Enticing Engineer
The mention of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory usually brings to mind images of rovers and satellites not hunks.
But that’s changing, thanks to Satish Krishnan, a mechanical engineer at JPL who was named one of “America’s Top 50 Bachelors” by People magazine.
The 26-year-old Pasadena resident joined the likes of golfer Tiger Woods and actor Ben Affleck on the list of “sexy, single, sizzling” men.
While some might be impressed by Krishnan’s hunk status, JPL spokeswoman Mary Harden was not.
Asked how she felt about such a distinction being bestowed upon one of JPL’s own, Harden said: “We have a lot of people who are always getting attention for a variety of interesting reasons.”
Let Them Eat Cake
Rice snacks are getting a lot of attention from area lawmakers, business owners and L.A. County health officials.
Legislation introduced by Assemblywoman Carol Liu, D-La Canada Flintridge, would allow sellers of Korean rice cakes to bypass food-refrigeration requirements that some say ruins the taste of the treats.
The bill was unanimously passed in the Assembly and is being considered in the state Senate.
The Los Angeles-based Korean Rice Cake Association asked Liu to introduce the measure, saying the L.A. County Department of Health Services had been “harassing” bakers.
“We understand that the health department serves a purpose from trying to keep everyone from getting sick, but there have been no reported illnesses (related to the rice cakes),” Liu said. “It’s overkill.”
Flights of Fancy
With airlines nationwide cutting fares in response to a drop off in business travel, it’s no surprise that Southwest Airlines is touting a sale of its own as part of its 30th anniversary celebration.
A number of routes originating in Los Angeles have been cut to $30 each way in an Internet special, offering what are some of the lowest fares in this region since Southwest’s 25th anniversary, when a limited number of tickets for all flights were going for $25.
Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King said the company limited the discounted flights for its 30th after learning a harsh lesson five years ago.
“There was havoc in the airports,” King said. “People were lining up at payphones at the airport to try to get through by phone because the (counter) lines were so long.”
Bye Bye Bobby
The last Bob Burns restaurant, on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica, has closed to be replaced by a Houston’s steakhouse.
Houston’s acquired the property after the death of family matriarch Elizabeth Teeter Burns in 1999. It was the last of a handful of Burns restaurants that started in 1967.
Bob Gabriel, who visited the spot weekly with his wife, Louise, president of the Santa Monica Historical Society, said the Burns family decided to concentrate on its modern and eclectic chain of Marmalade restaurants.
“Bob Burns was a breed of its own with its pub, its Scottish accents and its food was gourmet,” he said.
“It really was a landmark restaurant. It is a part of our local history,” Louise Gabriel said.
