REBUILDING: Commuters don’t seek any reminders of...

REBUILDING: Commuters don’t seek any reminders of the collapse of the Golden State (above) and Antelope Valley freeways--every journey on alternate routes is frustrating enough. Yet construction work is proceeding quickly, and additional detours will open later this week (B5).

GOOD ADVICE: We have been saddened and deeply offended by the horrible behavior exhibited by newcomers to Metrolink (B1). So we decided to seek guidance from the capital of courtesy, New York City. “Behave civilly, just as you would on an elevator or in a library--anywhere where a large number of people get together,” said Jared Lebow, director of public affairs for the New York City Transit Authority. Works for them, doesn’t it?

TRASH TALK: Nothing like a quake to create trash--lots of it. . . . The amount dumped into Valley landfills and gravel pits has increased between 15% and 20% since the Jan. 17 temblor. So sanitation officials will take a closer look at hauling the rubble to a 3,000-acre landfill in East Carbon City, Utah (B7).

FIRST PRACTICE: It’s tough enough to play on the road, especially against an opponent with a better record. . . . But that’s the least of troubles for Kennedy High School’s basketball team (7-8), which will visit Cleveland High (11-6) Friday. Because of quake damage--the school remains closed--Kennedy will practice today for the first time in three weeks. (C8)

KEEP EMBARGO: Reports indicate that President Clinton may lift the 19-year economic embargo against Vietnam this week. . . . That possibility deeply disturbs relatives of soldiers still listed as missing in action. Said Albro Lundy III, whose father, a former president of the student body at Van Nuys High, was reported lost in Laos in 1970: “If Clinton lifts it, he will have lied. Vietnam has not accounted for the MIAs.”