CITY HALL ROUNDUP : Police deploy new weapon in war on speeders: citizens with radar guns.

HONEY, I CLOCKED THE KIDS: The next time you get caught in a speed trap in Manhattan Beach, don’t automatically blame the city’s finest. You may have been clocked by Grandma from her garage.

Police in the beach city say they just don’t have enough officers to catch all the speeders ripping through residential streets. So they’ve decided to let residents join in the pursuit of pedal pushers.

Under a new program unveiled last week, police will begin training residents to use radar guns and then allow them to catch speeders in the act. Where the speed traps will be set up will be left to the neighbors themselves--something drivers may want to consider the next time they have an urge to peel out on Poinsettia Avenue.

In case you’re wondering if all this could result in vigilantism gone wild, the police will not equip the residents with police cars, badges, nightsticks or citation books. The radar-touting residents, who will work in pairs, will simply jot down the license numbers of violators and forward them along with the recorded speeds to police.

“Most people are speeding not because they are seeing how fast they can go,” Sgt. Dave Ferguson said. “They are thinking of something else. This brings it to their attention.”

Unsuspecting speeders won’t receive citations, but official letters from the real cops saying that next time they will receive costly speeding tickets. And don’t say that you weren’t warned: The speed limit on residential streets is 25 m.p.h.

TOUCHY ISSUE: Lest Hawthorne get a reputation as a hooker haven, the City Council is cracking down anew on the world’s oldest profession. The city is sending this message to massage parlors: Clothing is not optional.

Indeed, by Christmastime, if the council approves two new ordinances, patrons and masseuses in Hawthorne will have to make full fashion statements. Massage parlor clients will be required to wear clothing that covers their genitals, while the rub-down artists must don “non-transparent outer garments covering the body from knee to neck.”

But the council is not stopping with full body coveralls. Massage technicians will also be required to provide city officials with five references outlining the applicant’s “good moral character” and work history.

City Atty. Michael Adamson says his staff “fine-tuned” an old ordinance in order to “stay one step ahead of the people trying to violate it.” Assistant City Atty. Glen Shishido says the dress code “cracks down on places that are fronts for prostitution.”

By the time any applicants finish the paperwork, they may be too tired to give a massage. The ordinance also requires massage parlors to be visible from the street and to have clear windows, so no shroud of secrecy exists inside the establishment. No word yet if parlor patrons must also keep their feet on the floor.

CANCELED CHECK: It isn’t the evils of prostitution that Hermosa Beach is concerned about. Their hang-up is with companies that cash checks.

The City Council on Tuesday turned down a request by V.I.P. Mortgage Banker to open a check-cashing business on Pacific Coast Highway after a staff report warned about adverse impacts from the clients of such a business.

The staff warned of the “potential draw to the community of a service clientele that is unable to complete banking transactions . . .”

Translation: If this place was allowed to open, it wouldn’t be long before the neighborhood resembled a scene from the “Night of the Living Dead.”

Councilman Robert Benz took umbrage, saying the city needs all the sales tax revenue it can get. He called the staff fears “stereotypical and repugnant.”

Even Leslie Bush, executive director of the city’s Chamber of Commerce, said he didn’t understand the fuss about the businesses either. He argued that those who cash checks in the city might spend a few of those dollars in Hermosa too.

SUDDEN IMPACT: Longtime community activist Herman Weinstein hit the airwaves last month with the debut of “Impact Lawndale,” a community politics show that he produced and moderated for Channel 60, Lawndale’s public-access cable station.

But the show was no hit with the City Council. They’re attempting to pull a plug on the fledgling cable program.

The council voted 3 to 2 last week to query the Fair Political Practices Committee on whether the city should sponsor cable programming that could be politically biased.

“It’s not intended to squelch any broadcast,” Councilman Norm Lagerquist said of the Fair Political Practices Committee inquiry. He said the council is only seeking “clarification” of its current policy.

For the record, it should be noted that Weinstein was granted 60 seconds of silence at a council meeting last June in honor of his status as the first person in city history to be tossed out of council chambers. Lagerquist led the move to remove Weinstein from the room.

Weinstein, the city’s preeminent gadfly, says his free-speech rights would be violated if his program is yanked from the air. His first segment, televised late last month, was a pro-and-con analysis of the city’s redevelopment plans.

He asked the city to provide a person to speak in favor of redevelopment. But apparently, he said, they couldn’t find anybody who supports redevelopment in Lawndale.

“It’s one of the best programs that’s ever been out there,” he said. “I gave both sides of the issue. I stayed right down the middle. For me, that’s pretty good.”

If he gets another shot, though, look out. The second segment will focus on Lawndale’s property tax values.

Stay tuned.

LAST WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Palos Verdes Estates: The City Council on Tuesday established a $50 permit fee for recreational vehicle owners who want to park their boats, motor homes and trailers outside of a garage on their property. Staff members suggested that a $225 fee would more accurately reflect the city’s expense of issuing permits to recreational vehicles. But the council agreed to compromise with RV owners, who opposed a new ordinance severely restricting vehicle storage in the city.

THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Rancho Palos Verdes: City Council meetings will start at 7 p.m. beginning Tuesday. The council is taking measures to streamline public hearings and discussions in an effort to adjourn its meetings by midnight. Council meets at Hesse Park, 29201 Hawthorne Blvd.; (310) 377-0360. Televised live on Channel 3; repeated at 7:30 p.m. the following Tuesday.

Lawndale: City Council meets 7 p.m. Tuesday to adopt a new General Plan, a blueprint for the city’s future development. Council meets at 14717 Burin Ave.; (310) 973-4321. Televised live on Channel 60 and repeated several times during the week.

OTHER MEETINGS THIS WEEK

Carson: 6 p.m. Tuesday, 701 E. Carson St.; (310) 830-7600. Televised at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday on Channel 26 (Continental Cablevision) and repeated the following Wednesday.

El Segundo: 7 p.m. Tuesday, 350 Main St.; (310) 322-4670. Televised live on Channel 22 (Paragon) and repeated at noon Wednesday.

Inglewood: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, 1 Manchester Blvd.; (310) 412-5280. No cable telecast.

Lomita: 7 p.m. Monday, 24300 Narbonne Ave.; (310) 325-7170. No cable telecasts.

Los Angeles: 10 a.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 200 N. Spring St., Los Angeles. In San Pedro, (310) 548-7637; in Wilmington, (310) 548-7586; in Harbor City/Harbor Gateway, (310) 548-7664; in Westchester, (310) 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.

Manhattan Beach: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, 1400 Highland Ave.; (310) 545-5621. Televised on Channel 3 (MultiVision) at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Redondo Beach: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, 415 Diamond St.; (310) 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.; (310) 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.