So What Were LAX Fliers Expecting: Vladeville, Webbertown?

Some Sacramentans flying out of LAX were not happy about Southwest Airlines’ destination monitors on the day the Lakers-Kings series started. Sacramento Bee columnist R.E. Graswich reports that the airline had a bit of a problem spelling the name of the state capital. Seems it came out: “Shaq-ramento.”

Unreal estate: Today’s specials (see accompanying) include:

* A residence with a garage for a family of SUV owners (Joyce Hiller of Redondo Beach)

* A home with a lingerie room (Diana Bahr of L.A.)

* And a canyon property that might appeal to, shall we say, less ambitious types.

Open wide for this item: Regarding the discussion here of people with appropriate last names, Joan Kaas mentioned a dentist whose father had been in the same business. She never snapped a picture of his sign, but luckily I found one in my files taken by Gregg Stockdale (see photo).

Disorder in the court: During a lawyer-on-the-courthouse-steps survey, the L.A. Daily Journal asked for some “worst client experience” stories. Here are a couple:

* Diane Faber said she came back from lunch with a client who was being depositioned, “and the first question asked was, ‘Have you ever used heroin?’ Before I could object, the client said, ‘Sure, hasn’t everyone tried it once?”’

* Gary Bostwick had a client being depositioned, and “as soon as they asked the first question, he passed out. The questioner thought he had killed the deponent. And I felt awful. I was, after all, supposed to defend my client. And here, I’d had him killed! It turned out that he was OK--it was due to an unrelated condition.”

Digging for answers: “City of Bones,” the title of Michael Connelly’s new novel, refers in part to the murder of a real-life victim known as “La Brea Woman.” Connelly’s protagonist, L.A. police detective Harry Bosch, learns that almost a century ago, a nearly complete skeleton of a woman was found in La Brea Tar Pits. The victim, who appeared to have been killed by a blow to the head, lived about 9,000 years ago. Bosch finds this out while working on a more recent skeletal-remains case. I don’t think I’m revealing too much of the plot when I say that Bosch never does solve the La Brea Woman murder.

Poetry in motion: My request for unusual vanity plates prompted Irene Kennedy to write: “The husband of a friend of mine is a urologist. His name is Richard Cerruti. His license plate reads: 2PCRC.”

More moving plates: Lynn Felton nominated the absurdist sentiment W8N4GDO. Which reminded me of the creepy license W8N4BG1. You can be sure the latter driver lives in the L.A. area, not Shaq-ramento.

miscelLAny: Forget about clever plates. What Susan Moore of Lomita wants to see are explanations for the obscure ones she comes across, such as this declaration on a South Bay woman’s car: IAMBOO.

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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LA-TIMES, 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 [email protected].