SHAKEDOWN: The streets are quickly mending, and...

SHAKEDOWN: The streets are quickly mending, and so are our spirits. Life after the quake does, indeed, go on in the Valley. But so do the aftershocks--more than 6,000, in fact, since Jan. 17 (B5). The frequency, according to Caltech, dropped dramatically after the first day, but we are far from quaked out. . . . Seismologists say there’s a greater than 1-in-3 chance of another magnitude 5 in the next year.

GETTING HELP: In the meantime, people affected by the quake are still seeking help from the government. Starting today, a new Earthquake Service Center will open in Sherman Oaks, absorbing services that had been provided at two disaster application centers that closed Tuesday. . . . Officials were serving about 150 people a day at each of the two centers (B1).

CHINA CARD: One of the big issues facing President Clinton is whether to revoke China’s most-favored-nation trade status because of its poor record on human rights. Well, one Valley scholar thinks that Clinton should keep the status quo. . . . “When people gain economic independence,” said Shao-Ju Lee, director of the China Institute at Cal State Northridge, “they look for political freedom.”

OVERTIME: The Japanese work ethic is legendary these days and, apparently, it extends to the baseball diamond as well. Shizuoka Commercial High, which recently visited the Valley, routinely holds six-hour practices, and its pitchers throw 200 pitches a day (C6). . . . But you can bet that this is one area where America won’t try to copy Japan. “Your arm can only take so many throws,” El Camino Real High pitcher Randy Wolf said.

TICKETS GALORE: Apparently Santa Clarita is no place to double-park. Since the city began processing parking violations in October, the number of tickets issued by sheriff’s deputies has increased nearly 60%. And no one seems to know why (B6).