Fact Finding

Like ducks that head south for the winter, politicians from the San Fernando Valley have gone on their post-election, fact-finding treks abroad in search of answers for important questions, like what it feels like to ride on a really, really fast train. The biggest delegation--with 11 state officials--is headed by state Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks) and includes Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar).

A school-bus sized spacecraft carrying the largest telescope ever installed in a planetary probe blasted off early Friday morning from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, beginning a seven-month journey to the Red Planet.

The Western Wall is a unifying spiritual magnet for Jews the world over. It is also a place of contention over a rule by its Orthodox custodians that forbids women from standing beside men while praying there. So how to worship was a sensitive question for 17 leading Los Angeles rabbis, including two women, as they strolled toward the sacred site one evening this week. The itinerary called for "private prayer," but as they entered the plaza one of the men quietly asked Rabbis Laura Geller and Sharon Brous to join him and others.

The files released last week by America's largest Catholic archdiocese revealed new and disturbing details about how church officials schemed to protect priests accused of molesting children. But was the scandal in Los Angeles really so much worse than in other places? Sadly, no. The details emerging from the documents mirror what happened in archdioceses across the country, as church officials time and again put their own concerns above the needs of victims. One of the earliest cases to draw nationwide attention involved Gilbert Gauthe, a priest who raped dozens of boys in rural Louisiana.

Former President Jimmy Carter will arrive in Nicaragua Saturday for a three-day fact-finding mission stemming from his role as head of a panel that will monitor the country's election next year, his office said Friday. Carter, a statement said, will meet with President Daniel Ortega and other government leaders, as well as with opposition, diplomatic, election, church, civic, business and labor leaders.

Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) left for the Persian Gulf on Wednesday with 14 other members of Congress and government officials to assess the war damage to Kuwait. The four-day fact-finding trip will be hosted by the Kuwaiti government. Gallegly and the other congressional members were invited by the ambassador to Kuwait, said Deborah Land, spokeswoman for Fluor Corp. The Irvine-based engineering company is paying expenses for the congressional contingent.

The nine-month contract dispute between Burbank teachers and the school district will be submitted to a fact-finding panel. The two sides agreed to that course of action after failing to come to an agreement Thursday during a mediation session. State Mediator Doug Thompson told the two sides that he would submit the fact-finding request to the state Public Employment Relations Board next week for formal certification.

Teachers in the 7,650-student Las Virgenes Unified School District said Tuesday they may call on a state fact-finding service to check the claim of district officials that the district cannot afford more than a 7.7% pay raise. Union negotiators and school officials in the district west of the San Fernando Valley ended their fourth state-mediated negotiating session Monday night without agreeing on salaries for a contract. The Las Virgenes Educators Assn. is holding out for a 10.2% raise.

Laker officials confirmed Tuesday that their No. 1 draft choice, 6-foot-11 Elden Campbell, is in Italy at the training camp of the Phonola Caserta team, but said they have been told it's only a fact-finding trip. "We knew in advance he was going over there," said Mitch Kupchak, Laker assistant general manager. "We have talked to his representatives. The understanding that we have is that it's just a trip to explore the opportunity.

A state mediator said that he will request appointment of a fact- finding panel to negotiate a contract dispute between the Glendale Unified School District and its support services staff. Mediator Ian Walke, who has been unable to settle the dispute during a month of talks, said a hearing should be set within a month before a representative of the state Public Employment Relations Board.