STEEL RELIEF: Owners of steel-frame buildings damaged...

STEEL RELIEF: Owners of steel-frame buildings damaged in the Northridge earthquake will have nearly three years to make repairs, thanks to an ordinance adopted by the Los Angeles City Council (B1). . . . But the ordinance sets no inspection or repair guidelines, allowing building owners to select from several traditional techniques.

COOL MINDS: Greg McElroy insists that bringing a third professional hockey team to the L. A. area is not skating on thin ice. A West Hills resident, McElroy was named president of the International Hockey League’s new L. A. franchise. And he estimates that half the fans of the minor league team will drive down from the Valley to the L. A. Sports Arena. . . . “I’m at the Van Nuys Iceoplex at 4 a.m. with these other parents who are so passionate about the sport,” he says. “The Valley is a hotbed of hockey fans.”

HIGHER FARE: Looking for a full-service restaurant that can get you in and out the door in 20 minutes? You may have to catch a plane. . . . Steve Mora, his wife, Tamara, and brother Jeffrey Mora, above, run the Air Hollywood Bar & Grill at Burbank Airport, one of many Southland airports abandoning cafeterias for sit-down eateries (D4).

VIOLENT LESSON: Los Angeles Police Department officers rounded up more than 70 weapons at Kirk o’ The Valley School in Reseda on Wednesday--all toys. Students were asked to bring in their toys as part of a program designed to address violent behavior in children. . . . Police were concerned about the abundance of toy knives and guns (B1).

TAKE THAT, BARBIE: Burbank’s DIC Productions is bringing “Sailor Moon,” a Japanese animated series with female super-heroes who fight sexism, to American TV--followed by a flood of Sailor Moon dolls. . . . A DIC spokesman says modern girls need more powerful role models: “In the ‘90s, girls want to be as strong as or equal to boys. Barbie doesn’t fit those needs.”