Yes, It’s Jingle (Cash Register) Bells All the Way

All together now, let’s sing that Christmas traditional, “Oh Shopping Cart, Oh Shopping Cart.” Or you can venture out to the Edgemar Center in Santa Monica and see artist Anthony Schmitt’s statement about what some might say is the true spirit of the holidays: a 33-foot-high tree composed of 87 shopping carts (see photo).

And you can make your own statement by leaving nonperishable food in the carts (2435 Main St.) for the Westside Food Bank.

Mulish behavior: Outside Oatman, Ariz., John Bellah of La Habra encountered a couple of travelers who had halted on the highway, possibly confused by a nearby road sign (see photo).

They’re not down on downtown: David Chan spotted a T-shirt ad that seemed to indicate that Hollywood isn’t the only glamorous section of L.A. in the minds of Easterners (see accompanying). The ad was in the student newspaper at Syracuse University.

Not-So-Bad-Ville: Scandal-plagued San Diego, whose latest setback was the admission by Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham that he took $2.4 million in bribes, shed its self-proclaimed title of “America’s Finest City” in August.

“We couldn’t stake that claim anymore,” said Gina Lew, the city’s director of public and media affairs. “We were taking too many hits.” So it was erased from the city’s website.

Jerry Sanders, sworn in Monday as the city’s new mayor, restored the claim to the website, but before that happened, the San Diego Union-Tribune, seeing an opportunity to help, asked readers for new slogans. Entries (none of them accepted) included:

* “Scandalicious.”

* “An Eruption of Corruption.”

* “Bunglers by the Bay.”

* “All Major Unmarked Bills Accepted Here.”

In reference to a separate scandal over pension funds, the New York Times delivered its own description of San Diego several months ago: “Enron-by-the-Sea.”

Good news for Scandalicious: At least USC football star Reggie Bush, who grew up in San Diego, still faithfully daubs the city’s area code on his cheeks (see photo).

When he turns pro, his agent may have something to say about that.

miscelLAny: The headline on Yahoo News said: “Next ‘Apprentice’ to Be Shot in Calif.”

Firing the losing contestants wasn’t enough?

Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012, and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.