CITY HALL ROUNDUP : When this car’s on the streets, it’s not the driver that’s the hot dog.

MEALS ON WHEELS: Frankly, it’s a ridiculous-looking thing, but what do you expect from a company that makes hot dogs?

We’re talking, of course, about the Wienermobile, the motorized hot dog on wheels that Oscar Meyer has used for more than 50 years to tout its tube steaks. As it turns out, the Wienermobile’s origins have a South Bay angle: It was designed by Palos Verdes resident Harry Bradley, who is to cars what Christo is to landscapes.

Bradley, who has designed Indianapolis 500 race cars, the National Football League’s helmet cars and even the original line of Hot Wheels for Mattel toys, has turned his legendary talents on a new look for the rolling meat wagon, a prototype of which was unveiled in Los Angeles last week.

Wienermobile publicists say the new car “hauls buns.” However, a quick reference check shows that the souped-up frankfurter has long been in need of a new look. Company officials say the old design caused the vehicle to overheat. “The greatest design flaw,” one official said, “was the location of the cooling system under the bun.”

JOIN THE CLUB: Convening a candidates’ forum in Torrance on Tuesday night, the South Bay Young Republicans faced an astonishing crush of newcomers eager to join their club.

Was this the Next Generation Stampeding to the Right? The Gipper’s Old Party regaining its mid-’80s magic? The possibilities thrilled SBYR organizers, who also looked forward to collecting dues at $30 a head.

But the would-be membership drive wasn’t to be.

The newcomers were hoping to take part in--some might say pack--a vote that club members planned to decide which candidate to endorse in the 36th Congressional District race. Most were supporters of candidate Maureen Reagan, the former President’s daughter.

“See all these people here?” club Chairman Tom Shortridge, a paid political consultant for candidate Joan Milke Flores, said nervously before the start of the forum. “I don’t know any of them.”

Shortridge and other Young Republican organizers decided to allow only longtime members to take part in the endorsement vote, which followed the forum.

In a thrilling finale, none of the candidates could muster the two-thirds majority needed to win.

SHOWERS PREDICTED: Imagine the plight of the good citizens on Catalina Island. Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to spare. At least not while the drought lasted.

But they’re a happier bunch these days in the city of Avalon. For the long dry spell on Catalina Island is officially over, now that the rainy season has actually resurfaced in the Golden State. Southern California Edison Co., which operates the water system on this semiarid island 25 miles off Los Angeles Harbor, announced that it was pulling the plug on the island’s 25% mandatory water rationing plan.

“We’re back to normal,” said Edison’s Keith LeFever. He reported that the island’s 1,143-acre-foot reservoir is nearly full and will easily meet the demands of the busy summer season.

STAR GAZING: If she weren’t such a big star, we’d probably ignore this South Bay celebrity sighting completely. But since she just won her second Best Actress Oscar last week, we felt compelled to spread the news.

That’s right. It was none other than Jodie Foster who was seen dining at Casablanca in Hermosa Beach, just a few nights before the Academy Awards. Foster was honored last Monday night forher performance in “Silence of the Lambs,” the psychological thriller that swept all of the major awards.

No word yet on what Foster ordered. But she did have a friend over for dinner.

LAST WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Hermosa Beach: The City Council on Tuesday rejected a proposal to relieve the city’s $1-million budget shortfall by laying off three police officers and demoting three others. The plan presented by acting City Manager Steve Wisniewski, which was nixed in a 3-2 vote, would have cut close to $400,000 from the Police Department’s budget. Instead, the council set up a task force to investigate cuts throughout the city.

Rancho Palos Verdes: The Hon-Zuckerman proposal to build 83 homes and an 18-hole golf course on 258 acres of prime real estate overlooking the ocean moved one step closer to reality Tuesday with the approval of the Planning Commission.

The applicants, Palos Verdes Land Holding Co. and Zuckerman Building Co., filed an appeal immediately after the approval to speed the proposal along. The appeal sends the project to the City Council, where the first public hearing is tentatively scheduled for May 5.

THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Manhattan Beach: In response to record rainfall in recent weeks, the City Council on Tuesday will consider replacing the current 20% mandatory water conservation program with a voluntary 10% program.

Inglewood: Food, not fines, is the word this week at the Inglewood City Library. To mark National Library Week, which starts today, the City Council agreed to allow delinquent book borrowers to donate canned goods in lieu of library fines.

Palos Verdes Peninsula: Officials announced that PV Transit, a door-to-door transit service, will offer free rides to the polls April 14, when municipal elections are scheduled in Rancho Palos Verdes and Palos Verdes Estates. PV Transit is operated jointly by Rancho Palos Verdes, Palos Verdes Estates and Rolling Hills Estates.

Redondo Beach: The city’s Budget and Taxation Commission will have a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday to present its proposed budget cuts to the City Council. Potential cost-saving measures include raising the utility user’s tax, eliminating positions in City Hall, and reducing school and community programs.

MEETINGS THIS WEEK

Avalon: 7 p.m. Tuesday, 209 Metropole. (310) 510-0220. Televised live on Channel 3 (Catalina Cable) and repeated Saturday morning.

Carson: 6 p.m. Tuesday, 701 E. Carson St. (310) 830-7600. Televised at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday on Channel 26 (Continental Cablevision) and repeated the following Wednesday.

El Segundo: 7 p.m. Tuesday, 350 Main St. (310) 322-4670. Televised live on Channel 22 (Paragon) and repeated at noon Wednesday.

Inglewood: 7 p.m. Tuesday, 1 Manchester Blvd. (310) 412-5280. No cable telecast.

Lawndale: 7 p.m. Thursday, 14717 Burin Ave. (310) 973-4321. Televised live on Channel 60 and repeated several times during the week.

Lomita: 7 p.m. Monday, 24300 Narbonne Ave. (310) 325-7170. No cable telecasts.

Los Angeles: 10 a.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 200 N. Spring St., Los Angeles. In San Pedro, (310) 548-7637; in Wilmington, (310) 548-7586; in Harbor City/Harbor Gateway, 548-7664; in Westchester, (310) 641-4717. Televised live on Channel 35; meetings repeated individually at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and collectively on Sunday starting at 10 a.m.

Manhattan Beach: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, 1400 Highland Ave. (310) 545-5621. Televised on Channel 3 (MultiVision) at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Rancho Palos Verdes: 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, Hesse Park, 29201 Hawthorne Blvd. (310) 377-0360. Televised live on Channel 3; repeated at 7:30 p.m. the following Tuesday.

Redondo Beach: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, 415 Diamond St. (310) 372-1171. Televised live on Channel 8 (Century); repeated at 3 p.m. Wednesday and 6 p.m. Sunday.

Torrance: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, 3031 Torrance Blvd. (310) 618-5880. Televised live on Channel 22 (Paragon), and replayed at 10 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, and at 10 a.m., 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.