Irwindale won’t take down the Hungarian flags...

Irwindale won’t take down the Hungarian flags hanging in honor of a fiesta celebrating Mexican independence.

“It’s not a mix-up,” insisted Dennis DeGruccio, the city’s director of parks and recreation.

In fact, it’s Greek to him why anyone cares that the San Gabriel Valley city is flying Hungarian flags--with red, white and green horizontal stripes--alongside banners advertising the Saturday fiesta. Mexico’s flag also has red, white and green stripes, but they are vertical and they are augmented by a serpent and an eagle.

The flags that Irwindale hung “were never meant to be national flags,” DeGruccio said. “They’re just festival flags. Many countries have those colors and they (the Hungarian flags) are just slightly different. The only people who’ve called me about it were from the press.”

The flags could be up for a while. After all, Hungary doesn’t celebrate its Liberation Day until April 4.

‘Twas the 105th night before Christmas, and a man was in a chimney on South La Verne Avenue in East Los Angeles. He was in an unjolly mood, however, because he was stuck.

Awaiting him on the roof was not a sleigh, but two accomplices with a garden hose tied around a chimney post. They pulled him out, but his freedom proved only temporary.

A neighbor who heard cries emanating from the chimney had phoned sheriff’s deputies and the three were arrested on suspicion of burglary, though no one actually set foot in the place.

Santa, take note: This house’s chimney vent was shut.

When the facility was built in 1961, it was intended to recall a bit of the fun of early 20th-Century Venice--the galleon-shaped Ship Cafe, the hot-water Venice Plunge, the Venice Miniature Railroad.

But the Venice Beach Pavilion quickly became a white sea-elephant. A theatrical company failed there, blaming the noisy surf as well as the chilling sea air drifting into the roofless theater. The Pavilion shut down soon afterward.

Now, Venice activist Jerry Rubin has launched a campaign to have it refurbished as an “educational-entertainment facility” for the community. In fact, Rubin says, it could even be used for something for which Venice is famous: An arena for roller-skaters.

Pity the poor folks who live in Iowa.

They’ll probably never even know that they had a chance to be Mr. or Ms. Car Wash U.S.A. and garner a $300 cash prize.

The Santa Palm Car Wash in West Hollywood, which bills itself as “The Car Wash of the Stars,” will confer the honor Sept. 20 in ceremonies near the hot wax area.

Entrants will be judged 20% for personality, 20% for sense of humor and 60% for body style.