A suggested change sparks a round of sectionalism in Manhattan Beach.

WHAT’S IN A NAME: In affluent Manhattan Beach, “East of Sepulveda” apparently just doesn’t instill that sense of community pride some residents yearn for. That’s why “East of Sepulveda” resident Lois Robertson urged the City Council this week to officially designate her neighborhood as the city’s “Parks Section.”

In fact, other sections of the city, most of them “West of Sepulveda,” have enjoyed such informal sobriquets for years. Courtesy of local real estate companies, parts of Manhattan Beach are known as the Gaslight District, the Sand Section and the Hill Section.

In addition to being more descriptive, Robertson explained, the renaming would help “unite the city by areas.” But her plan already shows signs of backfiring.

Council member Bonnie Sieber, whose home falls within the proposed Parks Section, wants a subsection where she lives called “Poets Section” since most of the streets bear the names of famous English and American poets.

The council is open to suggestions on the wisdom of official names. But Sieber cautions: “Whether people will agree on those names is another matter.”

HAIL TO THE CHIEF: Fires have a new enemy in Gardena. His name is Craig Pedego and he’s the city’s new fire chief.

Pedego, 47, replaced Andy Bero, who retired last month after 36 years with the department.

The new chief heads a 57-member department that last year responded to 4,700 calls, 265 of them fires. A former structural engineer in the San Fernando Valley, Pedego said he has a passion for firefighting--but was not sure early in his career that he had the stomach for it.

“I’m kind of a sensitive person and I was not sure how I would handle going out on (a call to rescue) young people but you get a good feeling after you save somebody or protect somebody’s property,” he said.

High on his list of priorities is a plan to better inform the public about what to do in a disaster.

“People have the tendency to believe the fire department or the police department will be there to help them after an earthquake, and that may not be the case,” Pedego said.

SOLVED MYSTERIES: A ring valued at several thousand dollars was stolen in December from the home of a Palos Verdes Estates woman. The owner was sure she would never get it back.

But then crack police detective Glen Nagamoto was assigned to the case. He found the ring. It had been stolen by the woman’s maid.

In higher-crime cities, detective work of this variety might go unnoticed. But not in Palos Verdes Estates, where more than a few residents enlist domestic help. At a City Council meeting this week, Police Chief Gary Johansen went out of his way to praise the detective for a job well done. He told the council that Nagamoto has solved at least two other cases in which domestic workers stole property from their employers.

“He got one person to admit to the crime and write a letter of apology,” Johansen said. “On another occasion, he got a woman to produce pawn slips.”

Nagamoto, who began working with the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department in 1986 as a dispatcher, “puts his whole heart and soul into investigating a case,” Johansen said. “(He is) a very good interrogator. People feel comfortable talking to him. He’s willing to take the time it takes, and that makes all the difference in the world.”

ROOM WITH NO VIEW: Debra Dreier of Redondo Beach has been seeing red--green, actually--ever since a city-owned Eucalyptus tree grew large enough to block her ocean view.

Last month she and several other like-minded neighbors petitioned the city to chop down five Eucalyptus trees from a right of way on south Gertruda Avenue. The City Council voted to preserve the trees but said it would consider removal requests from residents complaining about trees in front of their homes.

Dreier took them up on the offer. This week, she formally asked the city to get rid of one flowering Eucalyptus tree smack in front of her home. The tree not only blocks her view, but also requires a lot of weekly maintenance, Dreier said. Its leaves are dry and brittle “and could be a fire hazard if allowed to accumulate,” she said.

But, faced with the formal request, the council voted to refer the matter to its staff for further review.

Harry Johnson, a public works supervisor in the city’s parks division, said he is sympathetic to the problems trees can cause. His father lost his ocean view thanks to the dense foliage of a neighbor’s tree. Still, he said, the city’s longstanding policy to preserve healthy trees is not likely to change on the whim of a single homeowner.

“Trees belong to the world,” Johnson said. “They live longer than people in many cases.”

LAST WEEK’S CITY HALL HIGHLIGHTS

Beach Cities: The South Bay Hospital District board voted Thursday to change the district’s name to the Beach Cities Health District. District officials had said that residents often confused the district with the South Bay Hospital.

Harbor Gateway: Los Angeles Unified School District board member Warren Furutani formally announced that he will seek the Los Angeles City Council seat occupied by Joan Milke Flores.

THIS WEEK’S CITY HALL HIGHLIGHTS

Inglewood: The City Council will discuss whether the city ought to be auctioning off weapons confiscated by police. Three council members are on record saying the practice ought to be stopped.

Torrance: The City Council will consider a proposal by the Torrance Skate Assn. that would allow that group to build a multiuse roller rink at Wilson Park at no cost to the city. The association is trying to find a home in the South Bay for youth and adult roller hockey, a fast-growing sport in which players are equipped with in-line skates.

South Bay: El Camino College will open its new child development center, with youngsters cutting the ribbon, on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. The center is open to children from the area who need day care.

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.