason.

* Doheny State Beach (near Dana Point): Edward Doheny Sr., an oil pioneer who was indicted during the Teapot Dome oil-lease scandal in the 1920s but acquitted.

* Flores Peak (Orange County): Outlaw Juan Flores, hanged in 1857 for his part in the murder of L.A. County Sheriff James Barton.

* Griffith Park: Griffith J. Griffith, who donated the land to the city in 1896 and later shot his wife in the eye during a drunken rage, believing she was trying to kill him “at the orders of the pope in Rome,” according to the authors of the history book “Fallen Angels.” She survived; he served one year in prison.

* Vasquez Rocks: Tiburcio Vasquez, who hid from the authorities in this Antelope Valley spot before being captured and hanged for murder in 1874.

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MR. AND MRS. WRONG: The just-aired PBS special on architect Frank Lloyd Wright related the story of one couple who lived in a Wright-designed house in Southern California and grew to detest each other. But neither would file for a divorce “for fear of having to move out.”

miscelLAny:

Peter Lee points out that amid the discussions of pro football teams that have left L.A., everyone has forgotten the Los Angeles Cougars. The team made the playoffs in the movie “Two Minute Warning,” starring Charlton Heston. You knew this L.A. team would have to be fictional if it was in the playoffs.