WE'RE HOT: This has certainly been a strange winter in the weather department. Rainfall is way down, and now we're hitting a sudden heat wave (above). . . . Monday's high of 82 is above average, and today's expected high of 83 would be a record.
QUAKE AID: Hollywood turned out at Paramount Studios Saturday night to raise about $15,000 for quake-damaged businesses in the Valley. . . . "It's not what we had wanted," said one organizer of the Achey Quakey Benefit, which featured a night of cabaret, but the event was still considered a success.
NEW HOPE: There's some exciting news for those waging the painful battle against Lou Gehrig's disease, officially known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). A new drug, tested in France, apparently slows the disease's progression. . . . . But Lynn Klein, a vice president of the ALS Assn. in Woodland Hills, cautions the drug is no treatment, and probably won't be ready this year.
MAD ABOUT HOOP: March is here, which means madness is coming. For those unfamiliar with this annual craze, it's almost time for March Madness, the ritual of post-season high school and college basketball tournaments. . . This year, some ex-San Fernando and Antelope Valley players likely to make the NCAA Tournament include: New Mexico State's D. J. Jackson, New Orleans' Tony Madison and UCLA's Marquis Burns.