CITY HALL ROUNDUP : Torrance councilman believes in spending campaign money to make even more.

CASH FLOW: When Dan Walker sets out to raise campaign cash, he doesn’t spare expense.

The Torrance city councilman shelled out nearly $9,000 of his campaign money for a fund-raising dinner at the Bistro restaurant in Beverly Hills. In a finance statement covering the first six months of the year, he also reports paying $518 in campaign funds for a stay at Seattle’s Four Seasons Hotel.

On the Seattle trip, he says, he visited a longtime contributor who was staying in that city temporarily--and netted a $2,000 contribution. Said Walker: “I’ll spend $500 to get $2,000 every day.”

He says dinner at Bistro, although expensive, is extremely effective at getting supporters to open their checkbooks. The diners, he says, paid $500 per plate.

“When people pay a lot of money to go to dinner, they want to have a good time,” Walker says. “I don’t think anybody who has gone to one of my fund-raisers has come away without having a good time.”

The strategy apparently works. In the six-month fund-raising period, Walker raised far more than Tim Mock and George Nakano, the other two council incumbents up for reelection March 3, 1992. Mock raised $12,427, Nakano $19,907. Walker collected $56,000.

SELLING A CITY: It’s hard to believe that the home of the giant Chevron oil refinery and several high-tech manufacturing plants is worried about having enough business.

But El Segundo is concerned. So much so, in fact, that it is turning to professional image-makers for help. In a joint effort with the El Segundo Chamber of Commerce, the city is accepting bids for a $95,000 marketing contract to pitch El Segundo as a place to do business.

A key goal of the campaign will be to wean the city from over-reliance on the faltering aerospace industry, which accounts for five of the city’s top nine employers. The city wants to attract a diverse base of other businesses--and the tax revenues that come with them.

“You hear a lot of rumblings about businesses thinking of moving out because of taxation, environmental regulations and traffic congestion,” said City Manager Ron Cano. “We want to educate others about El Segundo.”

SCRAP FLAP: Wilmington boaters fighting a scrap yard’s plan to move its operations to Los Angeles Harbor have gained a new ally--state Sen. Robert G. Beverly.

Beverly (R-Manhattan Beach) has written Ronald Lushing, president of the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners, asking that port officials consider finding other sites for the Hiuka America scrap yard, now located in San Pedro.

Los Angeles zoning officials declared the yard a public nuisance in March, saying it generated excessive noise and traffic. Under a proposal Hiuka is discussing with the port, the company will close its site at 2000 N. Gaffey St. and open a new yard at Berth 200A in Wilmington.

Boaters object to the idea, charging that a nearby scrap yard on Terminal Island owned by the Hugo Neu-Proler Co. is already polluting the Wilmington waterfront with noise and dust and that another scrap yard would simply add to the problem.

In his letter, Beverly asks that the port consider moving both Hiuka and Hugo Neu-Proler “away from populated areas of the port.” The boaters are pleased. Said Claire Randall of the Los Angeles Harbor Boat Owners Assn: “It’ll make the city pay more serious attention to this issue.”

PARK NAME: Community leaders are planning to stage a protest Monday and Tuesday at Carson City Hall to persuade the City Council to rename a city park after the late Harry T. Foisia, who was well known in the Samoan community for his work with troubled youths. He also carried the title of “high chief,” bestowed on him during a visit to American Samoa in 1986.

Civic activists have been lobbying for the renaming of Scott Park since Foisia died last December. But the council did not oblige. Instead, it recently decided to put Foisia’s name on the emergency operations center in the City Hall basement.

Organizers of the protest fault the council for that decision and for questioning the validity of signatures that a park renaming committee had gathered to support its cause. Says Myron Thompson, the committee’s chairman: “It’s like a slap in the face.”

The council is scheduled to take up the issue at its meeting Tuesday.

LAST WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Hermosa Beach: City Council rejected a Planning Commission recommendation to allow the city’s two grocery stores to stay open all night, deciding that the small increase in sales tax revenue that would result did not justify turning the city into a “24-hour-a-day town.”

Lawndale: City Council approved a measure allowing city workers to enter private property to remove graffiti visible from the street. Also, the council served notice to landlords that they must take steps to halt illegal drug activities in their rental units or face legal action.

Rolling Hills: City Council adopted an ordinance requiring that soil excavated in construction projects be used elsewhere on the property as fill. The measure, intended to discourage excavation, takes effect Sept. 11.

Torrance: City Council approved plans for a $100-a-person gala dinner and musical performance Oct. 25 to celebrate the opening of the city’s $12.5-million Cultural Arts Center. The center, which includes a 500-seat theater, will be dedicated Oct. 26.

THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

El Segundo: City Council to consider construction of a municipal golf course. The nine-hole course would be built on land on the east side of Sepulveda Boulevard and south of El Segundo Boulevard that was deeded to the city by Chevron. The council meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, 350 Main St. For information, call 322-4670. Televised live on Channel 22 (Paragon) and repeated at noon Wednesday.

Manhattan Beach: City Council to consider calling for an outside assessment of the city police force to determine its strengths and weaknesses. Among the questions to be addressed is whether incidents of racism and brutality have occurred. The council meets at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, 1400 Highland Ave. For information, call 545-5621. Televised on Channel 3 (MultiVision) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Rancho Palos Verdes: City Council to consider drafting an ordinance that would regulate the display of spray paint in stores to keep graffiti painters from stealing it. The council meets at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Hesse Park, 29201 Hawthorne Blvd. Information: 377-0360. Live on Channel 3; repeated at 7:30 p.m. the following Tuesday.

OTHER COUNCIL MEETINGS THIS WEEK

Avalon: 7 p.m. Tuesday, 209 Metropole Ave. Information: 510-0220. Televised live on Channel 3 (Catalina Cable) and repeated Saturday at 9 a.m.

Carson: 6 p.m. Tuesday, 701 E. Carson St. Information: 830-7600. Televised at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday on Channel 26 (Continental Cablevision) and repeated the following Wednesday.

Lomita: 7 p.m. Monday, 24300 Narbonne Ave. Information: 325-7170. No cable telecast.

Los Angeles 10 a.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 200 N. Spring St., Los Angeles. No cable telecast.

Redondo Beach: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, 415 Diamond St. Information: 372-1171. Televised live on Channel 8 (Century); repeated at 3 p.m. Wednesday and 6 p.m. Sunday.

Torrance: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, 3031 Torrance Blvd. Information: 618-5880. Televised live on Channel 22 (Paragon), and replayed at 10 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, and at 10 a.m., 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.