Detective John St. John, wearing the trademark...

Detective John St. John, wearing the trademark fedora of the robbery-homicide squad, was being honored by the City Council on Friday for his 50-year-long career with the LAPD.

Chief Daryl F. Gates, one of the speakers, remarked that “I only have eight years to go to match that” and added that he’d consider sticking around if he could be sure that someone would give him a hat like St. John’s.

After conferring briefly with colleague Mark Ridley-Thomas, City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky whispered to his aide, Katharine Macdonald:

“Go get a hat.”

She went down the street and purchased a gray felt chapeau, with a yellow feather adorning the hatband. Yaroslavsky had the council members autograph it, then sent it to Gates’ office along with a note that said:

“We didn’t want you to have to wait eight years for your hat! Wear it in good health.”

Gates responded with an ambiguous note that said, in part, “Your thoughtfulness will not go unanswered.”

When Harley Cobb of Pasadena wants something, he advertises--on his front lawn.

A couple of years ago, when he was a widower, he announced that he was seeking “Attr. Lady (40-60) Friendship . . . Maybe More.”

“I got hundreds of calls from all over the country, and from six European countries too,” he said. “And the woman I wound up marrying lived three blocks away. Isn’t that something?”

Now he and his 47-year old wife, Helen, want to adopt a child. “We’ve been turned down by the (adoption) agencies because of our age,” he said. “They go by figures alone. I’m young at heart. We’re hoping a miracle will happen.”

And he has a new sign up (see photo).

In recent weeks, a few weightlifters have groaned over the new design of Venice’s outdoor gym, once known as The Pit, now called Muscle Beach Venice. One gripe: The unmacho color of the outdoor railing--baby blue.

But Darlene Galindo, the facility’s recreation director, says the majority of the users are pleased. And she points out that the refurbished facility is attracting a new type of member:

“More women than ever before are coming here.”

The Mall Classic:

Not only are the Dodgers a candidate to make it into the World Series, but the Lakewood Center Mall has already landed the World’s Best Shopper Competition.

Twenty-nine finalists from regional contests--three of them men--will be armed with $5,000 and sent out into the aisles today to see who can best complete several shopping “assignments.” The winner receives $5,000.

“They’ll be told to do things like, ‘Buy something that reminds you of the fall,’ ” said Nancy Walters, a spokeswoman for Mallywood, a mall-marketing company.

We presume the final assignment will be the most difficult task facing any mall visitor.

Finding the restroom.

Responding to our item about a tomato bush growing at a bus stop in the Fairfax district, Susie Thompson of Culver City points out that the

plants seem to blossom on freeways,

too.

“On our commute home the other day, my mother and I spotted a tomato plant growing on the small triangle of land where the transition road from the southbound 110 (Harbor) merges into the westbound 10 (Santa Monica) near downtown,” Thompson said. “We saw at least two big ripe tomatoes and one still-green tomato.”

She adds: “The traffic hasn’t been bad enough yet for us to jump out of the

car and pick one of these freeway

miracles.”

Isn’t that just like L.A.? You can never find a traffic jam when you really need one.

miscelLAny:

KFI, a 50,000-watt, clear-channel station (the only station in this region on the 640 frequency), has been heard by listeners as far as away as Australia, Norway and Japan.