A Wipeout for Skating Councilman

It’s no big deal to Hermosa Beach City Councilman Sam Edgerton that he fell off a skateboard and broke both of his arms on the way to a ceremony for a new skateboard park.

“Riding a skateboard is no more dangerous than riding a bicycle,” declared Edgerton, 43. “And it beats walking.”

The sidewalk-surfing legislator estimated he was going 4 mph when he hit a patch of “uneven tar and cement” while crossing an alley. He “landed in a push-up position” because “I was trying to avoid hitting my knees and tearing my pants.” It wasn’t nearly as spectacular as the time his leashed dog began pulling him too swiftly on his skateboard and he hit a wet spot and went tumbling.

Edgerton, who was fitted with splints rather than casts, said he’s “doing fine” now, 11 days after the latest mishap.

Will he ever ride his skateboard again?

“I’ve already been on it,” he said, laughing.

And had he told his wife?

“Uh, no,” he responded.

*

SO MUCH FOR THE CUSTOMER ALWAYS BEING RIGHT: You think you’ve had irritating waiters in the past? Look at the sign that Scott Woods of West Hollywood noticed (see photo).

*

SELF-DUELING COUPONS: Pam Ferguson, John Yatsko and a dozen or so other readers spotted a coupon that offers “unlimited toppings” while adding, “additional toppings extra” (see accompanying).

*

SOMETIMES, L.A. IS LIKE A CELL: Joel Goldberg passed along some possible new trends involving L.A.’s favorite driving sport, both witnessed on the Westside:

* “Following a car down Venice Boulevard, I thought the couple in front of me were necking. When I pulled alongside at a light, I saw that they were ear to ear, with a cell phone in between, apparently sharing a conversation. I couldn’t tell whether the driver or passenger was holding the phone.”

* “On National Boulevard, I followed a car that had its hazard lights flashing. When I pulled alongside at a light, I called to the driver that her hazard lights were blinking. She nodded knowingly and pointed to the cell phone in her hand. I guess the lights were her way of saying, ‘Caution, driver on phone!’ ”

*

STUPID CRIMINAL TRICKS: A teenager attracted the attention of neighbors by firing off some shots from a handgun on a street in South-Central Los Angeles. Police said they later found the suspect hiding in his residence. And they found a few things on the property, too: About 20 6-foot-tall marijuana plants as well as five 1-kilo bricks of cocaine.

“Sometimes,” pointed out KFWB reporter Pete Demetriou, “it doesn’t pay to draw attention to yourself. Or to paraphrase Thomas Wolfe, ‘You SHOULDN’T go home again.’ ”

miscelLAny:

Often when a business is saluted in a publication’s “Best of” poll it will use the endorsement in its own advertising. But that probably won’t be the case with the entrepreneurs who were cited in one category in New Times’ “1999 Guide to the Best of L.A.”

Their specialty: “Best Fake IDs.”

Steve Harvey’s e-mail address is steve.harvey@latimes.com.