Is this why our beaches become so...

Is this why our beaches become so polluted after rainstorms?

Dorothy Laupa of Pacific Palisades forwarded a clipping from a Ft. Collins, Colo., newspaper, reporting that “a newcomer” to the city was ticketed by police. It seems that some residents had complained that he was draining his motor oil into a gutter.

Police said that the indignant man complained that “if he had been in L.A., nobody would have said anything.”

List of the Day:

The now-shuttered Ambassador Hotel just turned 70 and, to cheer up its fans, let’s reprise some of its wackiest moments, with help from NOW Magazine and authors Margaret Burke and Richard Alleman:

1. The hotel opens the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, furnished with leftover set pieces from the Valentino film, “The Sheik,” and stuffed monkeys with electrically lit eyes.

2. Actor John Barrymore smuggles in a family of real monkeys to play with the stuffed ones.

3. Actress Marion Davies, apparently wanting to make an entrance, gallops through the lobby on a horse.

4. In a scene filmed at the Grove for “A Star is Born,” a maitre d’ discourages a tipsy Norman Maine (James Mason) from making a pass at one woman because “she’s Pasadena” (translation: “Lay off, buster, she’s high society”).

5. At a Warner Records party, singer Alice Cooper literally swings from the crystal chandeliers during a rendition by a 350-pound topless singer, who is not Pasadena.

Speaking of birthdays, one of the most elegant pieces of junk in town is observing No. 58.

It’s a red 1933 Willys that has been hanging over the roof of Samson Auto Salvage on Alameda Street since 1934.

Co-founder Joe Luban recalled the other day that he had been looking for an “eye-catching idea” to attract customers back when he started the business. “People forget a sign,” he added. “But they’ll always remember the Little Red Car on the Roof.”

Current owner Sam Adlen is so nostalgic about the occasion that he bought the Willys a new set of tires, a touching gesture since they come with no warranty.

All booked up and nowhere to go:

An ad titled “Superbowl Bound?” in The Times’ classified section announced that “a 49er fan” had two nonstop, round-trip tickets from LAX to Tampa, as well as two paid-for hotel rooms available for $2,800.

The ad concluded: “Giants fans need not call.”

miscelLAny:

Of the 64 Elvis impersonators listed in the authoritative work, “I Am Elvis,” three live in Southern California, including El Vez, the Mexican Elvis. However, a fourth, Janice Kucera, did study acting in Hollywood. She is known as Lady Elvis.