Fare enough:The 20th anniversary of the mass...

Fare enough:

The 20th anniversary of the mass kidnapping and dramatic rescue of a group of 26 Chowchilla schoolchildren recently passed. The incident holds special memories for former reporter Theo Wilson, who raced to the scene from her New York Daily News bureau in Hollywood.

Wilson, who does not drive, couldn’t get a ride. So she did what any New Yorker would do. She hailed a cab. Chowchilla is north of Fresno.

The driver made certain that Wilson knew it would be a ride of about 250 miles. “Say you’re in New York and I pick you up,” he told her. “It’s as though you’re saying, ‘Take me to Buffalo.’ ”

The fare was $200 (including tip).

Near Chowchilla, the cab was stopped by a California Highway Patrol officer. “He said we weren’t doing anything wrong,” Wilson recalled. “He was just curious why a Yellow Cab from L.A. was up there.”

GOODBYE, CHARLIE: Wilson, who retired from the Daily News a few years ago after more than three decades, has written a book titled “Headline Justice,” due out in October.

In the book, Wilson discusses the trials she has covered, involving such characters as Patty Hearst, Jean Harris, Claus von Bulow and Charles Manson.

While she rarely interviewed defendants, she did have an exchange with Manson during that 10-month trial.

“One day some of us [reporters] were sitting, gabbing in the courtroom,” Wilson said. “The court was in recess and the jury was out. Charlie was at the defense table. For some reason, he turned around and said some dopey thing like, ‘Your karma is coming down upon you.’ I looked at him and said, “Oh, shut up, Charlie.’ ”

Another reporter wrote a story saying that Manson had threatened some female reporters.

“When my boss phoned me,” Wilson said, “I told him, ‘Threatened? Why Charlie’s smaller than I am!’ ”

OF PARAMOUNT INTEREST: L.A. disaster movies are common these days but now some cities are being attacked by a local radio station. The rock music folks at Y-107 (101.7 FM) have a billboard along the Long Beach Freeway that says, “We’re not even famous in Paramount.” There are other signs with similar messages, except that they substitute Downey and Commerce for Paramount.

In the civic insult category, it reminds us of the boot commercial that said: “Just What L.A. Needs--More Heels.”

ARE THE BALLOONS AND BUNTING IN PLACE? Ross Perot’s Reform Party, as you no doubt know, is holding its convention in Long Beach Aug. 11. Jody Fox of Laguna Beach sent us the latest presidential election odds from the Caliente Racetrack, which lists Bill Clinton as a 1-8 choice to win, followed by Bob Dole (3-1), Perot (50-1) and Dick Lamm, Perot’s Reform Party rival (500-1).

These odds are subject to change, obviously. If Lamm edges out Perot for the nomination, we see him moving up to at least 400-1.

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We’re going on vacation for two weeks and, while we’re gone, we plan to check out our new franchise in the Bay Area, which was spotted by Linda Fong of Torrance. If Only in San Francisco is a hit, can Only in Paramount be far away?