L.A. Times - Only in L.A.

Driven to distraction over 'the' freeways in Los Angeles

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

I guess you could call it "road reference rage." San Jose Mercury News columnist Gary Richards recently polled his readers on whether they should "use 'the' in front of freeway numbers like they do in Los Angeles" (i.e. "the" 405). Here are some of the angry replies he received:

At UCLA's Dickson Court, a bridge spans a now-buried ravine

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

On the surface, the bridge looks like just another campus street. It conceals hidden spaces and a labyrinth of passageways.

It's a bridge that has been disguised as a street for six decades.

This parrot ploy won't fly

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

T he website www.parrot is attempting to unseat the California valley quail in favor of the Polly-want-a-cracker creature as the official state bird. Yes, there really is a state bird. Legislators with evidently nothing better to do have also voted over the years to create such titles as state fossil (the saber-toothed cat), state rock (serpentine) and state insect (the dog-face butterfly). (With its looks, the dog-face deserves a little positive reinforcement, I guess.)

Laguna Niguel readies for annual full moons

Sun, 6 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A mtrak passengers will be greeted by a series of full moons in Laguna Niguel on Saturday.

This phone solution is a stretch

Sat, 5 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Ed Colefield of Cypress and several other readers pointed out that the mischievous folks at 99 Cents Only are marketing an alternative for hands-free phone headsets (see accompanying). OK, maybe a thick rubber band looks sort of silly. But do you think the Bluetooth makes your ear look attractive?

Long Beach maverick is gone, but his work still flies high, educates and entertains

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

'Ski' Demski's giant U.S. flags continue to be ordered; his macaw now visits patients and students in Minnesota. But the town is a bit quieter.

No one could raise a flag -- or a controversy -- quite like white-bearded Thomas "Ski" Demski.

Trail etiquette, L.A. style

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

O ne thing you have to say about Michele Thrapp of Woodland Hills: She is stoic when it comes to handling pain. The other day Thrapp, 59, fell while on a hiking trail in Pacific Palisades and broke her ankle. While she lay on the trail, trying to raise her leg, one passerby said, "Stretching your hamstrings, eh?" Another hiker, obviously a Westsider, said to Thrapp, "Oh, yoga?" "Right," Thrapp said later, "yoga with my head in the dirt."

But really, it's just for a couple of minutes

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

"Y ou know parking's tough in L.A.," writes Keith Johnson, "when Parking Enforcement resorts to valet parking in order to get a spot" (see photo) .

A burning indifference to the news

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

S ome paparazzi in Pacific Palisades were outside a house that was being visited by actress Jennifer Aniston when a hillside caught fire about a block away. A handful of the bored photogs immediately hopped in their cars and went over to check out the fire, the Palisadian-Post reported. After taking a few shots, they drove back to the house where Aniston was. Firefighters then put out the blaze, no thanks to the paparazzi.

Distracted gas pumpers are driving one station to distraction

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

West L.A. drivers in a hurry are forgetting a small detail: taking the pump out of their gas tanks.

D avid Boone of L.A. didn't know quite what to make of a notice at a Santa Monica gas station warning that "drive offs" would be prosecuted (see photo) .