RETURN: The building is empty, but residents...

RETURN: The building is empty, but residents of the shattered Northridge Meadows apartment complex are slowly being allowed to come back, one by one, to pick up their possessions. Among them Tuesday was Sonia Scherbosky, above, who couldn’t hide her emotions. For more pictures, see B6.

OUR TOWNS: Condemned buildings. Displaced tenants. Shattered nerves. No, not Northridge or Granada Hills. The subject is Sherman Oaks, which like other Valley communities is fighting its own battle against the rubble. . . . “It’s the best kept secret in the world, how hard we’ve been hit,” Los Angeles City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky said. Starting today, Focus (B2) details the earthquake’s aftermath in communities throughout the Valley. Stories examine recovery efforts in Woodland Hills, North Hills, Sylmar and Sherman Oaks.

SHAKE AND CAKE: When in doubt, eat cake. . . . That was the approach taken by an enterprising West Hills Pavilions bakery decorator over the weekend. For sale were a dozen chocolate cakes sprinkled with butter-cream frosting--and a written plea for no more tremors. At $3.95 each, the cakes sold out Saturday. Said a spokeswoman: “We wanted to calm people’s nerves.”

REFUTING REALITY: Many of us are not adequately prepared for earthquakes, and one major reason is that we operate in a constant state of denial. . . . Psychologists claim that people deny the possibility of danger in their refusal to purchase earthquake insurance, devise a family strategy in advance and bolt down their homes (E1).

GETTING HELP: The Times continues to carry a full directory of quake services each day. Today’s Help page (B3) includes some new information about physicians and nurses from Valley Presbyterian Hospital who will be at the Winnetka Recreation Center in a mobile van today. . . . They’ll be providing basic health care to earthquake victims who require medical attention. The unit will move to other parks later this week.

ROAD WARRIORS: It’s been a rough season for the Cal State Northridge Matadors. First, they lose games. Then, they have to leave their campus because of earthquake damage. But the basketball team held its first post-quake practice Tuesday at Pauley Pavilion, home of the top-rated UCLA Bruins. The 3-12 Matadors can only hope that the magic will rub off on them (C8).