53 VALLEY BARS FACE WARNINGS IN SMOKING BAN.

Byline: Anne Burke Daily News Staff Writer

Nine days after smoking became illegal at bars and casinos in California, local authorities geared up Friday to take enforcement action against dozens of San Fernando Valley watering holes.

Letters are expected to be mailed Monday alerting owners throughout Los Angeles to complaints of smoking violations at their establishments, say city and county officials.

In the Valley, authorities will mail warnings to at least 53 bars where patrons or employees reportedly have lighted up since the ban took effect Jan. 1, officials said.

One warning will go to the Casting Office on Cahuenga Boulevard West near Universal City. A frustrated Teena Iversen, the lounge's manager, said she tells smokers to step outside, but not all do.

``It's really hard. What are we supposed to do?'' said Iversen, who estimates that the ban has reduced business by about 30 percent.

Officials concede that it will take patrons awhile to get used to the new rules, and are allowing a period of adjustment before citations are issued. Citations, which start at $100 for the first offense, will come only after two warning letters, and then only if an enforcement agent witnesses someone smoking.

Bars that continue to violate the ban after a citation could face misdemeanor prosecution, city attorney's spokesman Ted Goldstein said.

Despite the tough talk from authorities, smoke-filled bars are not a thing of the past in Southern California.

At Barney's Beanery in West Hollywood, the floor is littered with cigarette butts. ``We're `BYO' now,'' joked bartender Ben Vega.

``That's `bring your own' - as in ashtray.''

The Palace in Hollywood has a patio for legal, outdoor smoking, but ``we're getting an awful lot of burns in the carpet,'' said owner Kate Nelson, president of the California Licensed Beverage Association.

At the Bac Street Lounge in Redondo Beach, smokers are asked to sign a log acknowledging that they're aware they're in a no-smoking establishment.

Lounge owner David Berryhill of the South Bay Beverage Association insists he's not breaking the law. He says the smoking ban, as written, requires only that bar owners post ``No Smoking'' signs and ask smokers to refrain from lighting up.

If smokers ignore them, the law does not require the owner to take further action, Berryhill said.

Gene La Pietra, president of the California Business and Tavern Guild, said owners who sidestep the ban risk serious administrative action by the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

``We are advising all of our members to comply,'' said La Pietra, who owns two Hollywood discos.

That's what McRed's Lounge owner Mamdouh Saliman did. On Friday he told customers at his Van Nuys bar to stub out their cigarettes, after allowing them to puff away since the ban passed.

Saliman had tried to get around the law by firing his three bartenders and becoming an owner-operated establishment. But by Thursday, the long hours had finally worn him out.

He hired back his staff, put away the ashtrays and retired to his usual place, the office, where he was nursing a swollen ankle and catching up on paperwork.

On Friday, Saliman's smoking patrons were having nicotine fits, but not angry ones.