1985 Year

Angelenos, fresh from an Olympic high in '84, were subjected to some grim events in the year past. The Night Stalker, Rock Hudson's death, sex crimes. But, for better or worse, it is over and a New Year dawns. When police found the dazed and bleeding man, held captive by an angry mob in an East Los Angeles neighborhood, he cried out: "Thank God, you came!" Richard Ramirez, 25, could have been speaking for the citizens of every community between San Francisco and Mission Viejo.

1984 June 27: To quell complaints over violence in the PG-rated hits "Gremlins" and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," Hollywood adds a new rating category, PG-13. Sept. 11: The Studio Shuffle: Paramount Chairman and CEO Barry Diller, resigns for twin position at 20th Century Fox. Michael Eisner, Paramount corporate president, departs one day later and is named Walt Disney CEO on Sept. 22.

1984 June 27: To quell complaints over violence in the PG-rated hits "Gremlins" and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," Hollywood adds a new rating category, PG-13. Sept. 11: The Studio Shuffle: Paramount Chairman and CEO Barry Diller, resigns for twin position at 20th Century Fox. Michael Eisner, Paramount corporate president, departs one day later and is named Walt Disney CEO on Sept. 22.

Arbitrator Tom Roberts, having ruled last summer that the baseball owners were guilty of collusion in their approach to free agency in the winter of 1985-86, is now on the verge of making several of those players free agents again. His ruling could be made today, according to a variety of sources, among them Barry Rona, legal counsel to the owners' Player Relations Committee. "There's no question he's going to give it to them," Rona said Thursday.

In contrast to many other states, California's birth rate increased in 1985 for the 12th consecutive year, the state Department of Health Services reported. The state's live birth rate was 17.9 live births per 1,000 population in 1985, up from 17.3 in 1984. There were 470,816 live births to California residents in 1985, an increase of 23,422 or 5.2% over the previous year. The death rate for 1985 stood at 7.7 deaths per 1,000, up from 7.6% in 1984 and 7.4% in 1983.

Arbitrator Tom Roberts, having ruled last summer that the baseball owners were guilty of collusion in their approach to free agency in the winter of 1985-86, is now on the verge of making several of those players free agents again. His ruling could be made today, according to a variety of sources, among them Barry Rona, legal counsel to the owners' Player Relations Committee. "There's no question he's going to give it to them," Rona said Thursday.

Finally released after spending half of his life in prison, and still he had to wait. So Christopher Boyce hung around the prison parking lot, rubbernecking, taking in the fresh air around Sheridan, Ore., unsure what to make of freedom. A half hour went by before the big Suburban at last came lumbering up the driveway, carrying his father, a former FBI agent, and his mother, once a Catholic nun.

Despite a sales and profits surge in its final quarter, Certron Corp. said the costs of closing a portion of its Anaheim manufacturing operation caused a loss of $133,000 for its 1985 fiscal year. For the fourth quarter, ended Oct. 31, 1985, the Anaheim-based consumer electronics parts manufacturing company posted profits of $91,000, compared to a $9,000 loss in the same quarter a year eariler. Sales for the period were $7.9 million, up nearly 3% from the year before.

Dale Olson, an elder statesman of the Hollywood publicity corps whose assignments over a four-decade career included representing Rock Hudson during the last months of the actor's struggle with AIDS, died Thursday of complications of liver cancer. He was 78. Olson, who lived in the Hollywood Hills, died at a nursing facility in Burbank, said his spouse, Eugene Harbin. A savvy promoter of Oscar-worthy movies, Olson helped craft campaigns for stars such as Maggie Smith in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" (1969)

Making money in stocks was easy in 1985. Lower interest rates, low inflation, takeover fever and other factors helped the Dow Jones average of 30 industrial stocks rise 27.66%, its best yearly gain since 1975. Thirty-two record highs were set. Stocks in nearly every industry rose. Gainers led losers by 1,957 to 356--better than five to one. The festivities were not confined to the United States. Traders in Tokyo, London and other foreign markets also toasted healthy stock gains.

In contrast to many other states, California's birth rate increased in 1985 for the 12th consecutive year, the state Department of Health Services reported. The state's live birth rate was 17.9 live births per 1,000 population in 1985, up from 17.3 in 1984. There were 470,816 live births to California residents in 1985, an increase of 23,422 or 5.2% over the previous year. The death rate for 1985 stood at 7.7 deaths per 1,000, up from 7.6% in 1984 and 7.4% in 1983.

Despite a sales and profits surge in its final quarter, Certron Corp. said the costs of closing a portion of its Anaheim manufacturing operation caused a loss of $133,000 for its 1985 fiscal year. For the fourth quarter, ended Oct. 31, 1985, the Anaheim-based consumer electronics parts manufacturing company posted profits of $91,000, compared to a $9,000 loss in the same quarter a year eariler. Sales for the period were $7.9 million, up nearly 3% from the year before.

Making money in stocks was easy in 1985. Lower interest rates, low inflation, takeover fever and other factors helped the Dow Jones average of 30 industrial stocks rise 27.66%, its best yearly gain since 1975. Thirty-two record highs were set. Stocks in nearly every industry rose. Gainers led losers by 1,957 to 356--better than five to one. The festivities were not confined to the United States. Traders in Tokyo, London and other foreign markets also toasted healthy stock gains.

Angelenos, fresh from an Olympic high in '84, were subjected to some grim events in the year past. The Night Stalker, Rock Hudson's death, sex crimes. But, for better or worse, it is over and a New Year dawns. When police found the dazed and bleeding man, held captive by an angry mob in an East Los Angeles neighborhood, he cried out: "Thank God, you came!" Richard Ramirez, 25, could have been speaking for the citizens of every community between San Francisco and Mission Viejo.

The single red iridium lens stretches like a shield from brow to cheekbone and nearly halfway around the head. The jagged Hammerfang earpieces jut out from the temples, never bending toward the lobes. The brand name is faintly etched on the lens, right between the eyes. * Like all Oakley sunglasses, these M Frame Heaters flaunt an almost inhuman impenetrability.

America's foreign debt burden soared to $532.5 billion in 1988, pushing the United States further into hock as the world's largest debtor country, the government reported today. The Commerce Department said the new debt total was $154.2 billion higher than the $378.3 billion in debt to foreigners that the United States owed at the end of 1987. The debt figure means that foreigners own more in U.S. assets than Americans own abroad. For 1988, the government reported that foreign holdings in the United States increased 15.4% to $1.79 trillion.