SAVE THE TREES: The Joshua tree has...

SAVE THE TREES: The Joshua tree has been no match for suburbia. Antelope Valley’s development in the 1980s destroyed about 200,000 Joshua trees. But, by purchasing five acres last week, the city of Lancaster is now halfway toward creating a 95-acre woodland preserve to keep the densest areas of the trees’ growth intact (B1). . . . The tree is believed to have been named by Mormons traveling to Utah in the mid-1800s.

FREDDY’S BACK: The first time Tex-Mex singer Freddy Fender played North Hollywood’s Palomino, he was hot and so was the club. Trouble is that was 1975. But Fender is trying to make it back, and so is the Palomino. He’ll play there Dec. 23 and 24. . . . “I wanted to be part of the Palomino’s coming back,” Fender says. “Once you play at the Palomino, you want to play there again.” See Valley Life! Page 10.

SHOPPING: You don’t have to hit the big malls to find great buys in the Valley. Just check out the small shops offering books, cigars--even harmonicas. . . . Lionel Richman, above, looks at travel books at Geographica in Burbank, which also offers maps and globes. For a more unusual shopping experience, try Tri-Ess Sciences. It sells anything from hydrochloric acid to life-size plastic skeletons. See Valley Life! Page 8.

ON TRACK: Despite the Amtrak cuts announced this week, passenger trains will still rumble through the Valley. The L. A. to Seattle route, which stops at Glendale, will keep operating daily, Amtrak’s Dawn Soper says. . . . Glendale is a popular stop. Over the summer, it served 17,163 passengers, making it 84th out of 540 cities nationwide.

SAME CADY: The scenery has changed, but Mick Cady’s act hasn’t. As basketball coach at San Fernando High, he still pushes his players hard. His approach worked at Notre Dame, which captured the 1992-93 Southern Section Division III-A title. . . . This time will be tougher. His team isn’t likely to make the playoffs (C14).