Pamela Davis

On the rooftop of the sprawling Moscone Conference Center in San Francisco, a courtyard-sized cloud floats quietly, waiting for a whisper of wind to whip it into an interesting shape. This is no ordinary cloud--no visitor dropping in from a passing weather front. Instead, it is a sculpture--a work of art. The cloud condenses into existence from billions of tiny water droplets exhaled from a circle of nozzles that spit a fine spray of city water into the courtyard.

On the rooftop of the sprawling Moscone Conference Center in San Francisco, a courtyard-sized cloud floats quietly, waiting for a whisper of wind to whip it into an interesting shape. This is no ordinary cloud--no visitor dropping in from a passing weather front. Instead, it is a sculpture--a work of art. The cloud condenses into existence from billions of tiny water droplets exhaled from a circle of nozzles that spit a fine spray of city water into the courtyard.

INDIANA * A magnitude 5.0 earthquake, strong enough to cause minor damage but apparently doing little harm, rattled southern Indiana and surrounding Eastern states, the National Earthquake Information Center said. "There was a lot of shaking going on," said Thomas Wrege, principal at the Trinity Lutheran Church School in Darmstadt, Ind., near where the quake was centered.

A 78-year-old Santa Clarita man was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison for molesting a young boy over a two-year period. Robert H. Hughes, who pleaded guilty in May to charges of lewd conduct, a lewd sexual act and possessing child pornography, could have been sentenced to a maximum term of eight years. The molestations, which began when the boy was 9, occurred while the youngster visited Hughes at his home between 1985 and 1987. Defense attorney Elizabeth C.

A month ago Los Angeles police arrested a group of teen-agers for a rash of smash-and-grab thefts of Garfield the cat dolls from cars in the San Fernando Valley. Now police report some copy-cat thieves. On Sunday a band of five shoplifting suspects, ages 10 to 13, were arrested in Panorama City after spending the day selling Garfield dolls in the parking lot at Panorama Mall, where the dolls were stolen. "These kids didn't take them out of cars," Detective Robert Uber said.

A 49-year-old Sepulveda man was charged Tuesday with sexually assaulting a woman the day after he posted bail and was released in an attempted sexual-assault case. Lawrence David Gremminger pleaded not guilty in San Fernando Municipal Court to charges stemming from both incidents: one count each of forcible oral copulation, attempted rape and residential burglary; three counts of assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of assault with intent to commit rape.

A 27-year-old Canyon Country woman pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that she shook a 6-month-old baby to death and injured two other children in her care. Vickie Maas entered her plea in San Fernando Municipal Court on one count of murder in the death of David Allen Duncan and three counts of felony child endangerment. For a fee, Maas cared for children on weekdays in her home.

Two men who authorities said were operating an illegal rodeo in Saugus were charged Monday with felony cruelty to animals, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said. Jose Aranda, 33, who operated the rodeo on Sundays at a ranch in San Francisquito Canyon, and Aucencio Guerrero, 38, a caretaker at the ranch, were charged with one count of animal cruelty, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Pamela Davis-Springer.

A former California Highway Patrol officer from Canyon Country pleaded no contest Monday to robbing a Pacoima grocery store of $93,000 and attempting to rob two other markets. William Francis Wilson Jr., 43, is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 13 in San Fernando Superior Court on one count each of robbery, attempted robbery and attempted grand theft.

A Canyon Country man convicted three times in six years of drunk driving was charged with murder Tuesday in connection with an apparently alcohol-related accident last week that killed a Palmdale woman and injured her two young children. Scott Brumett, 31, suffered only cuts and bruises in the two-car accident in Newhall on Feb. 19, authorities said.

Pamela Davis thought she had realized her dream of playing professional baseball when she earned a spot on the Colorado Silver Bullets' women's team. But the dream is not over. Davis is scheduled to pitch tonight for the double-A Jacksonville Suns in an exhibition game against the Australian Olympic team, becoming the first woman to play for a major league farm club. "I'm trying not to put my mind on that," said Davis, a right-hander with a fastball that approaches 80 mph.