LONG WAY: Actor Dustin Hoffman recently started...

LONG WAY: Actor Dustin Hoffman recently started work on his new film, “Outbreak,” about a deadly virus. But Hoffman may always be most remembered as the confused Benjamin in the 1967 classic, “The Graduate,” which, incidentally, gave a plug to the Valley. . . . During Ben’s graduation party, his mother told him to see his guests, including one couple who “came all the way from Tarzana.”

THEY WERE HERE: The Rolling Stones, who opened yet another tour Monday, have never actually performed as a group in the Valley. But Mick Jagger and Keith Richards haven’t ignored us, either. Jagger once used the Country Club in Reseda to shoot a video for a solo album, and Richards has played at the Universal Amphitheatre.

FAMOUS CLUB: A few months ago, it looked as if the Palomino, the former home of country music legends, might be put out to pasture. But instead, with Sherry Thomas (above) returning to town, the North Hollywood club may rise again (F1). . . . Clint Eastwood used to be a frequent patron. In fact, two of his films, “Every Which Way But Loose,” and “Any Which Way You Can,” were shot there.

MAKING FRIENDS: Greg Gooden is the kind of guy who lets guests hang out in his spare Van Nuys bedroom even if he hardly knows them. Now that’s hospitality, huh? . . . Well, not exactly. Gooden communicates with them through his own computer bulletin board company, one of more than 57,000 systems nationwide. “It’s like going to the library without leaving the house,” he says. See Valley Business, Page 10.

NEW MARKET: Hollywood will soon be coming to a CD-ROM near you, courtesy of Image Entertainment in Chatsworth, which hopes to take advantage of the millions of computers with that technology. . . . But most of the films will have sex or violence. “I don’t see putting ‘Terms of Endearment’ on CD-ROM,” said CEO Martin Greenwald. See Valley Business, Page 4.