CITY HALL ROUNDUP : Vegas to Kuwait to Hermosa, new official has a lot of sand in his background.

THE REBUILDING OF HERMOSA: Hermosa Beach’s aging downtown needs a face lift. The city’s sewer system is strained. The Strand is crumbling underfoot after years of overuse. Clearly, this is a job for Carl Malone.

This is a man skilled in dealing with disaster areas. After all, he’s worked in Kuwait and Las Vegas.

Last week he was hired as Hermosa’s new public works director after four years as manager of project development for the Kuwait Institute for Development.

City officials said Malone beat out 25 other applicants because of his broad experience both in Kuwait and Las Vegas, where he held several government posts. His communication skills were also a plus. He wrote an essay on the proper role of a public works director and displayed an incredible gift of understatement on his application form.

Indeed, no one will ever be able to question why he left his last job. When asked, he noted simply: “Invasion by Iraq.”

JUST THE FAX: Patrick E. Keller, Hawthorne’s elusive former city clerk, might have thought he could smooth over the controversy aroused by revelations that he lives in Hawaii by simply faxing in his resignation.

Think again.

City officials, who are still catching flak for not revealing Keller’s cross-Pacific address sooner, have asked the city attorney’s office to investigate the feasibility of suing Keller for the $28,000 he earned during the four years he lived out of state while doubling as the town’s resident clerk.

The request by Councilman Charles Bookhammer last week came at the prompting of gadfly Frances Stiglich, whose detective work with city phone bills helped bring Keller’s living arrangements to light.

But some council members are wondering if the lawsuit would be worth it--especially since there are rumors that Keller, who owns a hair salon in Hawaii and has begun to sell real estate, is barely eking out a living as it is.

“I would want to know what would be involved, the cost to do it and could he pay (us) back,” Councilwoman Betty J. Ainsworth said. “I wouldn’t want to spend a lot on legal fees and then not be able to recover anything.”

BACK IN THE SADDLE: And now the news you’ve all been waiting for. The Rolling Hills Estates City Council last week voted to allow the Portuguese Bend National Horse Show to move from the Empty Saddle Club to Ernie Howlett Park on Hawthorne Boulevard.

The annual show, which raises funds for Childrens Hospital, is scheduled for Labor Day weekend.

Show officials asked to move the event to Howlett Park because it is more spacious and offers better parking facilities. Additionally, some neighbors around the Empty Saddle Club have complained about congestion in their neighborhood when the show is in progress.

City staff recently conducted a horse-jumping demonstration at the park and determined that with proper care, the horses would not damage the soccer field and baseball diamonds that will be used during the show.

More important, they’ve promised to clean up after themselves, although you might want to step gingerly when rounding second base.

THE BEAT GOES ON: Sonny Bono, we got you babe. Just when you thought you could get away with suggesting that you had little practice in debate for your run at the U.S. Senate, a local watchdog in Redondo Beach tipped us off.

In fact, informal debate used to be your forte, according to Bill Kamrath, one of your former mentors at Inglewood High School.

“Sonny and I used to have many of our own private debates about his attendance at (school government) meetings,” said Kamrath, a retired journalism professor at El Camino College. Though Sonny has done his best to act the part of a polished politician, Kamrath said Bono’s tardiness and personal appearance in those days did not exactly inspire confidence among his teachers.

Still, Kamrath says, Bono did surprise him. Before he graduated, Bono told Kamrath that he had begun writing songs. “He really proved himself,” Kamrath says.

LAST WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Rolling Hills: The City Council on Monday introduced an ordinance banning the use of steel-jawed leg-hold traps in the city because of the danger they pose to city residents, their pets and area wildlife. Under present law, the use of such traps is allowed if the trapper first gets a permit. The new ordinance prohibits the traps except under special circumstances when federal or state officials must use them to control the spread of diseases like rabies. The measure, which becomes effective in 45 days, was proposed several months ago when city officials learned that a fox had been caught in a leg-hold trap. The animal was released unhurt back to the wild and the resident, who was unaware that a permit was necessary to use the trap, was not prosecuted.

El Segundo: The City Council has failed to make its own deadline to adopt the General Plan, meaning the job will probably fall to the new council to be elected April 14. Council members are still reviewing elements of the plan, which calls for higher densities in commercial and industrial areas now occupied by sprawling aerospace firms that are expected to go on scaling back their operations. Low-growth advocates have made the General Plan a central issue in the campaign and want the proposed densities lowered.

THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Carson: The City Council will consider an appeal of a Samoan Church’s bingo license suspension. The suspension was imposed by the city’s finance director after an investigation of charges that the church was paying its bingo workers in violation of a city ordinance and state law.

Manhattan Beach: The City Council on Tuesday will consider whether to charge admission for courtside seats at the Manhattan Beach Open men’s volleyball tournament on the Fourth of July weekend. The city Parks and Recreation Commission voted 6-0, with one abstention, to approve the admission plan submitted by the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals. Officials in neighboring Hermosa Beach last week rejected paid admission for the August men’s championship tournament on their beach.

Torrance: The public can comment on the proposed 1992-94 city budget at a workshop in the City Council chambers Tuesday.

OTHER MEETINGS THIS WEEK

Avalon: 7 p.m. Tuesday, 209 Metropole. (310) 510-0220. Televised live on Channel 3 (Catalina Cable) and repeated Saturday morning. 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 p.m. Tuesday, 1 Manchester Blvd. (310) 412-5280. No cable telecast.

Lawndale: 7 p.m. Thursday, 14717 Burin Ave. (310) 973-4321. Televised live on Channel 60 and repeated several times during the week.

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.

Rancho Palos Verdes: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Hesse Park, 29201 Hawthorne Blvd. (310) 377-0360. Televised live on Channel 3; repeated at 7:30 p.m. the following Tuesday.

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.