Study Group

Like most Americans, Shirley Williams of Corona del Mar never gave much thought to the problem of world hunger. But that changed during lunch at an all-day conference on hunger at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. Ten of the 200 conference participants were chosen at random to sit on a dais in the center of the ballroom where they were served a sumptuous meal.

Advertisements that promote the use of melatonin supplements for the elderly are misleading to consumers, according to a new study by Boston researchers. The ads, often seen on TV or in magazines, claim that levels of melatonin--a hormone that helps control the sleep cycle--naturally decline with aging and that the elderly need to replace it with supplements to get a good night's sleep. "Our data do not support this claim," said Dr. Charles A. Czeisler of the Harvard Medical School.

In their quest for enlightenment, Southern Californians have tried est, hung out with swamis, turned themselves into yoga pretzels and eaten psychedelic mushrooms. The latest wave of soul-searchers are turning for inspiration to a big, blue gilt-embossed book titled "A Course in Miracles"--a half a million words of spiritual instruction, a how-to manifesto for changing the world by changing the mind.

One week medical researchers report beta carotene prevents cancer. Then they say it may cause cancer. Or we hear fiber is good, so we dutifully load up on oatmeal and green vegetables. Then we're told that maybe it's not so good. The list goes on and on--it's enough to give you mental whiplash. So how can consumers, especially those with chronic or serious ailments, sort through this contradictory data in order to make informed decisions about their health care?

From the veranda of his house, Bruce Gleason looks down, down, down onto a swath of the San Fernando Valley floor. Daylight is departing, and a rainy mist has furred the vista. A river of car headlamps on Van Nuys Boulevard glows more brilliantly by the moment. "The view. Each night when I come home, I'm re-charmed by it," he says. "Life is in session down there--150,000 people going about their life."

Alan K. Simpson Background: U.S. senator from Wyoming, 1979-97; chairman, Veterans Affairs Committee; Wyoming House of Representatives, 1964-77. Current positions: Visiting lecturer, University of Wyoming; law partner, Simpson, Kepler & Edwards, Wyoming; consultant, Tongour, Simpson, Holsclaw Group, a government relations group in Washington; author. Military: Army Party: Republican Age: 75 ** William J.

Rabbi Harvey J. Fields, who for 18 years has presided over the oldest and one of the most prominent synagogues in Los Angeles, retired this weekend with praise for the state of interfaith relations and a warning over the future of Jewish identity in Southern California. Fields, 67, is stepping down as senior rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, the historic domed Reform synagogue in the Mid-Wilshire district that is the successor to the region's first Jewish congregation.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is to give evidence this week to a bipartisan U.S. panel that is reviewing policy on Iraq, as Washington and London seek ways to stem violence in the country and draw down their troops. Blair is to speak Tuesday to the Iraq Study Group, co-chaired by Republican former Secretary of State James A. Baker III and former Rep. Lee H. Hamilton (D-Ind.), via video link from London, the prime minister's office said Saturday.

A mayoral task force has recommended the construction of an $80-million sports facility and predicted the project would be completed by the spring of 1988. The 13-member task force--appointed by Mayor William Schaefer last spring--made its recommendation for a new Baltimore facility after commissioning a private study by stadium consultant Ron Libinski. Libinski studied the feasibility of renovating Memorial Stadium and concluded the 57-million project would not be cost effective.