Chatsworth Ca

Heading down Topanga Canyon Boulevard off the Ronald Reagan Freeway, Steve Latshaw knows he's almost home when he spots the mobile home park on his right. That's where the old western town set used to be, he invariably finds himself thinking. Turning onto Santa Susana Pass Road, Latshaw envisions a pack of Harleys roaring down the curving two-lane country road as they did in countless '60s biker movies.

The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday approved three contractors who have been selected to oversee business improvement districts in Chatsworth, Northridge and Granada Hills--moving proposed economic revitalization plans a step closer to realization. In July, the council set aside $225,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funds for consultants who would assist in the planning and development of BIDs in the three communities.

The northwest San Fernando Valley is being transformed into a movie lover's heaven. If all goes as planned, there will be 37 to 41 screens to choose from within a mile of each other by the summer of 1998. All this at a time when more movie tickets are being sold than at any time since the late '50s. Pacific Theatres has torn down the Winnetka Drive-In's six screens to make way for a state-of-the-art 25 screen megaplex, expected to open late this summer.

All of America loved Lucy, and for several years at the height of her storied career, Lucy loved the San Fernando Valley. In the 1950s, while their antics on "I Love Lucy" drew in television viewers by the millions, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz spent many of their off-hours relaxing at the ranch they owned in Chatsworth. It was a retreat from the rigors of Hollywood, where the pair were fast becoming two of the most powerful people in the industry.

Pacific Theatres, which is building a 20-screen multiplex in Chatsworth that will be one of the San Fernando Valley's largest movie theaters, announced Tuesday it has signed a long-term lease to operate a new 10-screen theater only a mile away at Northridge Fashion Center. The deal makes teammates out of Pacific Theatres and MEPC America Properties, owners of the Northridge mall, and previously rivals for domination of the West Valley movie business. Neil S.B.

Under her shade tree on Fullbright Avenue, Carole Ozanian handed out the prizes: The newest resident, Jeffrey Yohai, got a yard sign that reads "Daisies"; the resident who had lived there longest, Garnet Clark, got a small, ornate picture frame. "This is the first time we've ever done something like this," said Clark, who moved to the area 40 years ago, when orange groves still surrounded her home.

The Iverson family may have wrapped up its storied career in the movie business, but the new owners of a six-acre parcel at the famed Iverson Movie Location Ranch said they plan to continue the filmmaking tradition.

Pam Campeau has replaced Alison Hakeem as executive director of the Chatsworth Chamber of Commerce. Most recently, Campeau was chief executive officer of the Encino Chamber of Commerce and director of administration and membership with the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce. She has also worked in human resources in the computer and electronics industry.

In the moments before dawn, commuters in business attire hurry from the darkness of the parking lot toward the cream-colored train depot at the northwest corner of the San Fernando Valley. The wheels of the 6:18 Metrolink, which began to turn in Oxnard, are now rolling through the tunnels of the Santa Susana Mountains, minutes away from the Chatsworth station. Until two years ago, there wasn't much more than an open-air platform. But now, commuters sit at tables. Some read the newspaper.