LAGUNA HEAT II: Maybe crime doesn’t pay,...

LAGUNA HEAT II: Maybe crime doesn’t pay, but fighting it certainly costs. The city of Laguna Beach received a record bill of $33,275 from the district attorney’s office--for prosecuting cases stemming from its Police Department’s stepped up patrols this past summer. . . . Especially effective was its new all-terrain vehicle for beach patrols. Points out city Police Chief Neil J. Purcell Jr.: There wasn’t a single gang-related incident during the summer, a sharp contrast to 1993. The increased patrols, he says, “definitely paid off.”

ROOM WITH NO VIEW: The market for self-storage garages has been down since the 1980s, but those in the business here say there are signs of renewed interest. Financial institutions see them as a great way to store records. Legal firms and medical centers are using them to store inactive files. And owners say they’re practical: One man in Irvine had a chair and rug in his, and went there daily to read. . . . The downside: One Laguna Hills tenant was caught recently growing 400 marijuana plants in his.

KNICKER FAN: Payne Stewart has two claims to fame in golf: Besides being a former U.S. Open winner, he’s the the only prominent player who wears knickers every round on tour. Now Stewart wants to be known for something else--golf course architecture. . . . Stewart will be in Fullerton today for business talks on his first design effort, the new par-70 Coyote Hills course just off Bastanchury Road. Part of the Unocal development, it will open in late 1995.

HER DEAL: One phase of golf men have long dominated: the corporate outing. That’s where executives take a day off to play for a charity. But the field is changing. This morning more than 100 executives--all women--will tee off at Seacliff Country Club in Huntington Beach for the Inaugural Women’s Golf Classic--a breast cancer fund-raiser. . . . Says a spokeswoman: “Golf is becoming a mainstay for women executives looking to close a deal with clients.”