Squawks and Squeaks Emanate From Seal Beach

Folks aren’t getting along swimmingly in one Seal Beach neighborhood.

Police received a call from a resident who “complained of loud music from the swimming school across the street” at 7:54 p.m., reported the Seal Beach Sun. “The caller was willing to sign a complaint. A swimming school representative said that the radio is on a timer and will shut off at 8 p.m.” The rep, meanwhile, had a counter-complaint, charging that “someone let mice loose in the pool area during the night” and wondered if it might have been a neighborhood resident.

Here I thought Seal Beach was squeaky clean.

Who’s your candidate? Having dared to set up a campaign office in the People’s Republic of Santa Monica, the Republicans were visited by a mischievous sort promoting another party’s candidate, observed Raymond Kissack (see photo).

If it’s any comfort to Bush supporters, Kissack added that home security hasn’t completely broken down at the location. He brought his wife back to see the placard half an hour later and it had been removed.

Meanwhile, down the coast: William Pace of Rolling Hills Estates noticed a symbolic display “of the political dichotomy in Manhattan Beach” (see photo).

Food for thought: In the ever-competitive restaurant business, friendly service can give an eatery the edge. But Irene Lamar was surprised to see that a restaurant in San Luis Obispo seems to have a kissing booth (see accompanying).

Unclear on the concept: Connie Russell of Downey spotted a roadside business in La Habra that calls itself “Santa’s Garden Pumpkin Patch.” Of course, you Scrooges out there would no doubt cheer a consolidation of as many holidays as possible.

Mystery of the Day: In Long Beach, I spotted a vanity license plate that read, “UTURNOK.” A new movement to permit U-turns everywhere? A plate owned by someone named U. Turnok? Any theories, readers?

For the birds: In the current issue of L.A. Magazine, former Paramount publicist A.C. Lyles recalls a long-ago stunt in which 50 parrots were trained to repeat the title of a forthcoming Mae West movie, “It Ain’t No Sin.”

“We had elaborate shipping crates made up for them,” Lyles says. “We were going to send them to theaters all over the world -- Japan, Canada. It was a huge campaign.

“A month before we were to ship, the parrots were screaming, ‘It ain’t no sin! It ain’t no sin!’ That’s when the studio changed the title to ‘She Done Him Wrong.’ ”

miscelLAny: OC Weekly points out that United makes the shortest airline flight out of Duke Wayne Airport, a 35-minute jaunt to LAX. Cost: $97.60 per person. In-flight movies shown: None.