Shooting Hoops
Lakers Executive Vice President Jerry West was no doubt pleased last week when the team signed former Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson as its new coach. But for West, not all the news was so good.
Rap artist Cam’ron is promoting his new album, “Sports, Drugs and Entertainment,” set for release June 29, with billboards and magazine ads depicting the National Basketball Association logo with the image of a gun inserted into the hand of the player silhouetted in the logo.
That image (without the gun) just happens to be patterned after West, who was considered at the time of his retirement to be the NBA’s preeminent shooting guard no pun intended.
West, through a Lakers spokesman, declined comment. The NBA threatened to sue, and the rapper pulled the ads.
Deflating Thought
Los Angeles may be known for its kitsch, but some folks are putting their feet down on those big inflatable balloons perched atop a number of businesses.
The L.A. City Council has called for an ordinance prohibiting all inflatable icons, saying that they’re an eyesore and potentially dangerous.
Among those none too happy about the possibility are the folks at North Hollywood Toyota, which for 10 years has adorned its roof with a variety of inflatable creatures, including Godzilla and Simba from the “Lion King” film.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Chris Ashworth, the dealership’s general manager. “We paid $1.5 million in taxes to the city last year, (and customers are) going to go to Orange County where they still have balloons.”
Baby Mike
Supervisor Michael Antonovich has a proclivity for issuing publicity and press releases. And it looks like he’s trying to pass that trait on to his newborn son, Michael Jr.
Antonovich’s government Web site now has a link to a page containing young Michael’s birth announcement (7:35 p.m. on April 7), as well as a gallery of pictures of the boy with dates beneath the photos.
Two pictures show the supervisor cradling the infant in his arms and another shows a close-up of Michael Jr.’s face on a pillow, with a rather concerned look.
Antonovich spokesman Cam Currier said the Michael Jr. page has had about 140 hits to date, with the average length of stay about 5 minutes.
“Michael wanted to share the new baby, to allow any of his constituents who wanted to see photos of Michael Jr. to do so,” Courier said.
Charter Chatter
Talk about the foxes guarding the hen house.
Rumors are circulating at City Hall about who City Council President John Ferraro will appoint to an ad-hoc council committee formed to implement the new charter approved by voters.
The panel is likely to include Ferraro, who gave $110,000 to the campaign to defeat the charter. The rest of the slate could include staunch charter opponents Jackie Goldberg and Rita Walters along with charter supporters Cindy Miscikowski and Councilman-elect Alex Padilla.
An alternative pick could be Councilman Rudy Svorinich, who led the campaign opposing the charter. His selection would be especially intriguing because Svorinich represents the harbor area, where a secession movement is afoot.
