Mayor Bart Simpson of Northridge? Don’t Have a Cow, Man

Bart Simpson, mayor?

That is, the voice of Bart Simpson?

Well, the San Fernando Valley Folklore Society looked into the story after a London tabloid reported that voice actor Nancy Cartwright had been “elected ... mayor of Northridge.” The newspaper also quoted her determination to clamp down on Northridge crime: “I live in a nice neighbourhood. But down the road there’s drugs and guns, stealing and illiteracy.” Dispelling the rumor on its www.snopes.com website, the folklore society pointed out that Northridge is not a city but a part of the city of L.A. (whether it wants to be or not) and therefore doesn’t have an elected mayor.

Cartwright, it turns out, does have the ceremonial title of honorary mayor of Northridge, participating in events such as parades.

But her agent was upset that the tabloid had said that “Nancy went into politics to help clean up the area.” The agent added: “Nothing like that was ever said.”

As Bart’s dad, Homer, would say: D’oh!

Unclear on the concept: At Lake Isabella, a street whose name seems irrelevant was noticed by a reader whose name fits the locale perfectly -- Altadena’s Judy Bass (see photo).

Competition for 99 Cents Only: In Italy, Phil Proctor of Beverly Hills espied a merchant who seemed to be undercutting the U.S. discount chain (see photo). But, pointed out Proctor, “The Italians are using the Euro, so an 85-cent store could be translated as a $1.03 store.”

Second item, no extra charge: For your dining-adventurously file, Proctor also found an Italian restaurant that served a type of cheese that he figures would go best with eels (see photo).

With all these earthquakes ... : I’m happy to report that L.A. International Airport has not been dislocated. On Thursday, I showed an Amtrak schedule that listed one stop as “Union Station (LAX).” Several readers pointed out that “LAX” is also, confusingly enough, the three-letter code for the train terminal in L.A.

Arthur Medrano of Reseda said, “Last summer, my family and I were returning from Colorado on Amtrak’s Southwest Chief. When our train was pulling into Union Station, a woman in her early 20s, who was visiting L.A. for the first time, exclaimed, ‘Hey, this isn’t the airport.’ ”

D’oh!

miscelLAny: On a voter registration form he was filling out, Michael Reardon of Chino Hills didn’t know how to answer the question: “Will you be 18 years of age on or before election day?” After all, he is 55.

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.