1994 Year

Weighty matters will transpire in 1994, statistics and experience insist. Many will be important, some genuinely interesting; a few truly readable. It is the challenge of a good newspaper to chronicle them: Dogs bark at strangers, don't they? As your life hurtles along in tandem with momentous events in the new year, though, it's probably not a bad idea to keep news in perspective.

Former Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush acted without legal authority when he made settlements after the Northridge earthquake that required insurers to contribute to foundations whose activities were not related to the disaster, an opinion by state Atty.

The Northridge earthquake was portrayed by emergency preparedness officials as a great wake-up call for Southern Californians to shore up their homes in preparation for the Big One.

Five years after the Northridge earthquake rousted everybody on Nashville Street out of bed before dawn, it did it again Sunday. This time, though, neighbors along the cul-de-sac in Chatsworth got up voluntarily to toast their good fortune at 4:31 a.

A federal appeals court on Monday asked the California Supreme Court to settle a legal question that has left many homeowners unable to obtain reimbursement for damage from the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

It was a signal event in the smoking wars. Five years ago, the chief executives of the seven top U.S. tobacco companies raised their hands, swore an oath and told Congress they didn't think nicotine was addictive.