EARLY VOTERS: Voters go to the polls...

EARLY VOTERS: Voters go to the polls Nov. 8, but a lot of people don’t want to wait that long to cast their vote. In Orange County, the number of people who voted by absentee ballot has tripled over the last four general elections--151,000 in 1992--and a record number is expected again this year. . . . Reason: Rules have changed so that anybody can use them, and political committees target the absentee vote. County registrar officials say that about 83% of those returned are filled out properly and are acceptable.

FOX HOUSE: When Fox TV wanted a coffeehouse as the hangout for its new show “Party of Five,” they taped at some of the eight Diedrich Coffee houses in Orange County. If you see the show--(Monday nights at 9 on KTTV Channel 11)--the huge bean roaster is the one from Diedrich’s in Tustin. Diedrich’s from Newport Beach and Trabuco Canyon were use too. Says Diedrich spokeswoman Melinda Morgan: “They wanted a comfortable, relaxed, homey atmosphere. We’ve got it.”

ICE BUDDIES: If you’re not happy about having tickets to those Mighty Ducks or Kings games that went unplayed because of the lockout, Olympic skating champion Dorothy Hamill wants to give you a break. Just bring any of those tickets to her Ice Capades show--Wednesday through Sunday at The Pond--and she’ll give you $4 off. Hamill, who owns the Ice Capades, skates in the show herself. She calls it “Hansel, Gretel, the Witch and the Cat.”

BIRTHDAY FUN: It’s been two years since the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art reopened its renovated doors. So it’s been throwing itself a party. Friday night was its open house, and today, everybody gets in free. . . . They’ve even set up a “Discover Bowers” game for youngsters, who can win prizes by following a treasure map through the museum. Characters from the new movie “Swan Princess” will also be on hand.

TODAY: The Yorba Linda Civic Light Opera production of “The Fantasticks” closes, at 2, the Yorba Linda Forum Theatre. (714) 779-1932.

WEATHER: Partly cloudy and windy with highs in the mid-70s. Lows will be in the lower 60s. B12

* The Top of Today’s News is on A2