IGNORED TOWN: Winnetka gets no respect. Most...

IGNORED TOWN: Winnetka gets no respect. Most people think it’s just a drive-in theater or a street. Even some who live there believe it’s part of Canoga Park. In fact, it covers 18 city blocks (B1). . . . Another Winnetka, a Chicago suburb, attracts more attention, even from Hollywood. It has served as the setting for many films, including “Home Alone” and “Uncle Buck.”

JAMES DEAN: The accident that killed James Dean and shattered a generation took place exactly 39 years ago today on a highway northwest of Bakersfield. Over the years, the site became a popular tourist attraction. But who remembers that Dean left on his ill-fated ride from right here? . . . According to “The Death of James Dean,” by Warren Newton Beath, Dean left that day from a house he was renting on Sutton Street in Sherman Oaks.

BOOKS: Pennsylvania is a long way away, but students in Erie were eager to help out earthquake victims. So they organized a book drive that resulted this month in the arrival of 600 pounds of books to Hamlin Street Elementary School in West Hills, hard hit by the quake. On Thursday, students (above) sorted the books (B2).

NEW RINK: Torn by labor strife, pro hockey is skating on thin ice these days (C1). . . . The good news? A new rink complex opens next week in Simi Valley (C8). . . . Called the Easy Street Arena, it will accommodate figure skating as well. “It has everything that a first-class facility should have,” says Michigan Tech hockey coach Bob Mancini.

GOOD DEAL: Riding lessons can cost a bundle. So, many Valley horse lovers pay the bill by working at stables--grooming, feeding, and, yes, even shoveling manure (Valley Life! Page 8). . . . Says Lisa Weinstein, who spends about 30 hours a week at Carousel Farms in Chatsworth: “If I didn’t have this arrangement, there is no way I’d be able to pay for all of this.”