HISTORY LESSONS? Len Wood & Associates of...

HISTORY LESSONS? Len Wood & Associates of Palos Verdes specializes in workshops for local elected government types. On the agenda for its new California series: “Avoiding the Fiscal Nightmare--Lessons From Orange County.” The government training group says the workshops are designed to “increase your comfort level in dealing with financial oversight responsibilities.” Says Wood: “Many elected officials are amateurs at finance, yet they’re asked to make decisions dealing with millions of dollars--with little training.” . . . The first session is in Cypress on April 21.

IT’S MATER DEI TODAY: You can bet they bought extra copies of Monday’s USA Today at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana. The newspaper’s cover story singled out Mater Dei--not only for its outstanding athletic record but for academic excellence. . . . It points out that 800 took the school’s placement test last year, but only 550 were accepted. Also impressive: 97% of its students go on to college--34 points above the national percentage.

BRINGING JUICE? Writer Dominick Dunne’s career got a boost with his coverage of the Menendez brothers’ trial for Vanity Fair. Now, thanks to Judge Lance Ito, Dunne has a prime seat at the O.J. Simpson trial. . . . So Dunne, above, isn’t likely to be short on material when he speaks Thursday night at the Calvin Klein boutique at South Coast Plaza. It’s an invitation-only bash put on by Vanity Fair. Afterward, says a magazine spokeswoman, it’s “cocktail reception and shopping.”

SURE CURE: The local Drug Use Is Life Abuse program faces tough times: The financially strapped county threatens to cut almost $200,000 from its budget (A9). But it can still count on a longtime partner for help. Disneyland will open its doors March 30 to host an after-hours party for supporters of the nonprofit anti-drug program. Tickets will be $20 and the park will be open from 8:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Says director Marilyn MacDougall: “Disneyland has been a good friend to us for quite a while.”