SMART GENES: Like mother, like son ....

SMART GENES: Like mother, like son . . . . Brandon Savage will address Thousand Oaks High’s graduating class next week as valedictorian--an honor his mother held 21 years ago. Jeanie Mortensen Savage, who rose to the top of her class at Thousand Oaks High in 1973, marvels at her son’s success at juggling academics with the wrestling team, student government, and a part-time job. “We don’t talk much about the academics,” she said. “Most of the dinner-time conversation is trying to coordinate his schedule.”

FINAL FRONTIER: “Star Trek” disappeared from Prime Time a quarter-century ago. And “Star Trek: The Next Generation” is now in re-runs too . . . . But on Sunday, the authorized biographer of Star Trek visionary Gene Roddenberry will sign copies of his “Star Trek Creator” at the Phantom Bookstore in Ventura. Store owner John Anthony Miller can’t predict the turnout of fans, who call themselves Trekkers. Don’t call them Trekkies, he warns. “I used the word Trekkie and I got scolded for it.”

DRUG CZAR: William J. Bennett has worn many hats. He was Secretary of Education under President Reagan. He was the nation’s drug czar to coordinate President Bush’s drug-control policy. And, he’s even considering a bid for Presidency . . . . But this Saturday, Bennett will don a mortarboard as the commencement speaker at St. Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula. Bennett, who has a Ph.D. in philosophy, embraces the college’s great books program. Reading Plato’s Republic , he once wrote, forever “altered my life.”

PEDDLE PATROL: High-speed chases are out . . . . Yet Simi Valley police quickly found their new mountain-bike patrols can penetrate some places their cars cannot--down narrow alleys, through apartment complexes and along dirt trails. In just a few nights, bike-riding officers have made several felony drug arrests and dozens of traffic stops. Said Officer Dave Livingstone: “We found out we’ve been able to do the same thing on bicycles we’ve been doing in cars.”