A candidate for City Council sees the light and takes her campaign to church.

PULPIT POLITICS: Los Angeles City Council candidate Janice Hahn made it clear last week that she intends to campaign hard in area churches in an effort to unseat incumbent Joan Milke Flores.

A press release from Hahn’s campaign said the candidate will visit three churches today, including First Holy Mount Zion in Harbor City. It also trumpeted her previous visits to area churches--preeminent meeting places in District 15 that stretches from Watts to San Pedro.

“I want these people to know that they can count on me, they will have an advocate at City Hall,” Hahn said.

The announcement harks yet again--to Hahn’s father, Kenneth, the longtime county supervisor who recently retired from office. Before entering politics, the elder Hahn taught at Pepperdine University, a private institution affiliated with the Church of Christ.

Janice, by the way, attended Pepperdine and got her teaching degree at Abilene Christian University. She later taught several courses, including history, at Good News Christian Academy in Los Angeles.

HOORAY FOR INGLEWOOD: “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” Nothing, say the makers of a new movie about the life of superstar Tina Turner. Inglewood had an empty hotel--the vacant Airport Park near the Forum--and Touchstone Pictures used it to shoot some scenes for its Tina movie, due out this summer.

The movie stars Angela Bassett as Tina and Larry Fishburne as her former husband and musical partner, Ike.

Inglewood officials say they are delighted to have the city play even a bit part in the movie. They have been wary of Tinsel Town ever since “Grand Canyon,” a critically acclaimed movie last year that depicted Inglewood as a dangerous place.

HOLY SHIP!: Maybe former President George Bush wasn’t wrong. Maybe there was never a recession. Certainly it didn’t affect the people paying as much as $498,625 for the 104-day World Cruise on the Queen Elizabeth 2. The price of a cabin for the World Cruise starts at $28,905 per person and climbs to half a million dollars for a luxury split-level apartment.

The 13-story cruise ship pulls into Berth 91 at the Port of Los Angeles at 8 a.m. today, where it will remain until 11 p.m. Then it heads for visits to 45 ports and six continents.

For the once-fabulously wealthy who have been hurt by the recession and are now only super rich, the QE2 offers a variety of economy conscience packages that include its 56-day Pacific & Orient Odyssey economy package. Cruise segments from five to 24 days are still available for the rock bottom price of $1,770 per person.

POLICY ENSURED: Not long ago, Gardena worried that it wouldn’t be able to get liability insurance. Now it is poised to sell policies to other cities.

The state Department of Insurance has approved a unique permit allowing the city to sell municipal insurance policies.

“With the liability insurance crisis, there just are not any options out there,” said City Manager Kenneth W. Landau, architect of the plan by Councilman Mas Fukai. “The municipal insurance industry left California seven years ago.”

Since then cities have formed insurance pools or have insured themselves, setting aside portions of their operating budget toward expected lawsuit losses--most of which stem from people injured on city walkways or by police actions.

Gardena dropped out of a pool last summer, Landau said, because “we were nervous about risk-sharing in a pool. If one city had a huge loss, we would have to pay.”

So Gardena appropriated about $4 million for insurance losses, and then set about forming its own company to insure itself and, possibly, make some money.

The city awaits approval to issue about $10 million in bonds, with revenue from insurance premiums expected to cover the debt. The city is hoping to attract 300 cities to its company, Landau said. Within five years the company is projected to generate $50 million in dividends, which would be shared by the cities that have policies with the company, Landau said.

GREEN FEES: Financially strapped Rancho Palos Verdes thinks it has found a way to swing an extra $300,000 a year.

If the City Council has its way, the city will tax golfers, collecting a 10% user fee from thousands of players on the county-owned Los Verdes Golf Course. The tax would add from $1.50 to $3 to a round of golf, officials said.

Hearings will be held sometime in March and the new tax could go into effect not long after that, if approved.

The idea has irked golfers. “The city has never put a penny into this course . . . it belongs to the county,” said Craig Kessler, spokesman for the Southern California Public Links Golf Assn.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“My mother made me wear it. But you can’t do anything good. I have to wear shorts under it to do flips.”

Eight-year-old Erika Pope objecting last week to the school uniform she wears at Centinela Elementary, a public school in Inglewood. The uniform consists of a plaid jumper, white short-sleeved shirt and burgundy sweater.

LAST WEEK’S CITY HALL HIGHLIGHTS

El Segundo: The City Council interviewed the top half a dozen or so candidates for the job of city manager. In all, 105 people applied for the job. City officials say they hope to have a new manager by March 1. The current manager, Frank Meehan, says the sooner the better. He wants to retire.

Carson: The City Council, acting as the redevelopment agency, hired Bradfield Design Inc. to update the city’s promotional video and brochures. The materials will be used primarily to help lure businesses to the city. The update will cost $23,516 and is expected to be completed in April or May.

THIS WEEK’S CITY HALL HIGHLIGHTS

Gardena: Mayor Donald L. Dear will review the past year and list goals for the city during the annual state of the city luncheon address on Monday, noon, at the Elk’s Lodge, 1735 W. 162nd St. The event is sponsored by the Gardena Valley Chamber of Commerce. The cost is $10. Dear is in his fifth year as mayor.