Laconia

Do I suggest that we not use the definite article with things like "Los Angeles Public Health Department" or "La Quinta Unified School District", because we would be saying "the the"-- or do I let the definite article stand, because saying "we reviewed Los Angeles Public Health Department's claimed expenses..." sounds weird?

I mean, things like "chaise lounge chair" make me cringe; first, because the correct name is "chaise longue" (French, translates to "long chair") and second, because "chair long chair" is just not efficient communication.

But OTOH I'm used to hearing "we went to the La Brea Tar Pits"--which is effectively saying "we went to the The Tar tar pits"...

Which reminds me--one of our local public radio announcers correctly pronounced a difficult Spanish-origin place name this week (I can't remember which one); but last week, a different announcer said "San Luis Obispo" as if "San Luis" was French (Louis, with silent "s") instead of Spanish in origin. I was really embarrassed for the poor guy...