Sherman Oaks

Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss has put his Sherman Oaks home on the market at just under $2.5 million. Dreyfuss, who has been starring in the Broadway revival of "Sly Fox" and soon heads off to London for his November opening as Bialystock in the West End production of "The Producers," has owned the Sherman Oaks home for 10 years but hasn't lived there recently. For the last few years, caretakers and tenants have occupied the house.

Pride of ownership is in full bloom in the Sherman Oaks community of Magnolia Woods, where Bob Vila disciples are ambitiously expanding their homes to accommodate growing families and interests. With friendly neighbors, easy Westside access and parks, residents want to stay put. * A bit of history Bounded by Magnolia, Burbank and Sepulveda boulevards and Kester Avenue, Magnolia Woods is a tract that was considered a part of Van Nuys until 15 years ago.

Singer-dancer Paula Abdul , who was a judge on "The X-Factor," has put her house in Sherman Oaks on the market at $1.899 million. The contemporary Mediterranean, built in 2000, features a grand entry with a double staircase, French doors opening to patio and pool areas, five bedrooms and 41/2 bathrooms. The master suite of the 4,679-square-foot house includes a fireplace and a balcony with canyon and city views. Abdul, 48, got her start as a Laker girl. She won Emmys for her choreography on "The Tracey Ullman Show" (1989)

The impact of Mayor Richard Riordan's $4.2-million budget on residents of Sherman Oaks will be discussed Wednesday during a meeting sponsored by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. Cecilia Aguilera, Riordan's representative for the San Fernando Valley, will speak at the meeting, to be held at 8 p.m. at Union Federal Savings, 13300 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. The new budget would add 450 new police officers and provide overtime for existing officers. Richard H.

August Financial Corp., a Long Beach-based real estate management firm, has purchased the assets and accounts of Am Cal Realty Inc., doing business as Am Cal Co. with offices in Sherman Oaks. The newly created unit will be known as August-Am Cal Advisors Inc. and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of August Financial Corp. James B. McKenna, president of Am Cal Co., will assume the same duties of the new unit.

Bargain hunters will soon have a new place to shop when Goodwill Industries of Southern California opens its latest store on Saturday. The Sherman Oaks store, with 9,000 square feet of retail space, is the nonprofit organization's ninth San Fernando Valley outlet. Items donated at this location will be sorted and priced on site and put on the racks for sale. "The store will reflect what's donated to us from people in Sherman Oaks," said spokesman Richard Guiss.

The proposal to declare a community redevelopment agency for the Sherman Oaks community is a very troubling one with potentially long-term, devastating consequences. As a 30-year resident of the Valley with a long history of activism in the community and someone who lost her home in the earthquake, I feel it is imperative that I take a strong public stance in opposition to the current proposals for a CRA in Sherman Oaks. My rationale is not dissimilar to that expressed by local homeowners and business groups.

A car was struck broadside by a Jeep in Moorpark Wednesday, killing the car's 72-year-old driver, the Ventura County Sheriff's Department reported. Mary Wynn Besel, of Sherman Oaks, died of massive chest trauma at Simi Valley Adventist Hospital shortly after the 1:45 p.m. crash at Campus Park Drive and Marquette Street, Sgt. Bob Larson said.

When Sherman Oaks CES High Coach Mac Becker took over the basketball team in 1984, he promised the administration that he would stick around for eight years, build a respectable program and then retire. In keeping with that promise, Becker announced his resignation Monday, just minutes after the Knights beat Birmingham, 66-63, in an East Valley League playoff game to determine which team would advance to the City Section 3-A Division playoffs.

A man was in critical condition with a gunshot wound in the forehead after he was shot in his car Wednesday night in Sherman Oaks while driving along Woodman Avenue near the Ventura Freeway, Los Angeles police and hospital officials said. The man, whose name was not released, managed to turn right onto the westbound Ventura Freeway on-ramp before collapsing in his mid-sized car, police said. He was taken to the Medical Center of North Hollywood after the 9:30 p.m. shooting.