Radio Broadcasts

Motorists passing through the Santa Monica Mountains can now tune in to the latest information on recreational activities, special events and natural resources available in the rugged region. Messages in English and Spanish on 1610 AM will introduce drivers to the history and unique features of several distinct National Park Service sites: Malibu Lagoon State Beach along Pacific Coast Highway, Sycamore Cove in Point Mugu State Park, Malibu Creek State Park and Rocky Oaks on Kanan Road.

A pair of radio broadcasts intended as April Fools' Day jokes failed to produce any yuks when listeners took them seriously. In Jerusalem, an army radio broadcast was interrupted by a report claiming a lost tribe of black Jews from Gabon had been secretly airlifted to Israel as part of "Operation Elijah." The claim was even backed up by several Israeli mayors and the head of the group coordinating immigration to Israel. They debated the pros and cons of allowing the Gabonese in.

Opening day 2000 at Dodger Stadium provided me with some unforgettable memories. Like the fights in the stands. And the legions of drunk fans and their verbal abuse of Cincinnati Red supporters. And I can't leave out the debris raining down from the upper levels. There is one positive, however. I think we've found a home for the Raiders in Los Angeles. SHYAM KRISHNA IYER Anaheim Let's see. Some idiot spends $295 to watch a game from behind home plate at Dodger Stadium.

Dennis Hauswirth figures he can never get too much business. Sure, his auto upholstery firm has redone car interiors for celebrities such as Michael Jackson and Arsenio Hall. But darned if Hauswirth could devise a way to reach those thousands of other potential customers who each day drive by his shop at a Westside intersection. Then one day, click. That clicking noise is the sound of a car radio turning on. No, Hauswirth didn't start buying costly ad time on some radio station.

In foreign policy, sometimes the noblest of intentions leads to lousy ideas. That's certainly the case with the recent curious proposal for a special United Nations "jam squad"--a special U.N. team that could be hurriedly dispatched to crisis points around the world carrying equipment to jam, or block, harmful radio and TV broadcasts. Writing in the current issue of "Foreign Affairs" magazine, Jamie M.

A presidential commission recommended Wednesday that Radio Free Europe, the 40-year-old American propaganda operation that broadcasts to Eastern Europe, be phased out in the wake of the collapse of Soviet rule in the region. The recommendation would require action by the Bush Administration. But the unanimous finding, extraordinary for the usually routine annual report by the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, is expected to carry weight.

Cuban President Fidel Castro turned up the verbal volume Tuesday in his battle of the airwaves against the U.S. government's TV Marti, warning of stronger electronic countermeasures that experts say could disrupt radio broadcasts throughout the eastern United States. The Cuban leader, whose government has jammed every TV Marti telecast since the test transmissions began eight days ago, warned that "we have the right to give new responses if this situation continues. . . .

With the possibility of Vin Scully no longer being involved in Dodger radio broadcasts after the 2002 season, flagship station KXTA (1150) has chosen to part company with the team after its five-year contract expires. The Dodgers, who will have a new over-the-air television station next season, will have a new flagship radio station beginning with the 2003 season.

Born in idealism and romanticism, the Goddess of Democracy radio ship project collapsed Friday in anger and debt. The ship had been blocked from leaving Taiwan with the transmitters needed for the broadcasts and was unwelcome elsewhere in Asia. So, organizers gave up their plan to beam pro-democracy messages into China from their ship by the June 4 anniversary of the suppression of Beijing's democracy movement. They said they will sell the ship to help cover costs.

Pamela McInnes nosed the KMPC Airwatch airplane north toward the Santa Ana Freeway, banked right at Anaheim Stadium and headed over the Orange Freeway to check out an accident. Just north of the Lambert Road overpass in Brea, she saw it: The Highway Patrol was clearing a three-car collision that had southbound commuters backed up for two miles.