A summary of selected City Hall actions last week affecting Central Los Angeles.

CITY COUNCIL

* DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS: Authorized the use of $3.4 million for a domestic violence shelter program that will result in a 150% increase in the number of beds available to battered women and their children. The funding, to be used for renovation, acquisition, development and operating expenses, will add 192 beds to shelters throughout the city, increasing the total number of beds to 292. The motion unanimously passed the council without debate, but Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, a leader on the domestic-violence issue, said: “For the city of Los Angeles to make this significant step should not go unnoticed. The work of the Domestic Violence Task Force, the Housing and Community Redevelopment Committee, and the Board of Public Safety should be applauded.” Dr. Marjorie Braude, leader of the Domestic Violence Task Force, said last year that there were 65,000 emergency calls regarding domestic violence and that although this motion provides for a huge increase in the number of shelter beds, it is still an “excruciatingly low number considering the size of the city.” Originally only a domestic-violence committee, the task force was formed a year ago in the wake of reports about domestic violence incidents involving Nicole Brown Simpson and O.J. Simpson. Among the agencies that will receive funding are the Center for the Pacific Asian Family in the Hollywood/Fairfax area, (213) 653-4042; the Jenesse Center Inc. in West Adams, (213) 751-1145; the American Philanthropy Assn. in Mid-Wilshire, (phone number not available); 1736 Family Crisis Center in South-Central and the South Bay, (310) 379-3620, and L.A. House of Ruth in Boyle Heights, (213) 266-4139. The general hot line number is (800) 978-3600.

* MURDER REWARD: Approved offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the June 9 murder of Jose Escobar, a cashier at the Mobil gas station at 315 W. Vernon Ave. The suspect entered the station about 4:45 p.m. and, without provocation, fired one fatal shot into the back of Escobar as he was attempting to flee. Anyone with information about the slaying can call Detective J.D. Furr at (213) 485-5277.

* SAVING SCULPTURES: Authorized the controller to transfer $15,000 from the general fund to a new fund titled Save Outdoor Sculpture, part of a nationwide effort spearheaded by the Smithsonian Institute to locate, document, describe and preserve America’s outdoor sculptures. The money will be used for a pilot program to hire conservators who will assess the best ways to preserve and restore the outdoor sculptures at Lincoln Park and and MacArthur Park. The main work at Lincoln Park is a 1922 bust of Abraham Lincoln and the principal pieces at MacArthur Park are a 1954 bust of General Douglas MacArthur and a 1935 statue of Prometheus, the mythological Greek titan. The assessment will take place in the summer. Eventually, all of the city’s outdoor sculptures will be reviewed.