NOBODY ASKED ME, BUT... by Stan Cohen for MARCH 20 The debate is on; where, if anyplace, to put the gun range. Well, I have a suggestion. How about the Huntington Beach Mall. First of all, you can fire anything through the empty Mall without hitting anyone. Secondly, the parking lot has loads of empty spaces, is not surrounded by residents and is freeway close. Besides, if and when they choose to put a 20 theatre movie complex in the Mall, it will only be used at night allowing all the police departments and gun enthusiasts unlimited usage during the day... My "Cohen's Kernel", an ex-employees tax tip for this week is to try to file as early as possible; don't wait until April 15. Most mistakes are simple math calculation mistakes made with the added pressure of meeting the April 15 deadline. Double check your addition and subtraction. We employees would laugh at some of the simple math mistakes many taxpayers would make... And speaking of a "Cohen's Kernel", a record for letters and phone calls was set by last month's "Kernel" concerning what & how long to save copies and records for your old 1040's. At least 15 people took me to task when I recommended you throw out your 1993 1040 on April 15, 1997 if you haven't heard ANYTHING concerning that return from the IRS. Ninety-nine percent of us are not worried about fraud, farm implements and/or the cost basis of supplemental monies acquired before the 1933 earthquake. Those having the above "problems", can save everything, forever... How about those tomato prices? In my neighborhood stores the prices per pound were: Vons $2.19, Luckys $2.49, Ralphs $2.89 and Alpha Beta and Hughes $3.19. Outrageous! Forget tomatoes in your salad this week. Last week, many people called me concerning the name "Surf City " for Huntington Beach. One of the callers, longtime resident and friend Elaine Craft said about 15 years ago the City Council voted to use the slogan, "City of Expanding Horizons". How did we ever get "Surf City". For my part, that's NOT the image I want to conger up for this wonderful city... Want to do something for our be-leagued Police Department, the City of Huntington Beach as well as yourself? Attend the next meeting of the Anti-Crime Coalition on Wednesday, May 26, 1997 at the Police Department building, 2000 Main St. at 8.00 am. Besides "morning munchies", you will be treated to information and methods we all can use to help our police officers as well as how to cut crime in our city... Well, its that time of the year again and here are MY annual choices to win the Academy Award "Oscars" Monday, March 24. Best picture, "The English Patient"; best actor, Geoffrey Rush in "Shine"; best actress, Diane Keaton in "Marvin's Room"; best supporting actor, Cuba Gooding, Jr. in "Jerry Maguire"; and best supporting actress, Lauren Bacall in "The Mirror Has Two Faces". If my luck holds, I probably will get everyone wrong... Last month, the Fountain Valley City Council approved a zoning change to permit Kaufman & Broad Coastal Inc. to build 59 single family homes on the old Harper School site. Now, with the help of some of those same council members, the people around that school site are thinking about moving some of the equipment in the Harper playground so the children can continue to use the park safely. Good!... Remember when long distance phone calls were "Person-to- Person" or "Station-to-Station"? In order to save money, we called person-to-person and asked for someone we knew was NOT there. Many years ago, I lived in New York and on a snowy night after the holidays, I drove to Boston, about 250 miles, to go back to college. My mother had me call person-to-person and ask for myself, thereby signaling her I arrived safely in Boston. This trip, I called and asked to speak with Stan Cohen. Mom, getting the "signal", replied to the operator, "He's not here now but tell him to wear his sweater."...