Taking a walk on the wild side with the pedestrians of downtown San Pedro

They sit at a circular desk on the ground floor of the imposing granite mass that is Inglewood’s 10-story City Hall.

They are “information specialists,” according to city administrators; walk-up sages who know what you need to know--or if not, where you can find out.

And for the past two months, Betty Davis and Mary Ortiz have discovered their new job also involves interpreting, aiding crime victims, calming angry participants in landlord-tenant disputes, even marriage counseling.

Since Inglewood officials established an information desk in the City Hall lobby nine weeks ago, there have been 11,147 telephone calls or walk-up inquiries. Of that total, 146 people wanted information about filing divorce papers. Another 120 were looking for marriage licenses. They were all referred to the county court system: the city of Inglewood doesn’t do--or undo--marriages.

“It’s funny. Sometimes a couple comes up wanting to get married, and right after them you get a couple who want to get divorced,” Davis said.

Davis and Ortiz were chosen because of their maternal calm and good humor as well as their fluent Spanish. The latter is a must in a city with a growing number of Latino residents, some of whom feel reluctant or intimidated about approaching the city for help, Davis said.

“The public has responded very enthusiastically to having someone here who can communicate with them,” Davis said.

Davis’ “war stories” include comforting a robbery victim who had a freshly broken nose, calming a terrified woman who had just received a threatening phone call, and listening to the pent-up frustrations of outraged tenants doing battle with landlords.

“Sometimes people come in here so uptight,” she said. “Even if we don’t handle the problem in here, I always try to calm them down. There’s no need to be so furious. I don’t mind. It’s the best thing I can do.”