FUN FOOD WATCH: What’s worse than eating...

FUN FOOD WATCH: What’s worse than eating too much chocolate this Easter Sunday? Giving any of it to your dog, local veterinarians are warning. . . . Chocolate includes a composite called theobromine, and it’s toxic to most animals. It can be fatal; but usually, vets say, the result is a sick, vomiting dog. . . . “It’s actually worse for cats than dogs,” says Dr. John Young of the Orange-Tustin Animal Hospital. “But cats aren’t much interested in chocolate. Dogs love it.”

COOL REMINDER: With Chelsea Clinton’s recent brush with the law over her failure to wear a bicycle helmet in California, it’s now family attire. (A3) . . . But some of the young patients at Children’s Hospital of Orange County this week sent her a safety reminder. They mailed her bicycle reflectors, a helmet and a poster showing what she’d look like wearing it. . . . The message of the CHOC poster: “Cool People Wear Helmets.”

GETTING AWAY: According to custom: It’s considered bad luck in the Persian culture to stay home on Sizdeh-Bedar, the 13th and final day of the Persian New Year--which is Saturday. . . . That’s why many of Persian heritage will celebrate in local parks, or head to the Irvine Barclay Theater that night at 8, for the Avaz International Dance Theatre celebration. Dancers such as Carolyn Krueger, above, will perform traditional Persian music and dance, such as “Rahat,” an ancient Samarkand dance.

AGGIE LOVING: You’ve heard they do things big in Texas? The Dallas Morning News has taken to task the Board of Regents of Texas A & M University for excessive spending at a time when the school’s budget is bare-bones. One example it gave in a three-year study: $495 for “food and drinks” by the regents at a football game at Anaheim Stadium in 1992. . . . But then, it was an important game. Texas A & M was playing Stanford in the Pigskin Classic--the debut for new Cardinal coach Bill Walsh. Texas A & M won too, 10-7.