O<i> ne naked story in the city: : </i>

Two California Highway Patrol officers had stopped a motorcyclist for speeding on the San Diego Freeway in Long Beach when a pickup truck pulled to a stop in front of them. A man clad in his birthday suit alighted, made an obscene gesture, and then sped away, CHP spokesman Lyle Whitten said.

The officers told the motorcyclist that they’d mail him his citation, license and registration and set out after the truck. After a five-minute chase, they apprehended the naked driver, who was hospitalized for mental evaluation.

An hour later, the officers returned to find the motorcyclist still waiting where he’d been pulled over.

“He told them, ‘Where was I going to go without my driver’s license?’ ” Whitten said.

Since he was a good sport, the officers decided not to give him a citation.

Speaking of motorcycles, hard-headed Gov. George Deukmejian once again vetoed a bill making it mandatory to wear a helmet while riding same, but numerous individuals are wearing headgear anyway--including the two bears that performed on scooters in the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus here.

The accompanying photo of a building on Washington Boulevard downtown might inspire these lyrics:

Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall,

Ninety-nine bottles of beer,

Paint 47 over and contemplate:

Is the ad less filling or second-rate?

Century City is one of the last places you’d expect to find a gathering of hobos.

Nevertheless, the riders of the rails will be holding a regional session in the Century City Tavern this afternoon to honor their newly crowned king and queen.

The explanation is simple, says one of the ‘bos, Wandering Wills.

“A friend of mine owns the place, and he lets us use it for meetings,” said Wills, a sometime chef. “And Southern California is a good meeting point for people riding in from the East.”

Wills said delegates expected from around the nation include Santa Fe Bo (“he’s an actor”), Hopalong Chet, Itchy Feet, Whiskey Nancy and the royal couple, the El Paso Kid and Boxcar Ben (“Ben’s a woman”).

What are Wills’ plans after the meeting?

“Don’t know,” he said. “Hobos only know where they came from, never where they’re going.”

Events that shape our lives:

The Greater Los Angeles Visitors and Convention Bureau has announced that it’s changing its name to the Greater Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Or is it the other way around?