Media Campaign Gears Up to Counter the <i> Contra </i> Funding

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the soaps, the Capitol Hill contra wars are about to heat up again.

A broad spectrum of political and religious activist groups are about to launch their answer to Ollie North, a huge national lobbying effort called “Countdown ‘87� that will be unveiled in the next few weeks through a massive media campaign. The aim: nothing less than shutting down U.S. government aid to the contras once and for all.

Money for the million-dollar effort (the largest such endeavor since the ‘60s anti-war campaigns, insiders say) will come from Democratic Party activists. Locally, Norman Lear, Stanley Sheinbaum and actors Mike Farrell and Robert Foxworth are expected to lend their names and checkbooks. The “civil rights and anti-war efforts never had such a unity drive,� one planner boasted.

In addition to political types--led by Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) along with Reps. David E. Bonior (D-Mich.) and Tony Coelho (D-Calif.)--the coalition includes religious groups, peace and justice and lobbying projects such as Citizen Action, Witness for Peace and Neighbor to Neighbor.

The staff just hired for the program is headed by Rosa de Lauro, a Hill veteran and Dodd’s former aide. The Santa Monica-based media firm--Zimmerman, Fineman and Dixon--will be involved.

The entire campaign is aimed at just six swing Senate votes on the contra-aid issue. But supporters say the massive program is necessary because contra backers have already raised more than $1 million to fuel their cause.

McPAPER--Lots of people said USA Today would never make it when it began five years ago--so its fifth anniversary and its move into “profitability� this fall is cause for celebration. Sept. 10, at the Culver Studios, a party for “L.A.’s top 500 names� will kick off an autumn of cross-country partying, including a massive event in D.C. on Sept. 15.

(The Culver Studios is also home for Grant Tinker/Gannett, the production partnership between the long-time TV producer and the Gannett organization, which owns USA Today. There the company plans to “redo the MTM experience,� according to USA Today’s Joe Armstrong, who also said that TV viewers should expect a new news program next year, following the news pattern of the paper, and originating from the D.C. offices of the daily.)

Among the “500 most important people�--a phrase which, in this party-crazed town, throws down the glitz gauntlet--will include Lucille Ball, whose Desilu Studios were once right on the party spot.

MORE POLITICS--Westwood housing activist Laura Lake is telling friends she is running for City Council. That would put three major names in the race for the seat currently held by Zev Yaroslavsky. The April ’89 race will probably also include attorney Lisa Specht and former Tom Bradley aide Steve Saltzman. Of course that all presupposes that Councilman Y moves to challenge Mayor Bradley. . . . Friends tell us that two familiar faces--the former Kentucky Gov. John Y. and Phyllis George Brown--will be seen in Los Angeles lots more frequently and are contemplating a permanent move here.

TO ABSENT FRIENDS--When Danny Kaye’s birthday rolls around Jan. 18, even though the legendary comic is gone, his friends will make sure that his memory lingers--and his commitment. That’s why plans for a massive UNICEF telethon are being put together right now. And, in another nice touch, Kaye’s Brooklyn grammar school, P.S. 149, will change its name to his. . . . Friends are still waiting to see what tribute the Music Center will come up with to honor Kaye’s great buddy, the late Olive Behrendt. She spearheaded massive fund-raising for the L.A. Philharmonic and for the its Pension Fund and is sorely missed at 1st and Grand. The longtime cultural philanthropist died in Venice in May.

HOTEL SWEETS--Why look anywhere else? If the out-of-towners want to see stars, just take them to the lobby of the Beverly Hills Hotel. There, Wednesday, they could have caught Liza Minnelli, in town before her massive European tour, or, waiting for an elevator, the adorable Tom Conti, or, picking up a friend in his Rolls-Royce, the ever-tan George Hamilton, stopping to chat with Mary Ann Mobley. . . . Everybody’s favorite hotelier, Helen Chaplin, left her 35-year stint at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel last week with more hoopla from her friends than even she could have cooked up. She’s off to be the vice president of the Ayala Hotel Group, which has Campton Place in San Francisco and is opening the new Checkers in downtown Los Angeles.