CITY HALL ROUNDUP : National Guard attacks Manhattan Beach ban on alcohol at armory parties.

BOTTLE BATTLE: To drink or not to drink. That is the question at the California National Guard Armory in Manhattan Beach.

A city ban on alcohol at large private parties at the armory--enacted two years ago because of neighborhood complaints about rowdy behavior--is being challenged by the National Guard, which argues that city law doesn’t apply to the state agency.

But City Atty. Carl Newton contends that private gatherings having nothing to do with National Guard functions fall under city control. City officials say they are prepared to carry the issue to court if necessary.

The National Guard says it needs the income from such private events as wedding receptions, birthday parties and fund-raising dinners and is having trouble booking them because of the regulations, which also set closing times for parties and require that two security guards be present. Rules apply to gatherings of 100 people or more.

For his part, Mayor Bob Holmes said the controls stem from “a real problem due to alcohol” in the residential area near the armory. Incidents have ranged “from drunk driving to fights to trash and beer bottles on the lawn,” said Holmes. “We’re going to protect the residential character of that section of the community.”

ON THE BEACH: Erosion-prone Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro is getting sustenance from an unlikely source--the giant Hyperion sewage plant in Playa del Rey.

Sand dug up in a $340-million project to rebuild the plant is being hauled to Cabrillo at the rate of 360 truckloads a day. In all, 200,000 cubic yards of sand will be used to widen the beach, which suffered severe storm erosion in 1982-83 and in some places is less than 10 feet wide.

“Aside from the fact that it’s tremendous for wind surfing, (the beach) offers very little recreation value,” says Dale Hall, a planner with the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors.

Officials hope the beach restoration work will be finished by March so it doesn’t interfere with grunion runs, says Hyperion plant manager John Crosse. The grunion use sandy beaches to spawn during certain spring tides.

Begun Aug. 1, the sand hauling is an offshoot of a major renovation and construction project to intensify sewage treatment at Hyperion, which serves the city of Los Angeles. The project is scheduled to be completed in late 1998.

EXTRA! EXTRA!: The newspaper kids delivering the Palos Verdes Peninsula News are toting heavier loads these days to deliver the publisher’s point of view on local election issues to every doorstep in Rancho Palos Verdes.

In a campaign to encourage development, publisher Seth Baker has ordered his presses to print 3,500 extra copies of each issue over the next three weeks. Carriers who normally have 70 papers to toss along their routes now must throw 200 or more, News officials said. Normally, the thrice-weekly paper has a circulation of 18,000 and costs 50 cents a copy.

The News’ editorial stance is unabashedly pro-development and supportive of the city’s General Plan. The paper has given extensive coverage to the controversy over Rancho Palos Verdes’ moratorium on building in the Portuguese Bend and Abalone Cove landslide area. The paper supports those who seek limited development in the slide area.

“With a big election coming up, I thought it was a good time to let everyone read the paper,” said Baker, a Los Angeles resident and owner of five Southern California community newspapers. He is critical of those who want to block development of a golf course and homes in landslide areas that are proven geologically stable.

“If it sounds like we are on the side of developers, basically we are,” Baker said. The cost of printing and distributing the extra papers was “peanuts . . . maybe $500 a run,” he said, and well worth the effort.

LAST WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Gardena: Concerned about growing graffiti problems, the City Council asked staff members to consider raising the $1,000 reward given to residents who report graffiti violators to police.

Hermosa Beach: Reacting to noise complaints from residents, the City Council authorized staff to study how to control helicopters and airplanes pulling advertising banners. The council also authorized a 4% pay raise for city employees, retroactive to Sept. 1.

Inglewood: The City Council certified an environmental impact report for the proposed Mobil Oil Corp. pipeline that will run from Kern County to the Torrance refinery.

Palos Verdes Estates: The City Council adopted two companion ordinances, effective Nov. 7, to rid the city of eyesores such as graffiti, rubbish, overgrown vegetation and abandoned vehicles. Under one, the city will remove graffiti, free of charge, if property owners don’t do it themselves within 24 hours. The other law, however, allows the city to charge property owners for the cost of removing the other eyesores.

THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

El Segundo: The City Council will consider the public library’s request for a $15,000 anti-theft system to prevent books from being stolen from the library. 7 p.m. Tuesday, 350 Main St. 322-4670. Televised live on Channel 22 (Paragon) and repeated at noon Wednesday.

Hawthorne: The City Council is scheduled to approve a settlement with Loretta Brown and Naymon Williams, who filed a $10-million civil rights lawsuit against the city after their schizophrenic son was shot and killed by Hawthorne police last year. The family agreed last month to accept $1 million to settle the claim. 7 p.m. Monday, 4455 W. 126th St., Hawthorne. 970-7902. Televised on Channel 22 (Paragon) at 7 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday and 6 p.m. Saturday.

Manhattan Beach: The City Council is scheduled to choose a consultant to evaluate the city retirement system, as well as salary, vacation and sick leave policies, in the aftermath of the uproar over the excessive pension of former City Manager David J. Thompson. Shannon Associates is low bidder for the job at $40,000. The council also will consider a Cultural Arts Commission recommendation to purchase the outdoor “Man-Hat-Tan” rebus, a three-part art work mounted at different locations on Manhattan Beach Boulevard. The piece, which has caught the fancy of some but drawn flak from others, has been on loan from artist Michael Davis. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, 1400 Highland Ave. 545-5621. Televised on Channel 3 (MultiVision) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Redondo Beach: The City Council will hold a public hearing to consider cutting the hours of operation or revoking the entertainment permit for Chillers, a bar and restaurant at the Redondo Beach Marina that has been the subject of numerous noise complaints from neighbors. 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, 415 Diamond St. 372-1171. Televised live on Channel 8 (Century); repeated at 3 p.m. Wednesday and 6 p.m. Sunday.

OTHER COUNCIL MEETINGS THIS WEEK

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

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

Lawndale: 7 p.m. Thursday, 14717 Burin Ave. 973-4321. Televised live on Channel 60 (Paragon) and repeated several times during the week.

Los Angeles: 10 a.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 200 N. Spring St., Los Angeles. In San Pedro, 548-7637; in Wilmington, 548-7586; in Harbor City/Harbor Gateway, 548-7664; in Westchester, 641-4717. Televised live on Channel 35; meetings repeated individually at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and collectively on Sunday starting at 10 a.m.

Rancho Palos Verdes: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Hesse Park, 29201 Hawthorne Blvd. 377-0360. Televised live on Channel 3; repeated at 7:30 p.m. the following Tuesday.

Rolling Hills: 7:30 p.m. Monday, 2 Portuguese Bend Road, Rolling Hills. 377-1521. No cable telecast.