ANOTHER SHAKE: The Marmonte League has decided...

ANOTHER SHAKE: The Marmonte League has decided to give sportsmanship another chance. Reversing an earlier decision, high school principals from Camarillo to Thousand Oaks have lifted a ban on the traditional post-game handshake (A1). The schools sacked the symbol of fair play after it prompted a fistfight. But the no-handshake rule sparked an even greater commotion, gaining nationwide attention. Sports Illustrated cited the handshake ban as a sign that the apocalypse is nigh.

FRONT-RUNNERS: The Field Poll shows state Sen. Cathie Wright of Simi Valley and former Assemblyman Tom McClintock of Thousand Oaks as the leading Republicans in two statewide races . . . . Wright has the support of 23% of Republicans for the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor. McClintock has 23% of GOP support for state controller. But 64% remain undecided in Wright’s race and 59% in McClintock’s. “When more than 50% of the voters haven’t decided,” says the poll’s director, “it’s really a tossup.”

HOLY CHUTZPAH: The Simi Valley priest who beat two embezzlement charges is accusing the Catholic Archdiocese in Los Angeles of acting “immorally and unethically in actively supporting the criminal prosecution against me.” (B1). . . Father David Dean Piroli said the church accused him of stealing money that it was not sure it was missing and suppressed evidence that would have helped his defense. Standing before TV cameras, he said: “No one, not even the Holy Father himself, should put himself or herself above the law.”

WHAT A GEM: Jewel Pedi is stepping down from her position as executive director of Food Share, the hugely successful food bank in Oxnard. Jewel was there from the beginning in 1978, when a band of volunteers ran Food Share out of a two-car garage. Now, she directs the organization that feeds 127,000 people a month through a wide network of relief agencies. Food Share’s Dee Volz considers Pedi a CEO with a heart: “She has a strong combination of efficiency and caring.”