Simi Valley Coping Smoothly With King Case : Courts: Opinions in the community still differ about playing host to one of the state’s most publicized trials. But attorneys’ fears that office space and food would be lacking have proved unfounded.

Simi Valley officials were worried that their city would be portrayed as a backwoods, redneck community.

Defense attorneys were worried about where they would work.

And everybody was worried about where they would eat.

But as it turned out, there was little to be concerned about as jury selection got under way last week in the Simi Valley trial of four Los Angeles police officers accused in the beating of motorist Rodney G. King.

“The only surprise so far is that things have gone as smoothly as they have,” said Jerriane Hayslett, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Superior Court. “And maybe I shouldn’t be surprised because we all went through extensive preparations.”

Florence Prushan, a Ventura County court administrator, said she is also pleased with how well everything has worked out.

“We haven’t had any complaints,” she said.

This was no small achievement, considering that up until a few days ago, the East County Courthouse had no office furniture for prosecutors, no office space for defense attorneys and, perhaps worst of all, no cafeteria or snack bar for anyone with an appetite.

But Los Angeles Deputy Dist. Atty. Terry White brought his own desk, and courthouse officials, at the urging of Judge Stanley Weisberg, quickly made room for the four defense attorneys in the public defender’s office on the second floor.

“It’s OK,” attorney John Barnett said of the accommodations. “It’s not the penthouse suite.”

Barnett, who is representing Officer Theodore Briseno, and the other three defense lawyers are paying for the space, said Vince Ordonez, a Ventura County Court administrator. All the security and court supervision costs are being charged to Los Angeles County.

The lack of a courthouse cafeteria has also turned out not to be the big problem some had feared.

Prospective jurors and journalists were given a list of nearby restaurants, and a small refrigerator was placed in the jury holding room for those who followed county officials’ advice to bring a bag lunch.

Court officials also arranged for a catering truck and a hot dog vendor to serve the courthouse.

“Business is good,” said Roger Campbell, who operates the catering truck with his wife, Carmen. “We’ve sold a lot of coffee, doughnuts and pastries.”

Prushan said that despite the crush of about 50 journalists and hundreds of prospective jurors that turned out last week, the courthouse’s regular operations have not been disrupted. In addition to conducting traffic hearings, the courthouse houses the office of county Supervisor Vicky Howard and a branch office of the county Probation Department.

“All of our offices have run very smoothly,” Prushan said.

Meanwhile, Simi Valley officials said they are pleased that the city’s squeaky clean image has managed to go relatively unscathed during jury selection.

But they still have differing opinions about playing host to what will be one of the most publicized trials in California history.

It was only three months ago that the city was introduced to the world as the home of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Five U.S. presidents and a gaggle of luminaries attended the dedication ceremonies.

That is the way some officials would like the city to be remembered.

“The Reagan library was good,” Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton said. “This is not quite the same thing. We disagreed about hosting this party. . . . If we had been asked, we probably would have passed.”

Stratton said he did not see the point in moving the trial across the county line, rather than someplace farther out.

“We all read the same newspaper articles and saw the same television reports as the people in Los Angeles,” he said. “Why didn’t they move it to some place like Fresno?”

At least one group has criticized the selection of Simi Valley as an alternative site for the trial.

Officials of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People have stated repeatedly that the politically conservative community--largely white and home to about 2,000 law enforcement officers--is not the best setting to ensure a fair trial. For that reason, the association has recruited some of its members to monitor the trial.

But city officials said NAACP officials need not be worried.

“The old myth about Simi Valley has gone on and on because no one has bothered to come out and see how urban we are,” said Councilwoman Judy Mikels.

“Years and years ago, this was the end of the world, a small redneck community. But it has changed drastically over the last 15 to 20 years.”

Councilman Bill Davis agreed.

“I think some have tried to portray us as kind of a backwoods, redneck community,” he said. “But this is not the city it was years ago. People are not rednecks here.”

At least one reporter, Carol Ivy, who is covering the trial for KGO-TV of San Francisco, said she found the city to be more culturally diverse than expected.

“Last night, we went to a Chinese restaurant run by Hispanics, and they were playing Willie Nelson” on the radio, she said. “We don’t find that too much in San Francisco.”

However, Ivy ran into some trouble when she needed to buy a pair of shoes.

“I asked a number of people at the hotel where I could go,” she said. “I have a credit card for every department store imaginable. And they said, ‘Well, there’s a Target.’ ”

Ivy said she ended up wearing her tennis shoes to court the next day.

But Mikels said that as everyone gets more familiar with the city, they will see how much it has grown and changed. She considers it an honor that Simi Valley was chosen as the site for the trial.

“I think it’s a compliment that they are looking to this community . . . for a fair and safe trial,” she said.

“One thing is certain,” Mikels said, “between the presidential library and now this, Simi Valley no longer has a where-the-hell-is-it type of name.”