Quake Victims

President Hu Jintao cut short his trip to South America on Thursday and Premier Wen Jiabao flew to a far-flung corner of the Tibetan plateau, pulling out all stops to portray a compassionate Chinese government doing all it can to help the victims of Wednesday's magnitude 6.9 earthquake. The latest official figures list 760 people killed, 9,110 injured and more than 100,000 made homeless, the majority of them Tibetan. The earthquake took place in a politically tense region where many Tibetans have long chafed under Chinese rule.

"Gabbeh," a new film from Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf, will premiere tonight at the Music Hall, 9036 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, at 7:30 p.m. A reception will follow at Your Place restaurant, 9725 Wilshire Blvd. Proceeds from this screening will benefit Iranian earthquake victims. The film will be released later this month by New Yorker Films. Tickets are $25. For tickets and information, call Relief International at (310) 441-0097.

Maxim Marketing Corp., a Pomona-based firm that makes peanut butter-filled pretzels, is donating 100,000 bags of its snacks to the quake-devastated city of Kobe, Japan, according to corporate officials. Maxim President Terry Kroll said the firm will donate 100,000 bags of pretzels now in a Kobe warehouse to earthquake victims.

As a way to reach West Valley residents still hurting--both psychologically and financially--from the Northridge earthquake, Los Angeles city officials opened the Guadalupe Earthquake Recovery Community Service Center on Thursday in Canoga Park. "There were a lot of people on the edge before the earthquake, and the earthquake had pushed them over it," said Gloria Stevenson Clark, director of human services and neighborhood development for the city's Community Development Department.

Music lovers will help play Santa Claus for San Francisco earthquake victims at a two-night benefit auction and show headlined by singer John Hiatt and The Allman Brothers band. At least 39 other acts will join them for the shows Nov. 29 and 30 in Nashville, InterNash productions announced Wednesday. New toys collected at the door will be sent to the Bay Area Toys for Tots program in time for Christmas.

Trying to ease the burden for some quake victims, the Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to offer relief on water, power and sewage bills for homes and businesses ravaged by the Northridge temblor. "This is about encouraging people to stay and rebuild," said San Fernando Valley Councilwoman Laura Chick, who recommended the relief proposals. The relief only applies to the billing period that includes Jan. 17, the day of the quake.

A plan to spend more than $5 million on social services programs for victims of the Northridge quake and others hit a snag Monday due to complaints about the process for allocating the funds. Councilman Mike Hernandez, chairman of the city's Community and Economic Development Committee, called for an evaluation of the process after representatives of dozens of nonprofit agencies that had applied for funding complained that they did not get the funding they requested.

A group of Newbury Park High School students is collecting cash contributions on behalf of victims of the earthquake in El Salvador on Jan. 13. The Latin American Students Assn. is accepting monetary help rather than food and clothing, because roads and airports in the Central American country have been damaged and access to disaster victims is limited.

San Fernando Valley Neighborhood Legal Services received a grant Tuesday to continue helping low-income victims of the Northridge quake. The $8,290 will allow the Pacoima-based organization to continue providing legal advocacy services to those who have unresolved disputes arising from the 1994 quake. The federal Community Service Block Grant funds were distributed by the state Department of Community Services and Development and approved by the county Board of Supervisors. A total of $4.

The Salvation Army is seeking donations of cash and essential commodities to help victims of the Northridge earthquake, spokesman Lee Lescano said. Donations of prepackaged foods, diapers, new blankets, sleeping bags, water and cash should be marked "Northridge Earthquake," and sent to: Salvation Army, Orange County Administration, 1710 W. Edinger Ave., Santa Ana, Calif. 92704. The organization is also preparing to distribute tents as well as personal care and household cleaning kits.