MELTDOWN: Although the 1993 snowpack was thick,...

MELTDOWN: Although the 1993 snowpack was thick, this year’s snowfall in the eastern Sierra Nevada was thin. . . . The Los Angeles Aqueduct, which carries the snow melt to Los Angeles, is usually the city’s principal source of water. But in years like this, more water is pumped in from the Sacramento Delta or Colorado River. For a look at how the Valley gets its water, see Valley Briefing, B2.

HOLOCAUST: In recent years, some people have come forward to claim that the Holocaust was a hoax. Survivors, of course, are outraged. Well, the governing coalition of Germany says it should be more than an outrage--it should be a crime. . . . Zev Garber, who teaches a Holocaust class at Valley College, applauds the government’s move, saying it “sends a signal that the German people are responsible” for what happened under Hitler.

NEW ERA: Comedian Bobcat Goldthwait, who played a deranged cop in some of the “Police Academy” movies, has gotten a lot of heat for setting his chair on fire during a May 6 taping of “The Tonight Show” in Burbank. Jay Leno wasn’t too thrilled with the stunt, and neither were fire officials. . . . Well, according to Joe Bleeden, who handled the show’s publicity from 1972 to 1986, things on the set have certainly changed. “I never saw anything that extreme,” he said.

TEST CASE: The debate over the so-called “recovered memory” syndrome has moved to the courtroom in the case of a Santa Clarita man accused of sexually molesting four young girls more than 20 years ago. . . . The man’s attorneys say they will challenge a new state law that allows victims who suddenly remember abuse incidents to file charges years later (B1).

QUAKE AFTERMATH: Almost four months after the Northridge earthquake, life is far from back to normal for its victims. Most continue to struggle with bureaucracy, doubts and fear (B1).

Sierra Snowpack

Recent snowfalls in the Sierra Nevada have been uneven and disappointing. Percentage of Normal Snowfall 1992: 68% 1993: 169% 1994: 53% Source: Department of Water and Power