EARNED A REST? For 30 years, the...

EARNED A REST? For 30 years, the talking Abraham Lincoln has been a major attraction at Disneyland. But every few years rumors surface that he’ll be retired. This time they’re true--partially. . . . The mechanical president, who recites some of his most famous speeches in the Lincoln Theater just off the amusement park’s Main Street, will soon take his first rest, making room for a documentary. In the early part of the day, the theater will show “The Making of the Lion King.” But Lincoln returns daily at 2 p.m. and performs until closing.

* LIBERTY TIME: When it comes to Independence Day celebrations, Knott’s Berry Farm has an edge on other entertainment centers. It has the only re-created Independence Hall around. It also has its own batch of patriots who bring America’s earliest days back to life each July holiday. . . . Among them: Gene Collins, who annually delivers Patrick Henry’s famous “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech. He’ll give four presentations each day, Saturday through Monday, inside the hall.

* TOUGHER PUFFS: The state of California plans to make it more expensive for you to smoke your favorite cigar or pipe tobacco. Beginning today, the state tax on non-cigarette tobacco goes up 8%. But Jim Allison, whose AA Tobacco Barn Pipe Show in Lake Forest has been in operation 65 years, says it will take a while before the consumer is aware of it: “The distributor will have it on his next billing, and then we’ll pass it on to the customer.” . . . But Allison doesn’t expect it to deter anyone from smoking: “If you plan to buy a Rolls-Royce, it won’t stop you if they raise the price a hundred dollars.”

* WEATHER: Highs will be in the upper 70s. Lows in the low 60s. (B8)