Think the Tenants Feel Cooped Up?

Marilyn Stein of Pacific Palisades spotted some rental property with an exotic name in Venice: Le Trappe De Pigeon Apartments (see photo). And the no-vacancy sign was up. Must be breeding season.

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HEY, THEY HAVE VALLEY GIRLS TOO: A while back, a survey was taken to determine the image of the San Gabriel Valley. The finding: It had none, according to Bruce Ackerman of the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership.

So, the partnership is promoting the attractions of the area with a marketing campaign that includes a directional billboard (see accompanying).

Hopefully, the billboard will only be displayed alongside northbound roadways.

Though comparing itself to Hollywood might seem a bit farfetched, the San Gabriel Valley does have its own rich cinematic history.

For instance, in “War of the Worlds,” parts of it were destroyed by aerial attackers. Martians, not pigeons.

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DUELING VALLEYS (CONT.): The San Gabriel Valley marketing group also has come up with a slogan for the area: “We Have It All.”

Frankly, I think it lacks pizazz for a Southern California region.

And I’m calling upon readers to contribute a snappier phrase by mail or fax (no phone calls, please). I’ll award the winner a history of Pasadena or a video history of Angelyne (depending on the preferred historical discipline).

I know you readers won’t let me down. Several years ago, you responded gallantly when the newspaper asked you to suggest more colorful names for the San Fernando Valley.

And I’m certain that if the Valley does become a separate city, it will choose a name from among those submissions, which included Twenty Nine Malls, Homes R Us, Rancho de los Ranchos, Suburbank, Beige Air and Minimallia.

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UWO SIGHTINGS: In USA Today, David Borgenicht, editor of a guide to “UFO points of interest,” put Los Angeles near the top of his list. Even if you don’t see little green men landing in a spaceship, he said, “you’ll definitely see a lot of unidentified walking objects in L.A.”

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THE VERY IDEA: Spotted in a downtown office building: A sign over a broken toilet that added, “No Flashing.”

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REPORTERS DON’T NEED NO BADGES: The news that Sheriff Lee Baca will issue badges to “executive reserves”--including celebrities and athletes--will no doubt revive memories of a similar program initiated by Sheriff Eugene Biscailuz in the 1940s and 1950s.

Reporters were among those given badges back then. Of course, relations between the press and law enforcement were warmer. But things began to cool under Biscailuz’s successor, Peter Pitchess. Some critical stories were written about the department. Reports circulated of misuse of the badges by the newsies. And Pitchess recalled the shields.

L.A. Herald-Express reporter Stan Leppard wrote this lament:

Wherein have we faltered?

Wherein have we failed?

Why this curt dismissal from

An office we once hailed?

Here’s your badge, dear Sheriff,

But with a sad alas:

I hope that you will take it

And stick it away in a file somewhere.

miscelLAny:

The largest alimony sum, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, was $81 million, awarded to Sheika Dena Al-Fassi in an L.A. courtroom in 1983. Her husband was Sheik Mohammed Al-Fassi of the Saudi Arabian royal family. She declared she was “very happy,” even though she’d originally asked for a slightly larger sum: $3 billion.

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Steve Harvey can be reached by phone at (213) 237-7083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com and by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, Times Mirror Square, L.A. 90053.