RIORDAN’S PICK: Mayor Richard Riordan has picked...

RIORDAN’S PICK: Mayor Richard Riordan has picked as his Valley liaison the wife of a principal in Riordan & McKinzie, the powerful downtown law firm that the mayor founded (B1) . . . Cecilia Aguilera of Sherman Oaks, a political unknown, will fill one of the two Valley liaison jobs . . . A previous mayoral liaison, Richard Alarcon, was recently elected to the City Council.

ROAD RUNNERS: Thousands head for the highways and the airports to embark on the last great escape of the summer (B1). . .And if you don’t believe it, the Auto Club has experienced a 7% increase in requests for road maps over last year . . . And for those who chose to fly, flights are fully booked or overbooked at Burbank Airport.

THE FAULK FACTOR: How bad will it be? Members of the Cal State Northridge football team hope when the final gun sounds on tonight’s game against San Diego State, running back Marshall Faulk has set no records. (C1). . . . Faulk might be on a Heisman Trophy quest, but the Matadors are primed to keep him from getting off to a running start.

ABANDONED BABY: Police are seeking the parents of an 18-month-old girl apparently abandoned in a shopping cart at a West Hills discount store and later discovered by store employees. (B1). . . In the meantime, the little girl had no shortage of admirers and attention at the Los Angeles Police Department’s West Valley police station . . . “I just don’t understand how anyone could leave a kid this cute,” one officer said.

FAIR SHOWING: They’ve offered everything from a prune-spitting contest to a Reba McEntire concert, but Antelope Valley Fair officials are still shaking their heads over a decline in attendance (B20) . . .They’re blaming the economy for the fact that through Thursday, the most current figures available, the fair had attracted about 82,000 paying visitors, a 9% drop compared to the first seven days of the 1992 fair.