Anxious to attract more business, several cities...

Anxious to attract more business, several cities in the San Gabriel Valley commissioned a firm to analyze their collective image.

The disturbing finding: They had none.

Unfortunately, most outsiders associate “The Valley” with the flatlands of Northwest L.A., and its Valley Girls, urban sprawl, shopping centers, Bing Crosby and summer heat.

Not that the Other Valley, the San Gabriel, hasn’t made numerous contributions.

Potato chip mogul Laura Scudder began her business in Monterey Park. The city of San Gabriel was the home of the Hula Hoop. In-N-Out Burger got its start in Baldwin Park.

Temple City was the birthplace of Winchell’s Donut House. And, of course, the non-football city of Irwindale has given us what KNX traffic reporter Bill Keene describes as “The Al Davis Memorial Gravel Pits.”

There’s a lot of there there. And, in order to come up with a theme, the San Gabriel cities have formed the Valley Image Project Task Force.

Maybe they should just consult the state Commission on Self-Esteem.

The San Gabrielites aren’t alone, of course, in their quest for recognition.

George Kirkland, the newest head of the L.A. Convention and Visitors Bureau (or is it Visitors and Convention Bureau?), recently admitted that the Freeway City has an “image problem” itself. He added: “I’m not saying it’s bad. It’s just not clear.”

L.A. went so far in the 1970s as to form a citizens’ Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Image Enhancement.

That body considered such ideas as (1) asking the networks to include pleasant scenes of the city in L.A.-based programs and (2) forming a “Famous Citizen of the Month Award” to honor notable Angeleno residents.

With brainstorms like that, the group developed image problems of its own and died after a few months.

Southern California is the kind of place, points out publicist Joe Molina, “where some people hang portraits of their cars in their new house before they hang portraits of their family.”

Which brings us to artist Harold Cleworth, who paints pictures of automobiles.

A spectator at the L.A. Auto Show approached Cleworth’s booth and asked him how much one of his works cost.

“Anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000,” Cleworth said.

And he doesn’t take trade-ins, either.

“Heal the Bay,” proclaimed Troy Hayden’s T-shirt.

But CHP officers said the 16-year-old son of actress Jane Fonda and Assemblyman Tom Hayden was arrested along with seven other youths for allegedly polluting a parking lot near Mulholland Drive with “gang-type” graffiti.

CHP Sgt. Rick Walker described the spray-painted graffiti as “logos, obviously gang-type or community names--white gang stuff.”

The youths, who were released to the custody of their parents, were cited for vandalism and violating a juvenile curfew of 10 p.m.

Sighted on the Harbor Freeway: A van advertising: (1) herbs “for potency” (2) an all-night pharmacy and (3) a legal-rights group for fathers.

In other words, just about anything you could need if you were a dad!