FIRST OFF . . .

The seventh anniversary of Beatle John Lennon’s slaying coincided with the signing of a historic superpower disarmament treaty, and Lennon fans in New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City and even Prague, Czechoslovakia, marked the day by remembering the man who sang, “Give peace a chance.” In New York, fans gathered Tuesday night at the Lennon memorial in Central Park’s Strawberry Fields, while Los Angeles friends and fans held a candlelight service at the recently dedicated Pepperland plot near the carrousel in Griffith Park. In Prague, young Czechs gathered at the “John Lennon Wall” near the city’s Na Kampe Square--as did police, who checked IDs and took down participants’ names. Lennon was gunned down Dec. 8, 1980, at the entrance to New York’s landmark Dakota apartments by deranged fan Mark David Chapman.