SECOND THOUGHTS: Last September, La Palma gave...

SECOND THOUGHTS: Last September, La Palma gave county government the city-owned building and property used by the county branch library. . . . Now the city wants it back. Reason: City officials fear the bankrupt county might try to sell the building. . . . Says former Mayor Larry Herman: “We need to get that property back under our control.”

SHOUT TV: Are you one of those who watch “Mike & Maty” (KABC-TV Channel 7, 10 a.m. weekdays)? There’s an Orange County rock band that the talk-show pair like well enough to book for the next three Fridays. The group is Shout, a Newport Beach garage band formed in the 1980s. Says a Shout spokesman: “The band has stayed true to the surf sound when surf music wasn’t cool.” . . . If you are not a “Mike & Maty” fan, you can also catch Shout Wednesday night at D.P.’s Pub & Grill in Newport Beach.

LARRY LIVE! When cable-TV talk-show interviewer Larry King recently featured a Richard Nixon clip on his week of 10th anniversary shows, officials at the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace in Yorba Linda began to wonder: Maybe King would like to come speak at the library? . . . King said he’d be delighted, and quickly fit it into his schedule. He’ll speak there Wednesday about the 1996 presidential race ($15 a ticket) and for a VIP luncheon ($50). But you don’t have to pay those fees to get him to autograph his latest book, which is being sold there.

CHECK IT OUT: The Nixon library people get media inquiries from around the world. But few calls have been as disconcerting as the barrage after a published report out of Washington last week about Checkers, the famous Nixon dog. The Washington Times reported--without verifying with the library--that Checkers will be dug up from his East Coast grave to be buried with the Nixons on the library grounds. Outrageously false, library officials say. . . . How could such a rumor get started? There’s a shrub on the grounds pruned especially to resemble Checkers.