TIPOFF HAHN ADMITS HE'S A LITTLE JEALOUS OF VILLARAIGOSA'S PRESS.

Byline: RICK ORLOV

He's tanned, rested and ready to let everyone know he has no immediate interest in returning to politics.

Former Mayor James Hahn, who was defeated in his bid for a second term this year, showed up last week at Pete's Cafe, a popular City Hall hangout, for a reunion with about a half-dozen of his one-time aides.

Hahn, who still has city security guards provided for him at the insistence of Police Chief Bill Bratton, said he is enjoying private life and has no intention of ever running for politics again.

But he admitted he remains in touch with City Hall gossip - after all, his sister, Janice, is on the City Council - and, perhaps, is a tad jealous of all the favorable attention being given Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Take all the hoopla over Villaraigosa being called for jury duty.

``I guess I should have put out a press release every time I was called for jury duty,'' Hahn said. ``I think I got called every other year.''

The only thing that bothered him about that, he said, is that he could never get selected to serve on a panel.

Talk about raising the bar.

In his role as chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board, Villaraigosa has proven a stickler for forcing the notoriously tardy board to start its meetings on time.

But last week, Villaraigosa was admonished by gadfly John Walsh, who noted a delay. In a couple of months, Walsh predicted, the Villaraigosa-run board would be just as late as the previous panel.

Villaraigosa took exception to the criticism, saying he had been doing better than his predecessors and the delay was inconsequential.

``It was only four minutes,'' the mayor said.

One of the classic films about Los Angeles, ``Chinatown,'' is about to become an educational tool.

The union representing some 10,000 city workers, Service Employees International Union Local 347, is putting together a forum Oct. 20 at its headquarters to open a discussion about the city's history and future.

The one thing that union business manager Julie Butcher promises is that there will be no sheep brought in to protest the city's taking of water from Northern California.

Rep. Jane Harman, D-El Segundo, provided a firsthand account of her fact-finding trip to Iraq last week, using a Washington-based blog to report on what she saw and her views on the country and its prospects.

Harman is blogging for www.tpmcafe.com, an online community of political commentators and bloggers. The initials stand for ``Talking Points Memo.''

Congressional aides said she was approached by the bloggers and agreed to provide her assessment.

``It is her unfiltered view of her experiences,'' spokesman Tom Reynolds said.

In her final dispatch, Harman detailed the exhaustive security she had to go through and warned that much still needs to be done - and quickly.

``I calculate three months - culminating with the Dec. 15 election - to persuade the American public that real progress is being made and there is a success strategy in sight,'' Harman wrote.

``Katrina's huge price tag and ballooning gas prices have caused sticker shock. We cannot afford an endless engagement in Iraq. But money is just part of it. The daily body count of Americans and Iraqis weighs heavily.

``What's needed is a straightforward message about tangible progress in Iraq. Hollow slogans like, 'We will stand down when they stand up' are simplistic and don't cut it.''

Staff Writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this column.

Rick Orlov, [phone]

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com