JOYLESS RACE: Joy Picus, bounced out of...

JOYLESS RACE: Joy Picus, bounced out of the L. A. City Council by southwest Valley voters this year, has decided against running for the county supervisor’s seat being vacated by Ed Edelman (B4). . . . That puts an even brighter gleam on the chances of Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, who political insiders consider the candidate to beat.

NAME GAME: After a quiet spell, when the Valley thirst for new neighborhood names and boundaries seemed to have been quenched, the mania has returned. The City Council has set new borders for Porter Ranch and Shadow Hills and created a new community: Sherman Village (B2). . . . The recent flurry of changes began with West Hills seceding from Canoga Park in 1987, but the roots go far back. North Hollywood (since 1927) was once Toluca, then Lankershim.

SEASON IN THE SUN: Christmas and the winter solstice go way back together--early Christians piggybacked the religious holiday onto the longstanding pagan celebration of the shortest day of the year (B1). A festively garbed laborer, above, took advantage of the solstice’s scant daylight Tuesday to spruce up a ditch along Elizabeth Lake Road in Leona Valley.

GO WEST--NOT: In a report Tuesday, the U. S. Conference of Mayors said increasing numbers of homeless families were seeking shelter (A16). The Valley provides a good example of that trend: The North Hollywood shelter has a two-month waiting list for its 30 family units. . . . An administrator says some families come from other states, still lured by the faded promise of the California good life.

GOODBY ACADEMY: If a police academy is coming to the San Fernando Valley, it will have to be another of those movie sequels. The L. A. City Council switched the planned Sylmar academy to a bargain-site alternative in Westchester, unless environmental problems crop up (B4). . . . This will ease concerns of Valley equestrians, who had feared the loss of scenic Sylmar trails.