“There Ought Not to Be...

“There Ought Not to Be a Law,� a public contest to find California’s most outdated statute, has uncovered some startling revelations.

The ramifications of the 50 or so nominations sent in to sponsoring Assemblyman Richard E. Floyd (D-Carson) include these:

* County Sheriff Sherman Block is in violation every time he fails to referee a prize fight here. A 76-year-old state law requires the sheriff to preside over any boxing match in his county.

* It’s been illegal since 1872 to destroy “any birds’ nests, other than swallows’ nests.� (Why didn’t the swallows have a lobbyist? The answer seems lost in history.)

* Anyone participating in a duel is forbidden by state law from voting or holding elective office. And a sheriff who allows a duel can be fined $1,000. (Better to have the combatants strap on boxing gloves, Sheriff Block.)

Floyd has already taken it upon himself to eliminate some antique laws, including one that prohibited “marathons� (the L.A. Marathon was technically a violation of this forgotten law during its first few years).

Who knows what ancient ordinances are being violated? The assemblyman expects to receive more nominations--even if the prize he’s offering is a free trip to an Assembly session.

There’s nothing outdated about the name that South Gate resident John Aston found on a street sign (see photo) in his city.

Michael Selsman, a finance director for ex-San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein, writes The Times to remind everyone that he’s “proud . . . to participate� in the campaign to send “Dianne to the U.S. Senate for the two-year seat created by Peter Wilson’s resignation.�

So that was Feinstein’s plan all along! She obviously figured that by losing to Peter in the gubernatorial race, he’d be forced to resign from the Senate.

Or . . . is this just the beginning?

If she loses to Republican William Dannemeyer in the Senate race, will she then move to Fullerton and run for his Congressional seat?

Remember those innocent times when realtors inundated people with note pads, key chains, and newsletters bearing their names and toothy grins? One agent is now sending out personalized notices detailing how graffiti can be removed for free from residences.

And in Brentwood, of all places.

The Unusual Suspects:

The Tower Video store in Sherman Oaks has a special display, titled “Scandalous,� of the works of Vanilla Ice, Mike Tyson, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Milli Vanilli, James Brown, and, of course, Pee-wee Herman.

miscelLAny:

Boston refused to accept shipments of navel oranges from L.A. at the turn of the century, terming the fruit’s name “indelicate and immodest.�