NEW CLIMATE: Football star Todd Steussie isn’t...

NEW CLIMATE: Football star Todd Steussie isn’t used to cold weather. He went to high school in Agoura and college at Berkeley. Well, he’d better buy some long johns. He’s been drafted by the Minnesota Vikings--and drafted is certainly the right word. “My head’s spinning,” he said after returning from two days in Minneapolis. (C10).

NO EXCUSE: Giving to the needy is not always convenient. No wonder, then, that a lot of would-be donors won’t take the time to drive to their local Salvation Army. Well, for some West Valley do-gooders, now there’s no excuse. The Salvation Army is coming to you! . . . All you have to do is leave donations by the curb, where they will be scooped up once a week (B6).

UNINTIMIDATED: CSUN basketball officials have got things all wrong. Somebody should tell them that when you lose a lot of games, you should plan an easier schedule, not the other way around. Yet, even though the Matadors finished 8-18 last season, they’ve added Pepperdine and UNLV to next year’s schedule. . . . That’s not all. The school may move to the Big West Conference (C10).

OUTDATED: Seismologists must not be too sentimental. Otherwise, why would they continue to suggest that the Richter scale no longer be used to measure earthquakes? After all these years, why mess with tradition now? . . . It’s simple, really. It’s not precise enough for the bigger temblors and “it is not based on well-defined physical principles,” according to one expert.