A first-ever symposium for environmental-minded surfers, scheduled...

A first-ever symposium for environmental-minded surfers, scheduled for Malibu on Tuesday, was postponed for 10 days.

But before jokes start flying about the habitual tardiness of wave-riders, let it be said that the GeoSurf Symposium’s organizers had a legitimate excuse: They were attending a California Coastal Commission meeting in Long Beach, where plans to establish a controversial sewer system in Malibu were being discussed.

The surfing forum, rescheduled for July 21, is slated to include workshops on coastal politics and the presentation of a timely new theory on the birth of surfing. Conference organizers claim the sport began not in Hawaii or Redondo Beach, but in Peru, some 2,000 years ago.

Also postponed Tuesday was a City Hall press conference to announce plans for the first-ever citywide karaoke music contest.

In Japan, karaoke bars, which feature elaborate tape systems that supply background music for self-styled singers, are quite popular.

But here in L.A., the public relations folks overlooked two essential elements for their media debut--singers and the tape system.

Not to worry. The contest, a side attraction to the 1990 Los Angeles Festival, will still be held later this summer--in six languages.

So unlimber those vocal cords if you care to croon “Hound Dog,” “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” or “Feelings”--in English, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Korean or Tagalog.

As his funeral Tuesday resoundingly demonstrated, restaurateur Frank Casado had a loyal legion of friends. Perhaps it was because Casado stuck with them through thick and thin. Years after Jerry Brown’s political star had dimmed, a poster-size photo of the ex-governor continued to grace a front window of his Lucy’s El Adobe Cafe. And the Jerry Brown Special (chicken and rice) remains a fixture on the Melrose Avenue eatery’s menu.

Other restaurants featuring celebrity entrees have been quicker to replace those who are not with those who are hot.

Take the Stage Deli in Century City (please). During a recent sandwich menu change, notables including Tommy Lasorda, Rob Reiner and Bette Midler got the ax.

General manager Dave Davis says the decision was based solely on popularity trends, as determined by customers filling out ballots at their tables.

“Dick Clark (turkey, bacon, lettuce and tomato) is gone,” says Davis. “And Jackie Mason is big time out.”

Mason (corned beef, turkey, pastrami, roast beef and Swiss cheese with cole slaw and dressing) was replaced by the most popular vote-getter of all--cartoon character Bart Simpson.

For the last 17 years, Charlie Turner, 85, has tended Dante’s View garden near the top of Griffith Park. But never has Turner’s labor of love proved more difficult than during the last couple of months, when the water supply was turned off so city workers could repair leaking pipes.

Lugging three to five gallons daily more than a mile uphill, Turner was able to save a silk floss tree and a pine tree recently planted on the Mt. Hollywood hillside.

Now that the water is back, Turner is pleased. For a while, though, he wasn’t so sure. “The trouble was, I did it through that 112-degree heat,” said the spirited volunteer. “A couple days I thought, ‘This is damn stupid.’ ”

miscelLAny:

One termite company ranked L.A. as the fifth most-consumed city in the last year, following Miami, Tampa, Atlanta and Washington.