CITY HALL ROUNDUP : Somehow, ‘Giorgio’s of Torrance’ doesn’t seem likely.

ROME, PARIS, LONDON, TORRANCE: You know Beverly Hills is shuddering, Santa Monica is wobbly-legged and Malibu is frantically trying to come up with a response. What would you expect, now that Torrance is promoting itself as Southern California’s real hidden oasis?

“Why would you want to shop or bop anywhere else?” asks the headline in a special advertising supplement in a South Bay newspaper this week. But as wonderful as Torrance is, we believe there should be some truth in advertising.

The city, Chamber of Commerce and other civic promoters are boasting that Torrance has 11 great hotels and 101-- 101? --fine restaurants. Indeed, we are told that “the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce believe in the retail sector of our city. We feel that to shop, eat and party in the city of Torrance is the only way to go.”

So forget Rodeo Drive. Think Del Amo Mall.

SLOWED TO A TROT: Torrance isn’t the only city trying to hype itself off the municipal heap. Inglewood recently tried to stir up renewed interest in local horse racing. They’re still waiting.

An ad campaign launched by Hollywood Park and the City of Inglewood to boost business at the track in the wake of the civil unrest featured an 800 number to call for directions. Ads ran for the first time this month in three area newspapers.

Ten telephone lines were installed at City Hall to handle what officials thought would be a flood of calls. The first day, though, only 12 people called. The second day, it dribbled to three.

COP CARDS: Hoping for a grand slam in community relations, the Carson City Council is considering handing out trading cards of Carson sheriff’s deputies to area youths.

Styled after baseball trading cards, the sheriff’s cards would contain color photos and biographical information, if not batting statistics. The program is modeled after a similar public relations effort in Santa Clarita.

It could cost the city more than $11,000, but officials say it would be worth the expense to foster better relations between youths and law enforcement.

“Far too often, the first contact a young person has with law enforcement is negative,” Councilwoman Sylvia Muise-Perez said. “If we have it in a positive way, maybe we can win some of those people over to our side.”

The cards would be handed out by deputies on patrol. One sample card shows deputy Hugh “Pac-Man” Kearns of the Santa Clarita Valley station posing beside a sheriff’s squad car. The card lists Kearns’ interests (cycling, weightlifting and swimming), along with a quote: “I want our community safe for everyone.”

Sheriff’s fever. Catch it.

PEN PALS: Peruse Ross Perot’s grass-roots campaign and you’ll see patches of Astroturf. Take the three pro-Perot letters sent last week for publication in our South Bay “Letters to the Editor” section.

The first, signed by a Torrance couple, began: “Our country is in deep economical trouble. We need a strong leader with acute business savvy. Someone who can cut to the chase, get to the bottom line, get the job done.”

The second, signed by another Torrance couple, expressed much the same sentiment--very much the same sentiment, in fact. It started: “Our country is in deep economical trouble. We need a strong leader with acute business savvy. Someone who can cut to the chase. . . . “

And the third . . . well, you get the idea: The letters were the same, word for word, right down to the “Sincerely.” That signifies one of two things: Either Perot’s campaign is less grass-rootsy than it appears, or the Texan is achieving an extraordinary degree of consensus.

LAST WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Torrance: City officials were notified last week that Treasurer Thomas C. Rupert will not return to work until Sept. 30 or later. The news came in a letter from a doctor for Rupert, who has been away from work since early February with an undisclosed illness. Rupert is receiving workers’ compensation benefits--90% of his salary--because the city has determined that his illness is job-related. The man in charge of city investments, Rupert came under fire last winter when the city lost more than $6 million in a scandal surrounding an Orange County investment adviser.

Manhattan Beach: The City Council approved a measure to increase parking meter rates in county and state beach parking lots from 75 cents to $1 per hour. The measure, which would become effective Sept. 1, must be approved by the county Department of Beaches and Harbors and the state Department of Parks and Recreation. The meter rate hike, which will generate an estimated $120,000 a year in additional revenues, will go toward meeting parking lot and pier operating costs.

THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Torrance: The Torrance City Council is expected to discuss city management benefits as it resumes its review of the 1992-93 city budget at a meeting starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The council postponed approving the budget last week after questions arose about the history and costs of those benefits.

MEETINGS THIS WEEK

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

Hawthorne: 7 p.m. Monday, 4455 West 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 W., 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 N., 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. Wednesday and Thursday, and at 10 a.m., 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday.