This Year, Voters Must Watch for Anything Suspicious-Looking

Both major political parties have expressed fears of fraud at polling places, and darned if I didn’t notice something suspicious about the voter in my Official Sample Ballot (see photo). I couldn’t put my finger on it at first, and then it hit me. That guy’s not 18!

And, by the way: I hear that backers of the measure in the sample ballot instructions fear their cause has been severely damaged by the rainstorms of the last few weeks (see accompanying).

Thanks for the honesty: Tom McAnany of Santa Clarita spotted a ceiling fan on sale at a store that came right out and admitted you can get a better deal elsewhere (see accompanying).

Life in the fast lane: The website laradio.com asked readers to recall wacky freeway experiences, and Jerry Clark, executive director of Southern California Sports Broadcasters, wrote: “I once saw a young woman driving and coloring her nails.”

Added Clark: “Her toenails! She had her foot up on the dashboard.”

Unusual Citizen Requests Dept.: The crime log of the Seal Beach Sun reported that “a resident asked the police to administer a lie detector test” to her 8-year-old grandson.

Harrumph for Hollywood: I read in the Downtown News that the Entertainment Industry Development Corp., which monitors filming in L.A., has changed presidents but is still hearing complaints from merchants and residents near film sites.

Of course, one of the problems is that movies are more violent (read: noisier) than ever. If it’s not a car chase that’s being filmed, it’s an AK-47 firefight. Or it’s some, uh, colorful dialogue, as illustrated by a sign snapped by Bob Patterson of adequacy. net (see photo).

Quote of the month: The media website ronfineman.com recently heard a KCBS-TV reporter declare: “The latest storm is wet.”

miscelLAny: The guidebook “Off the Beaten Path” by Lark Ellen Gould notes that “the A-framed chain of the International House of Pancakes started in the San Fernando Valley -- at Toluca Lake in 1958.” And, I might add, it even became an issue in the 1992 presidential race when Republican Pat Buchanan contended that Democrat “Bill Clinton’s foreign-policy experience is pretty much limited to having breakfast once at the International House of Pancakes.” (I think Bill’s off pancakes now.)