SPECIAL SERVICE: A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s...

SPECIAL SERVICE: A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department commander from Calabasas says it was a misunderstanding. That’s how a deputy ended up chauffeuring federal Judge Edward Rafeedie and his wife from downtown Los Angeles to Malibu and back so they could see if their house survived last week’s fire . . . The commander says he just wanted deputies to let the judge know if the house was OK. An underling interpretation of the order? Give the judge a ride (A32).

A NEW NEWHALL: Downtown Newhall was once a bustling place. Not anymore. Today, longstanding businesses on San Fernando Road sit side by side with thrift shops, pawnshops and a tattoo parlor. . . . Santa Clarita officials want to recapture Newhall’s glory days as a Western town. But now the area is mostly Latino and some residents wonder whether promoting a cowboy theme is just a way of denying the growing Latino presence. “It kind of smacks of racism,” said one Latino resident. (B9).

FIRST PERSON: Lucile Yaney, owner of the Inn of the Seventh Ray restaurant, had a firefighting method that was stereotypically Topanga Canyon, home to faith healers and crystal sellers: “The first thing I did was call the angels to stop the winds because it was a Santa Ana condition.” The restaurant survived just fine. . . . Yaney and other Southland residents who lived through the fires describe, in their own words, their experiences in Eyewitness, the last in a special series of reports on the Southland fires (B1).

BUDDING WRITERS: The essay topic was, “If I Could Give the World a Gift.” The writers: young students from Balboa Boulevard Magnet School in Northridge. . . . Columnist Scott Harris, called in to judge a writing contest for first- through third-graders, found simple and eloquent expressions of equally simple wishes--peace and friendship (B9).