FAILING GRADES: News that 70% of incoming...

FAILING GRADES: News that 70% of incoming freshmen failed their math placement tests at Cal State Northridge in the fall has dismayed CSU trustees. . . . It’s nearly a 10% increase over 1993 levels (B1). Trustees took action Wednesday to reduce the need for remedial classes (B1).

HEAD GAMES: The Valley Torah Patriots needed this assist. . . . Allegedly harassed by officials for wearing yarmulkes during games, the Orthodox Jewish high school basketball team is counting on Southern Section Commissioner Dean Crowley to end the controversy. Following an outcry of support for the team, Crowley will seek clarification of state and national rules (C1).

STAR TRACK: Say it’s so, Flo Jo. Olympic gold medalist Florence Griffith Joyner, above, visited Glendale to promote a new fitness book (B2), but her mind was on Northridge. . . . “If I could ever find a free moment in my life,” the former CSUN track athlete said, “I would love to go back to coach at CSUN.” Well, there’s an opening for a hurdling and horizontal jump coach. . . . Time to clear that calendar.

BUFFALO BERT: Broncos and Mustangs may have made Bert Boeckmann a fortune in the Valley, but now he’s dealing in buffalo. . . . The owner of Galpin Ford in Van Nuys, Boeckmann has acquired a pair of rare white buffalo for his ranch near San Diego. They’ll join his 100-plus herd of champion breeding stock, which he sells. But don’t expect to see any critters hawking cars, a la Cal Worthington. “You’re not going to take an older buffalo to Galpin Ford and let him wander around,” Boeckmann said. “He might take off and chase somebody.”

BEER BUST: And you thought that a brewery was no place for an education. . . . Expanding its efforts in community-based policing, the Los Angeles Police Department on Wednesday began its Community Police Academy at the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Van Nuys. Valley residents sat in on the first class, learning police procedures (B8).