IT'S SUMMERTIME AND POLITICIANS HAVE GONE CRAZY BIZARRE: IT'S SILLY SEASON AT CITY HALL AS COUNCIL, POLICE CHIEF PUT ON A SHOW.

Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh and Rick Orlov

Staff Writers

There was the West Hollywood councilman chastising the Los Angeles police chief for "outing" celebrity Lindsay Lohan.

There was the city councilwoman with a giant foam finger hailing a cab outside downtown's Disney Hall.

And, thanks to another councilman, it was officially Motley Crue Day in the city of Los Angeles.

And that was all before noon Thursday.

The sun was barely up when the latest catfight between Councilman Dennis Zine and Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton hit the airwaves.

Zine was on KNBC (Channel 4) promoting his special hearing -- complete with celebrity appearances -- to rein in paparazzi bad behavior.

Bratton was so incensed, he cut short his workout and headed over to KNBC reporter Robert Kovacik to berate Zine's hearing as a "farce" and "total waste of time."

Still in a T-shirt with his workout towel around his neck, Bratton continued:

"As you notice, since Britney started wearing clothes and behaving, Paris is out of town, not bothering anybody anymore, thank God, and evidently Lindsay Lohan has gone gay, we don't have much of an issue."

Bratton and Zine have clashed before.

During a debate last year over LAPD's hiring standards, the chief went on television and infamously said the councilman didn't know what the hell he was talking about.

It was an observation Bratton also repeated again Thursday.

But Bratton's update on the tabloid starlets irked some other folks.

West Hollywood City Councilman John Duran said he was "troubled" by Bratton's comment that Lohan "turned gay," according to the Los Angeles Times.

The police chief, clearly familiar with the latest celebrity gossip, was referring to the actress's reported romance with DJ Samantha Ronson.

Later, Bratton qualified his comment, saying that Lohan had apparently found a relationship that has "quieted her down."

He added that "nobody is more of a supporter of gay rights than I am."

While Zine and Bratton were sparring over media coverage of L.A.'s celebrity underbelly, Councilman Tom LaBonge was celebrating it.

The history-quoting councilman from Silver Lake honored heavy metal rock band Motley Crue with a star on the Guitar Center's Hollywood RockWalk and by declaring Thursday Motley Crue's "Saints of Los Angeles" Day.

The proclamation notes that Motley Crue is "one of the most successful and notorious hard rock bands in music and were rebellious leaders of the 'L.A. sleaze rock' movement."

Sleaze rock? Really?

LaBonge demurred when asked if he's a fan of the band, whose hits include "Girls, Girls, Girls" and "Smokin' in the Boys Room," their cover of the 1970s Brownsville Station hit.

He said he simply wanted to support the Guitar Center and support an L.A. band.

"That Tommy Lee has more ink on his body than I had in high school printing class, and I got an A in that class so that should tell you how much ink we're talking about," LaBonge said.

Nevertheless, no rocker is too cool or too sleazy for LaBonge's trademark gift: pumpkin bread baked by the nuns at the Monastery of Angels in the Hollywood Hills.

Tommy Lee and crew left with a few loaves.

Back downtown, Councilwomen Jan Perry and Wendy Greuel were living their own L.A. moment outside Disney Hall.

In honor of a new pilot program that allows people downtown and in Hollywood to hail a cab -- welcome to big city living, Los Angeles! -- the two councilwomen kindly demonstrated the art of flagging a taxi.

Quickly enter and exit the cab. No dillydallying.

You can whistle or you can yell.

Wave from the curb. No standing in the street.

"That's good to know because that's what I do when I'm in San Francisco or New York," said Perry.

Since this is a new concept in L.A., Perry wore a giant yellow University of Southern California foam finger to catch the attention of passing cabbies.

They were able to catch a cab easily -- but just in case, a line of yellow taxis was parked on the other side of Disney Hall waiting to stop for the novice hailers and their VIPs.

[e-mail]

213-978-0390

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Councilwomen Jan Perry, left, and Wendy Greuel demonstrate the proper way to hail a cab in downtown Los Angeles. You can whistle, yell and wave from the curb, they say, but no standing in the street. Looking for an edge, Perry wears a USC foam finger.

Photo by Bruce Gillman

(2 -- color) Thursday was Motley Crue's "Saints of Los Angeles" Day, according to Councilman Tom LaBonge. The band was honored with a star on the Hollywood RockWalk.

Photo by Gene Blevins

(3 -- color) COUNCILMAN DENNIS ZINE

(4 -- color) LAPD CHIEF WILLIAM BRATTON