HOMECOMING: It was not a pretty sight...

HOMECOMING: It was not a pretty sight nearly four months ago when the Universal Sheraton, as one employee put it, turned into the “Poseidon Adventure.” He was referring, of course, to the Jan. 17 quake, which threw plants, trees, television sets and lamps all over the place. . . . Finally, on Tuesday, the hotel reopened, much to the relief of staff members who had been out of work (B2).

HISTORY: Last week was some week for CSUN biology professor Tacheeni Scott. Along with other Native Americans, Scott, a Navajo, was in Washington for historical meetings between the U. S. government and long-neglected tribal leaders. . . . Scott had mixed emotions. “I felt grateful to be there,” he said, “and angry that it took so long. My father should have been the one to see this, not me.”

BIRD FEUD: There’s a new battle in Topanga, and it has nothing to do with big land developments. This one is over big birds. Ostriches (above), to be exact, which some neighbors say have scared horses and kept people awake. Others are also concerned by the number of drive-by gawkers (B3). . . . Ostriches are very valuable, in fact, and were the target of thieves in the Valley last year.

BAD CHOICE: CSUN volleyball coach John Price is mad as, well, you know what, and wants to do something about it. His beef is the NCAA selection committee, which left third-ranked Stanford out of the Final Four, picking Indiana/Purdue-Fort Wayne instead. . . . Price said the choice was “ridiculous,” and he may avoid scheduling road trips to the Midwest and East Coast (C8).

TOUGH LOSS: Author Richard McClure Scarry, whose death was announced Tuesday (A16), will always mean something to kids everywhere. After all, generation after generation grew up with his gentle animal illustrations. . . . “People don’t ask for him by name,” said Ellen Tanner, children’s coordinator at the Burbank Public Library, “but his books are still very popular.”