The buzz in Redondo is that it’s turning over a new leaf.

BLOWING IN THE WIND: Got an old, smoky leaf blower? The city of Redondo Beach might just take it off your hands and give you $50 to boot.

The city wants to clear the streets of old, buzzing blowers, which some residents complain not only clear the streets of leaves but also any sense of calm and tranquillity.

So in February, in exchange for old leaf blowers, the city will offer a $50 credit to residents and local gardeners toward the purchase of kinder, gentler blowers that are quieter and meet more stringent emissions standards.

Redondo’s offer might not sound as glamorous as the cash-for-guns program other cities have going, but Redondo officials hope they’ll collect several hundred old leaf blowers just the same.

The city will accept as many as 300 blowers over a 90-day period. Residents will be limited to one leaf blower trade-in during the period, while city-licensed gardeners will be allowed to trade in up to three blowers.

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ANOTHER ROADSIDE DISTRACTION: Critics saw the Rancho Palos Verdes plan to beautify its streets as more of an uglification plan, so the city has trashed the whole program.

The City Council voted 4 to 0 to ditch its version of the adopt-a-road program, used to fund litter cleanup. The thumbs-down followed several complaints during a council discussion of the issue last week.

The program allowed participants to “adopt” a two-mile stretch of road by donating about $1,000 a year for litter removal. And in case civic pride wasn’t enough motivation to get involved, the city trumpeted the contributions with a roadside sign recognizing the act.

Residents and council members agreed the signs were worse pollution than the trash they were replacing. The criticism focused on the size of the signs.

“You can hide the whole City Council behind it,” quipped Councilman John C. McTaggart.

Most of the signs are 6 feet by 4 1/2 feet, and were placed along main arterials such as Hawthorne and Crenshaw boulevards. As of Dec. 20, the city had sold eight of them, but they will be taken down.

Thanks to the program, the city took in $7,300 to pay for litter removal over the past year, but spent $4,000 to buy the signs.

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ONE MAN’S TRASH IS . . .: Ousted Democratic leaders bade farewell to their congressional staffs, gave farewell speeches and cleaned out their offices.

It means new rules for House members, a possible tidal wave of Republican legislation and, for Republican Rep. Steve Horn of Long Beach, a scavenging extravaganza.

In the past few weeks, departing members of Congress have thrown out old congressional directories, stationery, phone books, even awards and plaques. So Horn, whose district covers parts of San Pedro, went searching through the halls for written treasures.

“He went nuts,” said an aide to Horn, an avid book collector and historian with more than 7,000 titles. “He was finding all kinds of wonderful books.”

Among Horn’s best finds: a complete set of congressional directories from 1940 to 1994 and five copies of “Women in Congress: 1789 to 1940.” (He then donated several of those copies to Long Beach schoolteachers.)

“Some people were tossing out decades-old stuff,” the aide said.

Word soon spread around Capitol offices that the best stuff was in bins outside the House Ways and Means Committee. Many of the books belonged to outgoing Speaker Thomas Foley (D-Wash.)

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“If you have something controversial, that gets everyone hot under the collar, and you are so busy doing that, you don’t have time to be old--and that’s good.”

--Ethyl Allen, 68, who participates in Omnilore, a mini-college for retirees that meets at Knob Hill Community Center in Redondo Beach. J8