Traffic impedes L.A. booty calls

Here's our modest contribution to Valentine's Day: KPCC producer Karen Fritsche did a piece for Off-Ramp this weekend on the reality of Los Angeles traffic for lovers. She lives in Echo Park, her boyfriend eleven miles away in West Hollywood. "This is the best relationship I've had in a long time, but frankly, the commute is killing me," she says. Other frustrated lovers give their testimony, including a Beverly Hills director who says "I date now by traffic patterns," and a Downtown woman for whom the challenge of traveling to Venice, says Fritsche, "gets in the way of her booty calls." Fritsche offers a formula to help lovers decide if their partner is desirable enough to venture out for, factoring in "cuteness, compatibility and chemistry" — plus mileage.