Car Washes

State labor regulators have sued three Los Angeles-area car washes for alleged minimum wage and overtime pay violations. The California Labor Commissioner's office said Tuesday it took enforcement actions against the Rosecrans King Car Wash, the Wilshire Car Wash and Vermont Auto Spa. Two separate complaints ask for a little more than $2 million in unpaid wages, penalties and damages. "We will use every tool available to ensure employers pay their workers what is owed for the labor that is provided," Commissioner Julie Su said.

LAS VEGAS - Clutching his car-wash advertising sign, Alecio Daniels pranced in the punishing heat on a suburban street corner here, feeling like a chicken roasting in the oven. He eyed passing cars, the feverish air shimmering in the near distance blurring his vision. Before the sun would mercifully vanish a few hours later, the temperature hit 114 cruel degrees, tying this city's high-temperature record for this date, set in 2003. Sweat dripping off his nose, ear lobes and bearded chin, Daniels said he had a new name for a town accustomed to sweltering in this parched desert landscape.

Does naked, brute technology--the sight of powerful, automated equipment in action--make you nervous? Are you searching for a cleansing, a baptism of sorts that will wash away your anxiety and feelings of guilt? And--this is most important--does your car need a wash? If you answer yes to all the above, you're in luck. The San Jose area appears to be riding the crest of a wave of "theme" car washes.

State labor regulators have sued three Los Angeles-area car washes for alleged minimum wage and overtime pay violations. The California Labor Commissioner's office said Tuesday it took enforcement actions against the Rosecrans King Car Wash, the Wilshire Car Wash and Vermont Auto Spa. Two separate complaints ask for a little more than $2 million in unpaid wages, penalties and damages. "We will use every tool available to ensure employers pay their workers what is owed for the labor that is provided," Commissioner Julie Su said.

Sex-based promotions such as so-called "ladies' night" discounts at bars amount to sex discrimination and violate state civil rights law, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday. In a unanimous opinion by Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird, the court said price breaks granted solely to women discriminate against men and work to degrade both sexes by reinforcing "harmful stereotypes."

Shannon Kenny was surrounded by scores of famous faces. Toasting her 22nd birthday in Hollywood's Formosa Cafe, she glanced at Joan Collins, Burt Reynolds and Shirley MacLaine. She went ga-ga over megastar Eddie Murphy and was smitten with an image of Bono of the rock group U2. With 800 photographs crammed on the walls of the restaurant's Star Dining Room, Kenny was in celebrity heaven. But wait, who is Kathleen Hughes, whose photo hangs near those of Tony Curtis and Shelley Winters?

Schmidt reports for Spot.Us, a website affiliated with the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. Once a week, Naty Aguilar drives with friends from her East Los Angeles neighborhood to a wholesale warehouse downtown. Pooling their money, they buy boxes packed with the kinds of things that a general neighborhood store might carry: small toys, towels, soaps, shampoos and electronics. Then they head home, divide the haul and lay out the wares in their frontyards so that neighbors can shop.

Plastered throughout Oxnard's La Colonia neighborhood Monday was a photocopied picture of the city's latest homicide victim: Froylan Martinez, the shy 16-year-old son of farm workers who preferred staying home and studying to hanging out on the street. Police said Martinez, the city's 20th homicide victim this year, was not a gang member and called his death "a disturbing and senseless killing." The teenager was fatally shot Saturday night outside a birthday party for his next-door neighbor.

Re "No Privacy in Public," letter, Aug. 1: The recording of license plate numbers and date/time of exit at LAX parking lots is most likely a theft-prevention tactic. It is (or should be) used by businesses that have possession of other people's vehicles (like car washes, for instance) to ensure that the person who leaves with a vehicle was the one who brought it in. Even though it is not a foolproof method, it does make potential car thieves aware that at least some steps are being taken to prevent vehicle theft in that establishment.

T he fact that car washes dot nearly every corner of the San Fernando Valley should tell us something: We love our vehicles, but not enough to get our hands dirty buffing and polishing them. Arsen Stambultsyan, owner of Triple Shine Auto Detail in Glendale, found it gets worse. There are some who don't even want to drive to the car wash, so Stambultsyan will pick up and return cars to owners in Burbank and Glendale.

Schmidt reports for Spot.Us, a website affiliated with the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. Once a week, Naty Aguilar drives with friends from her East Los Angeles neighborhood to a wholesale warehouse downtown. Pooling their money, they buy boxes packed with the kinds of things that a general neighborhood store might carry: small toys, towels, soaps, shampoos and electronics. Then they head home, divide the haul and lay out the wares in their frontyards so that neighbors can shop.

A worker at a car wash was killed Wednesday when another employee hit him while driving a customer's car from the wash bay to the detailing area, authorities said. The man's name was not released pending notification of relatives. The accident occurred about 4 p.m. at Classic Hand car wash in the 100 block of Wells Place. The man died at the scene.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are getting a new practice facility, which will feature not only two full-length courts, but a sauna, a kitchen with a walk-in freezer, and a car wash. Regardless, Cavalier owner Dan Gilbert maintained that he was not spoiling his millionaire players. "They will not be getting manicures and haircuts," he explained. Trivia time: The Arizona Diamondbacks' Luis Gonzalez needs one double to become the 21st major league player with at least 300 home runs and 500 doubles.

Plastered throughout Oxnard's La Colonia neighborhood Monday was a photocopied picture of the city's latest homicide victim: Froylan Martinez, the shy 16-year-old son of farm workers who preferred staying home and studying to hanging out on the street. Police said Martinez, the city's 20th homicide victim this year, was not a gang member and called his death "a disturbing and senseless killing." The teenager was fatally shot Saturday night outside a birthday party for his next-door neighbor.

T he fact that car washes dot nearly every corner of the San Fernando Valley should tell us something: We love our vehicles, but not enough to get our hands dirty buffing and polishing them. Arsen Stambultsyan, owner of Triple Shine Auto Detail in Glendale, found it gets worse. There are some who don't even want to drive to the car wash, so Stambultsyan will pick up and return cars to owners in Burbank and Glendale.

Re "No Privacy in Public," letter, Aug. 1: The recording of license plate numbers and date/time of exit at LAX parking lots is most likely a theft-prevention tactic. It is (or should be) used by businesses that have possession of other people's vehicles (like car washes, for instance) to ensure that the person who leaves with a vehicle was the one who brought it in. Even though it is not a foolproof method, it does make potential car thieves aware that at least some steps are being taken to prevent vehicle theft in that establishment.

Americans spend about $30 billion at car washes every year, a staggering expense. The 75,000 car washes in the nation are patronized by a full 50% of car owners, according to Mark Thorsby of the International Car Wash Assn. The other 50% do their own scrubbing--using as much as 20 billion gallons of water annually. Isn't there an easier way that would save time, money, labor and water--especially in parched Southern California?

In a perverse back flip promoting its car washes and waxes, Zymol Enterprises is distributing a bumbler's booklet: "10 Ways to Destroy Your Car's Finish." Among the grittier tips: * Shop for cleaning materials at discount stores and wait for loudspeaker specials on old wax nobody wanted. Ignore paint chips and scratches. Or use a touch-up paint that almost matches.

Signed letters from Franklin D. Roosevelt and Richard Nixon were among dozens of political keepsakes found inside a scrapbook salvaged from a car wash trash bin. The black, leather-bound book chronicles the life of Charles Seward, grandson of Abraham Lincoln's secretary of state, William Seward. A woman rooting through the bins stumbled across the book and turned it over to authorities last week.

Police on Tuesday arrested a fired car wash employee suspected of murdering five former co-workers and critically wounding a sixth during a holdup at the business. Robert Wayne Harris, 28, was arrested without incident at a home in Dallas, police said. He was arraigned Tuesday afternoon on a charge of capital murder and was being held in the Irving jail without bond. All six victims in the shooting Monday morning were employees of the Mi-T-Fine Car Wash.