Robber Had to Learn on the Go to Remember to Take the Dough

If a history of bank robbing is written, “The 00 Bandit” won’t be included among the masters of that art.

The other day, FBI agents arrested a Norwalk man they believe to be ol’ Double Zero.

The moniker was hung on him by law enforcement officials, who noted that in two of his robberies, the bumbler left without any money.

This points up one of the risks when you get into the bank-robbing field. There are no schools to prepare you. It’s all on-the-job training.

But they won’t check your oil: Ron Keyson spotted a place where you can get gas for less than $2 -- a Mexican restaurant in Big Bear City (see photo).

Slaloming right along: In Mammoth Lakes, Cindy Frye of Long Beach saw a sign that surprised her, explaining: “I didn’t think ‘diving’ was allowed on the city streets” (see photo).

L.A. -- there’s no escaping it!: While in Athens, my colleague Mark McGonigle found some competition for this column in a local magazine (see accompanying).

Lekanopedio Attikis, by the way, refers to the Athens basin. I hear that if the courts rule that the Anaheim baseball team has to remove “Los Angeles” from its name, the club may move to Greece and become the Lekanopedio Attikis Angels.

Special service: Randy Semel found a spot in L.A. where, near as I can tell, if you leave your car, the authorities guarantee they’ll have it towed in 10 minutes or less (see photo).

Disorder in the court: A sarcastic letter writer to the Long Beach Press-Telegram said he couldn’t understand why jurors complain about serving at Long Beach’s “dilapidated courthouse, where you can see fresh sunshine between the walls and elevators, and walk up six flights of broken escalators to the jury room. Everyone needs plenty of sunshine and exercise.... “

In some ways, though, jurors do have it easier in Long Beach now.

A decade ago, when I served there, there was a drawing of a peregrine falcon, with its wings outstretched, in the courthouse balcony. A caption said: “Stay off ... or I’ll get you.” The notice was posted after a falcon had attacked a couple of bald, middle-aged men (my demographic exactly!).

The falcon seems to have flown the coop since then.

miscelLAny: Maybe the hot weather explains the daring invitation for people to disrobe that Doris Walden of Palm Desert read (see accompanying).