Extra, Extra: You may be suffering from 'Petronoia'

Photo by ~db~ via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr

• Are you scared to fill up your gas tank these days? You may be one of the many suffering from petronoia. According to Allstate and AAA, the number of stalled vehicles is on the rise in So Cal because of the farcical phobia of the pump.
• Since May 1st's tattoo cover up policy went into effect, LA's firefighters have been irked about covering up their ink. No visible tattoo's are permitted in public AND in the firehouse, forcing some to wear sweatshirts at all times.
• An attempted kidnapping went down at the Long Beach Town Center mall on Sunday when a man tried to grab a 5-year-old girl in a clothing store. His plan was foiled when the girl's mother began screaming and scared the kidnapper away. Police are reviewing the security video.
• Co-founder of Irvine based Broadcom Corp. and co-owner of the Anaheim Ducks, Henry Samueli, was suspended indefinitely today by the NHL from any dealings with the team. This comes a day after he pleaded guilty for lying to the SEC about his role in backdating employee stock options. Michael Shulman, the Duck's chief exec. says, "as an organization, we continue to support Henry 100 percent." Does Shulman know that lying to the SEC = breaking the law?
• The LA Times supreme writer of everything entertainment, Patrick Goldstein, took his new blog, The Big Picture, live this morning. This comes on the heels of the AP announcing their new entertainment blog which promises to be "the best, the most accurate, and the first with the news and entertainment." We can hear the internet traffic shift.
• A group of 240 Chinese leisure tourists visited Universal Studios yesterday in the inaugural visit from China after an agreement was made late last year allowing leisure groups to visit the US. LA is expected to see a 50% increase in Chinese tourism and an estimated $62.5 million in visitor spending. 欢迎!
• Citing "competitive reasons," Ralph's will eliminate it's bonus values on coupons $1 or more and will only honor double coupons 50 cents or less. Ralph's spokesman, Terry O'Neil stated, "the vast majority of coupons used in our stores are valued at 50 cents and below anyway." Well Terry, what about the people that rely on double coupons to feed their family every day?
• Irrelevant Week kicked off today in Irvine to celebrate the last player picked in the NFL Draft. For the past 33 years, organizers have been giving the honor and this year's "Mr. Irrelevant" was David Vobora, an OLB from the University of Idaho. Vobora will be given the red carpet treatment all week and even be awarded the Lowesman trophy (a man fumbling a ball). He was picked 252nd overall by the St. Louis Rams. Go ahead and forget about Vobora, he's irrelevant.