Some critics have accused L.A. of being...

Some critics have accused L.A. of being in a world of its own. But County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn would settle for making L.A. a separate state.

“Any talk of secession should start first in Los Angeles County, which alone is larger than many current states,” Hahn said.

His tongue-in-cheek proposal came one day after a plan was advanced by Assemblyman Stan Statham (R-Oak Run) to form a 51st state--Northern California--out of the counties north of Sacramento.

“We’re now taking our cue from the disintegration of Eastern Europe,” quipped Bill Livingston, a spokesman for Gov. Pete Wilson.

Hahn’s proposal would create several problems, not the least of which is that Disneyland would be in a different state.

The state of L.A. would also “have to come up with a state bird, a state song and a state motto,” pointed out Robert Alaniz, a spokesman for Supervisor Gloria Molina.

While “I Love L.A.” (song) and “Let’s Do Lunch” (motto) would be obvious choices, the third category might be difficult to fill. Obviously, the L.A. Legislature wouldn’t approve, as the state freeway bird, the hand gesture made by angry drivers. Perhaps L.A. could borrow the official bird of the city of Redondo Beach--the Goodyear Blimp.

As for the Statham bill, it would also have drawbacks--as well as one distinct advantage:

San Francisco would become a proud part of the state of Southern California.

One can only imagine how the formation of the states of Northern California, Southern California and L.A. would play havoc with some of our local directional signs. L.A.’s portion of the Golden State Freeway would have to be renamed, for one thing.

The current layout is baffling enough, as demonstrated in Kurt Anderson’s photo of Huntington Drive in Arcadia.

Before we leave this state of confusion, Warren Christian of L.A. has an explanation for our recent item about a secretary who was overheard asking, “What state is Utah in?”

Wrote Christian: “She was misunderstood. She actually asked, ‘What state is Eutaw in?’ ”

Before we could answer, he added:

“Eutaw is in the state of Alabama. My family comes from there.”

Now for the tale of the two Bozos.

Bozo the Clown lost an eight-year legal battle to make Bozo’s, a restaurant in Mason, Tenn., change its name.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused without comment to hear a challenge from entertainer Larry Harmon, who portrays Bozo.

The eatery was founded in 1923 by the current owner’s great-grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Williams, whose nickname was “Bozo.”

Bozo the Clown, you might be interested to know--especially if you attended UCLA--is a graduate of USC.

miscelLAny:

Shrouded by vegetation in the middle of Farmers Market sits a 139-year-old adobe house. It was the birthplace of Earl Gilmore, who founded Farmers Market. Gilmore died in the home in 1964, in the same bed in which he was born, according to historian Ken Schessler.