GUARDED COMEBACK: Notice the absence of school...

GUARDED COMEBACK: Notice the absence of school crossing guards? They’re back. For now. County officials laid hands on an unexpected $125 million, so they restored $1.8 million for crossing guards cut from the budget (B1) . . . That eased the minds of parents, but perhaps only temporarily. The county wants schools to pay the bill. School officials say off-campus safety isn’t their job.

LOST HIS BEARINGS: Latest effect of the animal population explosion following last winter’s rains: bears in the streets. That’s why a black bear wandered into an Antelope Valley neighborhood, wildlife officials say. It took to a tree until it was tranquilized and carried home to the forest (B9). . . California’s steadily growing bear population has hit about 24,000. Most are up north, but about 300 live in L. A. County forests.

BOMBERS AWAY: Think you have problems finding a parking space? Joe Pupich (above) needs a home for his World War II B-25 (B3). Pupich’s “Heavenly Body”--one of the best known planes in the country of that era--was a fixture for years in a cheap site at Van Nuys Airport, then found a free, but temporary, home at Burbank Airport . . . Pupich can’t afford the $1,000-plus a month airport parking fee.

FRIENDS INDEED: They were best friends at Saugus High. So when George Lopata and Chad Keene learned Roger Salkeld was about to pitch his first game in the majors, they had to be there . . . It took a whirlwind cross-country trip, but they plopped into seats behind home plate in Baltimore just as Salkeld struck out the first two batters he faced for the Seattle Mariners (C8).

ROSH HASHANAH: Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year 5754, begins at sunset tonight. The High Holy Days culminate with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Sept. 24 . . . The San Fernando Valley is home to about half the 600,000 Jews of Los Angeles, Ventura and Riverside counties (B2).