Conferences

President Clinton said Monday he is calling an economic conference for the end of March, similar to one he held during his transition to the presidency. "I think it would be a good thing to get those people back together, not only to review the progress that has been made, but more importantly, to look at the thorny problems that remain," Clinton told reporters in the Oval Office. It was unclear who would be invited; two years ago the group included economists and business people.

Local community service organizations will sponsor a large health and welfare conference Oct. 28 for residents of the northeast San Fernando Valley. Community groups such as Bridge Focus, the Pacoima Coordinating Council and the United Way organized the conference, dubbed the "Community Tree Expo." Parents who attend with a child and turn in toy guns or weapons will receive certificates of recognition.

About 100 high school students will join a city-sponsored Civic Awareness Conference today designed to encourage them to consider careers in government and boost their job-hunting skills, a spokeswoman said. City officials will meet with the students to discuss potential careers in public service and the skills employees must have to win a job. The five-hour conference is part of a partnership between the city and school district, said city spokeswoman Lorraine Lazarine.

At a Cal State Northridge conference beginning Thursday, the ecological and environmental past of Southern California will be discussed and analyzed in an attempt to predict its future. Scientists and historians from around the country are expected at "Nature's Workshop: Environmental Change in 20th Century Southern California," an annual conference co-sponsored by the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and its Center for California Studies.

El Concilio del Condado de Ventura will hold a conference titled "Youth Reaching Out Together" at Moorpark College on Saturday. Organizers said the daylong series of seminars will include discussions on AIDS, racism, education, career opportunities, cultural pride, gangs and youth violence. One of the youths organizing the conference for El Concilio, 17-year-old Eric Fuentes of Oxnard, said the discussion on gangs garnered a lot of attention from the teen-agers last year.

Somali clan leader Gen. Mohammed Farah Aidid is boycotting an aid conference in Ethiopia until the United Nations releases three of his top aides, his spokesman said Sunday. U.N. officials in Somalia recommended to the U.N. chief that the aides be released, a U.N. official said. Aidid's boycott threatens the meeting's chance for forging a reconciliation among Somali factions. A U.N. official, meanwhile, said that U.S.

A human rights group Monday assailed the records of countries attending the Middle East peace conference here. "None of the countries attending the peace conference meet acceptable standards of behavior either toward their own people or people under their control," Andrew Whitley, executive director of Middle East Watch, told reporters.

With the economic boom of the late 1990s, California's restaurant industry flourished as Golden Staters left their kitchens more often to enjoy the good life dining out. But what's in store for the industry now as the economy slows to a halt and eating out becomes less appealing to belt-tightening consumers? Add to that skyrocketing overhead due to the energy crunch and increased competition, and restaurateurs these days have much more on their minds than which lettuce to use in their salads.

The Seventh International Conference on AIDS opened Sunday with an impassioned plea from the president of Uganda, one of the African nations hardest hit by the disease, and sharp criticism of American immigration policies, which can be used to bar AIDS-infected foreigners from entering the country. "May victory attend your struggles for the survival of humanity," said the Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni. "We may see untoward billions of people die."

A one-day conference exploring solutions for the drug crisis facing black families will be open to the public next Saturday in Los Angeles at Faith United Methodist Church, 1713 W. 108th St. The Rev. Cecil Williams, the pastor of Liberation Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, will be the keynote speaker for the meeting, which will start at 9 a.m. and end at 4 p.m.