RIGHT TURN: Justice Harry Blackmun is leaving...

RIGHT TURN: Justice Harry Blackmun is leaving the Supreme Court (A1), which, according to David Gurnick, head of the San Fernando Valley Bar Assn., will probably mean a shift to the right. Gurnick says Blackmun has helped provide stability in the court, and that President Clinton should appoint someone who can act as a “moderate consensus builder” to work out disputes among other justices.

LAST MINUTE: We live on a planet of procrastinators, especially when we owe money. So it’s no surprise that many Valley residents, eight days before the April 15 deadline, have yet to file their taxes. But because of the quake, it seems traffic is even slower than usual. . . . “They just want to be sure they have all the right information together,” said an administrative assistant for H&R; Block in Van Nuys.

EINSTEIN: There’s a science to everything these days, even volleyball. Just ask Lian Kang Lu (above), coach of the CSUN women’s squad, who believes there’s a proper technique that must be followed in all phases of the game. . . . “Everything I teach is like a little block,” he explains, “and it takes many, many blocks to make up a big building.” (C8)

STOLEN FAVORITES: Air bags are hot items these days. For thieves, that is, who are swiping them like crazy (A1). . . . But the biggest target in the car remains the stereo, says Detective Dexter Owens, who heads the LAPD’s West Valley auto theft division. Other items high on the list are cellular phones, tapes and briefcases. Briefcases? “They’re very professional looking,” Owens said, “and many people keep laptops in there.”

TOWN METTLE: The people of Castaic were concerned about big city violence invading their small town, so they did something about it. The school district purchased a metal detector at its middle school one year ago this month, and so far, it’s paid off. . . . Only about half a dozen suspensions have come from the checks (B9).