FIRST OFF . . .

A Los Angeles Police bomb squad was sent to the Mission Hills studios of radio station KGIL-AM on Wednesday to inspect a package that was delivered to talk-show host Carole Hemingway. “I get a lot of hate mail, but this was much scarier,” Hemingway told The Times on Thursday. The package turned out to be a videocassette of “Top Gun,” hand-delivered to KGIL by a listener who’s been deluging the 2 p.m.-6 p.m. radio host with letters comparing Hemingway and himself to “Top Gun” lovers Kelly McGillis and Tom Cruise. He wrote that he loved Hemingway and wanted to meet her along with other statements such as: “these were the last few days on this God-forsaken cancer called California.” Police were summoned after the unidentified fan brought the package to the station and then left; they grew suspicious and subsequently summoned the bomb squad. Ironically, while the package was opened, Hemingway was on the air with her scheduled guest talking about “Fatal Attraction” and similar obsessions. “I’ve never had one quite like this,” Hemingway said Thursday. “Hate mail and threats are parts of the job; but (police) told me to be concerned when somebody living in a fantasy world connects himself to you. But now I think everything’s under control.”