KATZ RIPPLES: Northeast Valley Assemblyman Richard Katz...

KATZ RIPPLES: Northeast Valley Assemblyman Richard Katz has the rare political power to shake up his fellows just by staying put. His decision not to go after the Van Nuys seat in the state Senate jostles L.A. Councilman Hal Bernson, a potential rival. . . . Sighs of relief from Supervisor Ed Edelman--now off the Katz hit list--but disappointed East Valley Latinos are abandoning hopes to replace Katz. The Valley Politics Column (B5).

LEAKY PEN: That convicted murderer who escaped from the new state prison in Lancaster made it unharmed over three fences topped with razor wire, according to state investigators who blamed prison “staff negligence, construction deficiencies and procedural inadequacies.” The escape chilled previously cordial town-prison relations (B1). . . . Coming soon: a deadly electric fence.

TUNES FOR TEARS: For expatriates, there’s language and food for a touch of home . . . and then there’s music. For them, ethnic music clubs provide songs of nostalgia. “We get all kinds of people here,” says the owner of a Studio City Greek restaurant. “Greeks who come from the islands, Greeks who come from the villages.” See Valley Life! Page 12

WINGED VICTORY: Football traditionalists say “This too shall pass” as more and more high school teams hurl to the max (C10). . . . But maybe they ought to be saying “We too shall pass,” as the teams that keep the ball in the air rack up yardage, cheers and championships, making runners passe.

SEEN, NOT HEARD: Do the holidays bring out the beast in your little lambs? After all, “children will be visiting more people at this time than the rest of the year,” notes Kimber Lee Wilkes, a Pierce College etiquette teacher. Local experts advise parents how to couth up the kids’ manners before they turn a Christmas visit into a family feud. See Valley Life! Page 34