Calling it a “distasteful practice to the people of Los Angeles County,” the county Board of Supervisors signed a letter to Los Angeles Times corporate head Sam Zell decrying its Thursday front-page ad for the King Kong ride at Universal Studios. It was designed to look like a late-breaking “Extra” section.

“Today's mock section front makes a mockery of the paper's mission,” the supes write in the letter, which was obtained by the Weekly. ” … We urge the Times to stop selling its front pages to advertisers, especially in such an offensive and alarming manner.”

We hate to spoil all the anti-Zellian fun — and if anyone's an anti-Zellite, we are — but this is like car guys debating about whether turbocharging or supercharging a V-8 gas-guzzler is the way to go during the dawn of the hybrid.

This controversy passed us by. You know why? Because we haven't picked up a weekday edition of the paper since Bill Clinton was president. It's an antiquarian's debate.

Invasive advertising is a vital issue for readers — sure. Putting it on paper isn't.

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