ONE FOR THE ROAD: The scheduled reopening...

ONE FOR THE ROAD: The scheduled reopening of the rest of the downed Simi Valley Freeway leaves only one major post-quake freeway repair project: the Antelope Valley and Golden State Freeway interchange. . . . Although the busiest portions reopened in July, some transitions still need work. Repairs should be completed in November.

PEACE HOPES: The IRA’s cease-fire (A1, B13) was greeted locally by expatriates who note that in most cases, Catholics and Protestants who move here leave those tensions behind. . . . Eileen Selby, founder of the Mayflower Club in North Hollywood, says, “We’ve never had a problem.” . . . Local leaders think about 1 million residents of Los Angeles and Orange counties are of Irish heritage.

NEW CHANCE: Today’s prep football preview (C10) takes a look at the Northwest Valley Conference, where plenty of teams hope to benefit from the new playoff system. . . . The team that might gain the most is Kennedy High, which had a good season last year but missed the playoffs. Quarterback Dan McMullen (above) will again be calling the signals.

CASUAL TOWER: College professors do plenty of research, but GQ must not be on their reading list. Some, like Valley College faculty President Jack Sterk, go casual in the classroom to keep cool and dress like students. Sterk, in fact, has never worn a suit and tie in 24 years of teaching. . . . And casual doesn’t mean tweed jackets. That’s an Ivy League thing, he says (E1).

NEW LEAGUES: Forget the baseball strike. Next summer, the Antelope Valley may have its own pro team. . . . It would be part of the growing national movement of independent leagues that are self-funded and have no relationship with the majors. A league headquartered in Chatsworth is trying to field a team for next summer in Palmdale. A four-part series beginning today in Valley Sports (C10) examines the trend.