Was that one of those religious tent revivals? Nah, just termites.

A STEEPLE, BUT WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE?: Even the most sacred of places have pests.

For a day last week, First Christian Church in Torrance was hidden under a tent, except for a copper steeple on top.

The church was getting fumigated for termites, an elaborate extermination procedure that requires entire buildings be wrapped in cloth. Most people are accustomed to seeing the tents on homes or apartment buildings, but not on houses of worship.

“It looked kind of weird,” said Raymond Lambert, pastor of the 650-member congregation at El Dorado Avenue and Maple Street. “A lot of people came out taking pictures.”

The pest control was completed within 24 hours.

“A lot of people said it was the biggest tent they had ever seen,” Lambert said.

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DROP THAT CODE BOOK!: Sure, they’ve served the city as esteemed elected officials.

But former Lawndale City Council members have been asked to return all city property. That includes city badges and identification cards, copies of the municipal code books and zoning ordinances, business cards and all merchandise bearing the city logo.

Current city officials will send letters requesting that the items be returned. Former council members, commissioners and top city employees face fines of up to $250 if they don’t comply.

The new rule was passed by the City Council last week to prevent the misuse of city property.

“It has to do with accountability,” said Councilwoman Virginia M. Rhodes, who proposed the measure.

In one case, a former city official used a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s badge to get a discount on hotel accommodations, Rhodes said. She declined to elaborate, but the badge and identification cards are issued to council members, the city manager and city clerk for use in emergency situations.

Former City Manager James Arnold’s badge was found on a street corner in San Francisco last month, said Councilwoman Nancy J. Marthens. Although the ID was returned to the city, it could have ended up in the wrong hands, she said: “These things give you access to places you shouldn’t be if you’re not a public official.”

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JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE . . . : What got snagged in San Pedro fisherman Joe Caruso’s gill net the other day didn’t look anything like Flipper.

It was a 17-foot-long great white shark, caught about 15 miles off Santa Monica.

The shark, caught by Caruso and his crew aboard the 42-foot Horizon, weighed in at two tons, making it one of the largest great whites ever caught in these waters, according to local biologists and fishermen.

It is illegal to capture great whites unless it is for scientific or educational purposes. Fisherman who make such accidental catches in their nets must dispose of it at sea or they have to bury it, said a spokesman for the state Fish and Game Department. (If the shark is alive, they have to let it go or turn it over to a research institution.)

A biologist retrieved the shark’s liver for research, and Caruso plans to dump the rest of the carcass back into the ocean.

After he made the catch, Caruso told a story he might want to take to Dr. Doolittle. When the shark was tangled in his net, Caruso said, sea lions around his boat “started making love to each other, kissing and whatever. It was something unusual.”

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HOT WIRES: For Rancho Palos Verdes residents who live on or near Daladier Drive, overhead utility wires long have been a blight on the landscape.

Now, the city is coming to their rescue--public works officials want to put the lines underground. The catch: Some residents will be charged as much as $18,000 per household, a lot of money even by peninsula standards.

It’s enough to make Lee McGee gasp. He and some other homeowners have already sued the city, but the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council is moving forward; public hearings will be held Nov. 15 and Dec. 6.

“I can’t see (the public hearing) as a particularly good sign,” said McGee, who lives on Avenida Corona.

In all, 92 property owners would be billed $12,000 to $18,000 each. City officials say homeowners’ higher property values will offset the cost.

Opponents say most residents will protest the proposed assessment. In a 1989 survey, a little more than half of the property owners opposed it.

“I have every confidence that our majority still exists,” McGee said.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I was more or less filling every inch. It took a bit of doing to get me in.”

--John (Scotty) McGregor, 73, on his adventure in the Sea Urchin, a one-man submarine that just barely accommodated his 6 feet, 4 inches and 240 pounds. J10