More Evidence That Low-Budget Security May Not Work So Well

In the “Crime Blotter” of the Culver City Chronicle, Susan Deen spotted this item: “6 p.m. . . . A fake surveillance camera was stolen off the wall of a condominium complex.”

Wonder if the condo uses fake security guards too.

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ENJOY! OR ELSE! Beach cities in Southern California, of course, are nothing if not fanatical about collecting parking-ticket revenue. So naturally Gene Miller was suspicious about a holiday gesture by the Huntington Beach folks (see photo). He wondered if perhaps the “free” parking offer was so “strictly enforced” that you could get a ticket for putting coins into the machine during that period.

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MINDING THEIR P’S AND Q’S: A reader asked this column to solve the mystery of the pink trucks seen around town with a single large black letter painted on the side--a different letter in each case. It turns out it’s a delivery service.

Writing to the rescue was Natasha Ward:

“A few years back when I used to paint the giant murals on the outside of buildings, I literally spent many hours hanging around downtown L.A.” on window-washer type scaffolding, she said.

“My partner and I always wondered what those trucks were all about. We used to write down all the letters hoping to figure out what they spelled. One night as we were leaving, we saw one and followed it a few blocks. When the guy pulled into a driveway with many other trucks with other letters we asked him what they spelled.

“We were very disappointed to hear that they spell nothing, and they use them only to mark each truck. Bummer! No wonder we couldn’t spell anything with the letters. . . .”

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NOW SNOW JOB: I quoted here an excerpt from a deposition by a local businessman who, when asked why he moved from Michigan to California, answered, “I lived in Michigan.”

Two other residents who fled that area said they understood completely, including Dennis J. Weiss of Culver City. He explained: “Being from Michigan [23 years ago], I know that living there is enough of a reason to move to L.A. With all the Michiganders living here--there’s your proof.”

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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083, and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.