Horse stable spotlights have sleepless neighbor longing for the dark.

LIGHT MY IRE: For Victor Meyer, the sight of horseback riders has become a little too dazzling of late. He says it’s all because of the bright lights at the city-run Palos Verdes Estates horse stables, which border his back yard.

The Rolling Hills Estates resident has sued the city of Palos Verdes Estates for illuminating its stables with 30-foot-high floodlights that, according to Meyer, disturb his sleep and force guests to squint when sitting in his living room.

“It’s like living near the 50-yard line,” said Meyer, 62, a 30-year resident of Sugarhill Drive. “The lights sometimes stay on ‘til midnight and come on as early as 4:30 a.m.”

Meyer said city officials have not responded to his complaints, prompting him to file suit in Torrance Superior Court. He is asking that the city not turn on the lights after 6 p.m. and before 7 a.m. He also wants Palos Verdes Estates to pay his legal costs and order horse enthusiasts to stop using bullhorns, another sore spot.

“We basically live like moles at night,” he said. “We draw the drapes, hunker down and do the best we can.”

Palos Verdes Estates City Manager James Hendrickson said the city is working on a plan to put a glare screen over the lights and to make sure they are shut off at 7:30 p.m. at least four nights a week, and one hour later on nights when riding lessons are given.

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BACK ON TRACK: Two weeks to the day after undergoing a heart transplant, Lawndale Councilman Larry Rudolph was back at City Hall.

He might miss one more council meeting, but Rudolph wanted to check in with city staff members, who were surprised at his improved appearance and speedy recovery.

“I don’t remember feeling this good,” said Rudolph, 55. “I have more energy. I go walking every day, but I probably go farther than I should.”

Rudolph received a new heart on June 9 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, about five weeks after he entered the hospital. He returned home the day before Father’s Day, greeted by family and friends and a “welcome home” display: Nearly every tree branch on his street had a red ribbon, and plastic foam hearts decorated signposts.

“That brightened him up,” said his wife, Shirley. “The whole city of Lawndale said, ‘Let’s unite together and pray for a good heart.’ Now it is for keeping the new one.”

Rudolph still plans to seek reelection in 1994 and run in the city’s 5-K race in October of that year.

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A VOTE FOR FREEDOM: Rep. Jane Harman (D-Marina del Rey), who represents much of the South Bay, has made up her mind about NASA’s space station Freedom: She supports the ambitious project that congressional opponents have labeled “this flying turkey.”

When the House Space, Science, and Technology Committee considered a spending bill for the project a couple of weeks back, Harman abstained, calling the job gain for heavily aerospace South Bay modest and worrying that the station may not be a good idea in austere times. Not to mention that the project, which already has cost $9 billion, has been plagued with cost overruns and delays. In addition, Harman said, she wanted to hear what President Clinton had to say about it.

Well, Clinton gave his nod to a scaled-down version of the project and the full House last week approved $12.7 billion for it over the next seven years. Harman voted for it, but with reservations, she said.

“The space station program will, I hope, be spared today, but a clear message will be delivered. Focus, discipline, careful planning and sound business practice must become NASA’s organizing principles,” she said.

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ONE MIGHTY DOG: Dogs have all the life. All play and no work. And they can make money, too. (For their masters, anyway.)

Marge Fulton of Redondo Beach collected $2,500 recently after her beagle, Casey, won the privilege to grace the cover of Mighty Dog’s 1994 calendar. A picture of Casey climbing a tree beat about 1,500 entries in the dog-food maker’s search for a pooch pin-up.

“He was just like a cat,” Fulton said. “He would follow animals he was chasing right up the tree. I don’t know if he can do it anymore. He’s a little bigger.”

He may have grown because he can help himself to the refrigerator by sticking his paw in the door. “He pretty much runs the show around here,” Fulton said.

The Mighty Dog calendar will come out in September. Mighty Dog also will donate a supply of its product to an animal shelter of Fulton’s choice.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I felt I was being given a choice between ax-murdering my mother and torturing the rest of my family, and I was miserable voting no and miserable voting yes.”

--Assemblywoman Debra Bowen, who represents part of the South Bay, on casting the deciding vote in the Assembly to approve the controversial $52-billion state budget. Bowen said she did not want to be tagged as the lawmaker who held up the budget, but that she worried about the shift in property tax revenue away from cities.