American Notes CALIFORNIA

You may not be able to fight city hall, but in Santa Monica, Calif., you can interrogate it by computer. Last week the city's new Public Electronic Network went on-line. As brochures mailed to residents advertised, PEN allows any citizen with a computer and a modem to communicate with city hall. Those who do not have a home computer can use any one of 20 public terminals set up at libraries and recreational centers.

To discourage sabotage by hackers, users must pledge to employ PEN for only legal purposes before they are allowed access to the system. "We expect to get a lot of the same questions we're getting now," says Assistant City Manager Lynne Barrette. " 'What's the status of a particular issue? To whom do I complain about the tree trimming on my street?' -- only via the computer."