CRIME: It almost doesn’t matter where you...

CRIME: It almost doesn’t matter where you park your car in the Valley--you’re always taking a risk. Figures from a 1993 FBI report, above, show that motor vehicle theft can happen anywhere. . . . Today’s Valley Briefing (B5) reviews local crime statistics in a number of categories.

ELECTION: The City Council seat left vacant when Zev Yaroslavsky joined the Board of Supervisors will be filled by an election, not by appointment (B1). . . . The council’s action effectively kills a proposal by a coalition of Valley and Westside leaders to name an interim replacement. Said Joel Wachs: “Anyone who serves on the City Council voting for the people should be elected by the people.”

RATING ENCINO: December’s Los Angeles magazine rates 20 places to live in L.A. It says Encino has some strengths, but they’re “overshadowed by a pathetic smattering of culture, arts and entertainment, low shopping convenience, an undesirable climate and surprisingly poor dining.” Honorary Mayor Ronnie Schell fires back: “I didn’t know L.A. magazine wrote fiction.”

HARD TO PLEASE: The magazine also rips Van Nuys, describing it as “ ‘50s housing tract meets prefab strip mall.” . . . Don Schultz, president of the Van Nuys Homeowners Assn., doesn’t exactly disagree. But he does blame the L.A. City Council and says “the magazine needed to point out whose fault it is that it became this way.” . . . The magazine does have a few kind things to say about Burbank, Glendale and Woodland Hills.

THANKS LOVEY: Mrs. Howell, it seems after all, didn’t leave her millions on “Gilligan’s Island.” Natalie Schafer, who played the rich castaway on the popular TV series, left $2 million to the Motion Picture and Television Fund in Woodland Hills (B2). . . . The donation made it possible for its hospital on Tuesday to open a renovated outpatient wing.

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Motor Vehicle Theft

Here is a breakdown, from a 1993 FBI report, of motor vehicle theft in area cities: Agoura Hills: 93 Burbank: 992 Calabasas: 72 Glendale: 1,447 Lancaster: 1,016 Los Angeles: 59,764 Palmdale: 746 San Fernando: 153 Santa Clarita: 468