CITY HALL ROUNDUP : In Hermosa Beach, they’re pumping pedals to catch a thief.

WHEELIES FOR JUSTICE: OK, we’ll give you a little hint. The next time you happen to see a couple of big guys on mountain bikes whispering into walkie-talkies at 2 a.m. in Hermosa Beach, chances are they’re not members of the Swiss national cycling team.

Can you say police officer? Seven car thieves are probably still muttering the words to themselves after being nabbed by a new night police patrol on two-wheelers.

Citing the stealth factor of bicycle patrols, Hermosa police dispatched a group of nocturnal pedal-pumping officers last week and they promptly broke up an auto theft ring 15 minutes into the new program.

After pinpointing an area that had been hit by a rash of auto thefts recently, the mounted police surprised seven thieves trying to break into a pair of cars. Police said the suspects were so stunned by the cycling cops that they didn’t even have time to toss away their burglary tools.

No word yet on how often the stealth squad will be deployed, but with that kind of track record, can detectives on Rollerblades be far behind?

WHALING WALL: THE SEQUEL: You’d better get one last look at Redondo Beach’s “Whaling Wall XXXI,” the largest mural in the United States and one of the city’s biggest reasons for existing.

It’s not that the 54,000-square-foot mural, on the wall of the Southern California Edison plant on Harbor Drive, is going anywhere. It’s just that it’s about to be drowned out of the record books by another mammoth mural.

Artist Robert Wyland is beginning work next month on another painting that will make Redondo Beach’s portrait of migrating whales seem like just another concrete blowfish.

The outside wall of the Long Beach Arena--that’s 2.67 acres in all--will later this year become the world’s largest mural and the 33rd in Wyland’s planned series of more than 100 “whaling walls.”

There remains one slim chance, however, that Redondo Beach will cling to the mural title. All Wyland has to do is screw it up.

During debate at last week’s Long Beach City Council meeting, Long Beach Mayor Ernie Kell asked: “What if people find it totally repulsive?”

City Manager James C. Hankla responded, “It could be repainted any time.”

SOMEBODY UP THERE WANTS YOU: Lawndale City Clerk Neil Roth wants to get the vote out in municipal elections next month, and he’s enlisted none other than Uncle Sam--all eight feet of him--to help him in his quest.

A likeness of the lanky, stars-and-stripes-clad gent now presides over the humble city from a perch on the roof of City Hall.

Roth, you see, knows better than most that every vote counts. Nine years ago he lost a bid for a City Council seat by a single vote.

“I can’t tell you how many people came up to me and apologized,” Roth said. “They all thought they were the one” that lost him the election.

It should be noted that Roth’s defeat became the model for a civics lesson in his daughter’s government class at Leuzinger High School.

Lawndale residents could use a refresher course in civics themselves. In recent elections, no more than 25% of the city’s registered voters have bothered to cast a ballot.

“There’s an awful lot of apathy here and we’re trying very, very hard to motivate people any way we can to encourage participation,” said Sandy Forrest, the deputy city clerk. She said she expects that Uncle Sam’s presence will be such a hit that soon “every city in the South Bay is going to steal our idea.”

Somehow, we think not.

RETURN TO SENDER?: Carl Malone loves a hot spot. Kuwait, Las Vegas and now, Hermosa Beach.

Malone, who alerted city officials that he left his last job at the Kuwait Institute for Development due to “Invasion by Iraq,” is now being investigated by the city for circumstances surrounding his departure from Nevada’s garish gambling capital.

Malone, recently named as Hermosa’s public works director, may have to defend his claim that he voluntarily left a previous position as Las Vegas city engineer in 1986.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported at the time that Malone was fired from the post in a dispute with the city. When questions of the termination were raised last week in the Easy Reader newspaper, Malone insisted that he was not fired.

“I think Carl Malone should be put on a temporary appointment basis, and we should start the search all over the again,” said Councilman Robert Benz, a controversial cable television host who spoofs the city on his “Burgie Live” show. “This is more than laughable. It’s something that should be on ‘Burgie Live.’ ”

LAST WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Manhattan Beach: The City Council rejected a proposal to charge admission for prime court-side seats at the Manhattan Beach Open beach volleyball tournament on the July 4th weekend. But the council directed the city Parks and Recreation Commission to meet with the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals to come up with rules for a more orderly seating plan.

Redondo Beach: The city announced that it will celebrate its 100th anniversary on April 29 by holding a party in front of City Hall from 6 to 9 p.m. The event, organized by the Redondo Beach Visitors Bureau, will feature refreshments, fireworks and centennial souvenirs. A second party will take place the evening of Sept. 6 at the pier and harbor, officials said.

Carson: The City Council upheld 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.

MEETINGS THIS WEEK

Gardena: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, 1700 W. 162nd St., Gardena. (310) 217-9565. Televised live on Channel 22 (Paragon) and repeated at 7 p.m. on the next two Sundays.

Hawthorne: 7 p.m. Monday, 4455 W. 126th St., Hawthorne. (310) 970-7902. Televised on Channel 22 (Paragon) at 7 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday and 6 p.m. Saturday.

Hermosa Beach: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, 1315 Valley Drive, Hermosa Beach. (310) 318-0239. Televised live on Channel 3 (Multivision).

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

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.

Palos Verdes Estates: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, 340 Palos Verdes Drive West, Palos Verdes Estates. (310) 378-0383. No cable telecast.

Rolling Hills: 7:30 p.m. Monday, 2 Portuguese Bend Road, Rolling Hills. (310) 377-1521. No cable telecast.

Rolling Hills Estates: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, 4045 Palos Verdes Drive North, Rolling Hills Estates. (310) 377-1577. Televised live on Channel 3 (Dimension).

Torrance: 7 p.m. Tuesday, 3031 Torrance Blvd., Torrance. (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.