Going Beyond Call of Duty, Patrol Directs Lovey-Dovey Pair to No-Tell Motel

Writer Tom Greene was a bit surprised to find a saucy, two-part drama in the police log of his security patrol company in Echo Park.

The opening act:

“7:51 PM--Service call re. couple in the back seat of a car in the 2300 block of Vista Gordo. Patrol advised the pair of the active neighborhood watch program, and the couple left without incident.”

The sequel (the same night):

8:37 PM--Service call re. same couple, as above, this time in the 2400 block of Avon St. Patrol provided directions to a motel on Sunset.”

Observed Greene: “Talk about ‘to protect and serve!’ ”

Location of the No-Tell Motel? The amorous couple might have preferred the anonymity of the street noticed by Wendy Mollett of Studio City (see photo). Alas, it’s in Mendocino County.

From no-names to not-so-familiar names: I mentioned that L.A.’s charismatically challenged mayor was identified as “Mike Haan” on network TV a while back.

Columnist David Allen of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reports that a puzzle question regarding the new mayor recently had contestants on TV’s “Wheel of Fortune” stumped. Finally, someone guessed the answer:

JAMES HAHN ELECTED LA MAYOR.

“Naturally,” host Pat Sajak quipped, “the guy who solved that puzzle is from Myrtle Beach.”

Driving on: Joseph Solomon forwarded a Westside newsletter that referred to some left-turn lanes that really seem to be disliked (see accompanying). Then again, are there any that aren’t?

Guys and dolls: The discussion here of the Short Stop bar on Sunset Boulevard prompted an old friend to remind me that before it became known as a hangout for Rampart Division cops, it was a gathering spot for Dodger fans. And some Dodger players.

Yes, major leaguers weren’t all millionaires back then--the 1970s and early 1980s--so they weren’t above mingling with the peasants.

Of course, they most enjoyed mingling with the beautiful women who invariably would stop by. It was always a curious sight on Dodger game days to see women, decked out in their finest, showing up around 6, just as the Echo Park bar’s unglamorous daytime drinkers shuffled off into the night.

One Dodger pitcher, long-since departed, was said to have married one of the admirers.

Another well-known habitue was an older fan, dubbed Dodger Mama, who would bake goods for the players.

Even umpires dropped in for a drink. I remember seeing Joe West on a bar stool, strumming a guitar and singing songs.

He had a pretty good voice, though it didn’t matter. No one was going to tell an umpire to quiet down.

One more for the road: Ron and Jane Rothschild of Lake Forest saw what I believe was supposed to be a reference to a pair of cockatiels (see accompanying). One thing I learned in the Short Stop was not to mix a pair of cocktails.

miscelLAny:

USC student Deann Slais will be paid $100 per week for 20 weeks for agreeing to wear a T-shirt bearing the logo of Anthony’s Healthy Harvest Pasta every day at school. The company will check her outfit via a Web cam installed in her residence. The company gave Slais 60 T-shirts. You know how college students are about doing their laundry.

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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 steve.harvey@latimes.com.