A JEWISH THANKS: In Chapter 3 of...

A JEWISH THANKS: In Chapter 3 of the novel “Schindler’s List”--now the season’s most talked-about movie--author Thomas Keneally writes about Leopold Pfefferberg, one of the Jews saved by factory owner Oskar Schindler. It was Pfefferberg, now Leopold Page, who first told the story to Keneally, a UC Irvine writing teacher. . . . Today at 4 p.m., Keneally will be honored with a special humanitarian award by the Jewish Community Center in Costa Mesa. Page will present it to him.

DUAL FUEL: County officials have taken a couple of major steps toward eliminating its fleet of pollution-spewing diesel buses. For one, they’ve ordered 15 electric buses. These buses will mainly run to and from rail depots. . . . Also, county tests on alternative-fuel buses have finally been completed. Propane beat out natural gas and methanol as the cleanest--and cheapest. The next step is to line up a supplier. Transportation chief Stan Oftelie calls the test results “a technological breakthrough.”

ROAD SHOW: The Chapman University Chamber Orchestra began 23 years ago, and in all that time it’s had only one director: John Koshak. On Monday, he takes its 34 members on a 22-concert, 12-day California / Las Vegas tour. . . . Koshak says the annual road tour “helps our students build confidence, and they develop tremendous comradeship.” But there’s another reason to tour: Recruitment. Koshak adds: “It introduces Chapman to a lot of people who may not have heard of us.”

POG HEAVEN: Collecting pogs--or trovs--has become such a hit here that pog tournaments are the latest craze. The next one: At the Parkview Center in Irvine on Jan. 29. . . . Pogs are colorfully designed milk bottle caps, usually $1.25 for five. Collectors play a game to win or lose them with friends. “It’s a cross between trading cards and marbles,” says Bill Hodson of TROV U.S.A., who’ll run the Parkview event. Entry is free. Hodson says his profit will come “after the newcomers are hooked on the game.”