Que Pasa? : PEOPLE

* Even as the fires of civil unrest flared, Lourdes Z. Saab began helping those who lost homes and small businesses in the Los Angeles rioting. In the next weeks and months, bolstered by corporate grants, she put together a relief program that assisted more than 100 families, most of them Spanish-speaking, by providing food, clothing and money for rent, mortgages and medical care. While others saw barriers to helping, “I saw the opportunities,” said Saab, executive director of the Hispanic Women’s Council. “This is our city, we have to take the responsibilities.” For her efforts, the Monterrey, Mex.-born Saab, 42, was among those honored last month by the Hispanic Traditions and Heritage Council to “celebrate our Hispanic heroes that helped in the healing process and the restoration of pride in our city.”

* As Los Angeles district attorney, Gilbert Garcetti vows to bring a “larger role, a larger vision” to the job. Garcetti, 51, appears certain of victory in the Nov. 3 election after the unexpected withdrawal from the race last month of his boss, incumbent Ira Reiner. The son of an immigrant Mexican father with Italian roots and an Arizona-born Mexican mother, Garcetti was raised in South-Central Los Angeles and won an academic scholarship to USC. Later, he earned a law degree from UCLA. As district attorney, he intends not only to aggressively prosecute cases but also to focus on “the very young people who, if we give them a little help . . . will avoid lives of crime.”