INDY INSIGHT: The odds are certainly against...

INDY INSIGHT: The odds are certainly against Northridge’s Mike Groff for Sunday’s Indy 500. To be exact, his chances of winning are 15 to 1, according to Harrah’s in Reno. He’s in the last row, and that’s not a good place to start. . . . But that doesn’t deter his backers. “Anyone can win it,” said Jim Prescott, manager of Groff’s racing team. “Mike has a good car and a good engine, and we’re going to try.”

QUAKE CHANGE: It wasn’t as bad as they thought. Caltech has put out the word that Wednesday’s early morning aftershock, originally thought to be 4.5 magnitude, was actually only a 4.2. Says Caltech: “We’ve had the time to consider more data.” . . . Well, that’s all fine and dandy, but they also tell us to expect one 4.0 or larger about once a month.

GOOD TEACHER: Teaching at a community college is a tough job, so those who do it should gladly accept the credit for it. And that includes Pierce College’s Patricia Gammage Siever (above), who was given an annual Excellence Award this week by the University of Texas. . . . “The community college faculty are the true teachers of excellence,” she said.

HATE STUDY: Glendale is going after hate crime. Two weeks ago, vandals painted swastikas and “Asian-looking” characters on the walls of the Armenian-American Boy and Girl Scouts Club building, and now the city will appoint a committee to study the problem (B3). . . . Councilman Larry Zarian says the action doesn’t mean the city is racist, but that “there are some racists and bigots among us.”

CIVILITY: The new law against denying women access to abortion clinics may actually be a good thing if it promotes “Christian civility,” says Richard J. Mouw of the Fuller Seminary in Pasadena. The most ardent, he says, also can be the most obnoxious (B15). . . . Recently, Pastor Jack Hayford of the Church on the Way in Van Nuys complained about the “self-righteous salvos” among Christians today.