GETTING PUMPED: March is American Red Cross...

GETTING PUMPED: March is American Red Cross month, and the local chapter is delighted with one of its programs: More people are being trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) than ever--17,014 here last year. Suggests its community education director Kristen Haydon: “I think television shows like “Rescue 911” are raising public awareness that individuals should be able to act in the case of an emergency.” . . . For the March theme month, the local chapter is pushing both its CPR and earthquake preparedness classes.

INDIANA’S DAY: Sure, Disneyland chief executive Michael Eisner likes the new Indiana Jones Adventure ride; it was his idea. But will ticket-buyers like it? You bet, says Phyllis Klein of Anaheim, who came with her husband and her son’s family of five for Friday’s opening day. “I felt like I was in the movie,” Klein said, “especially when that giant rock came right at me. It will be a huge hit.”

TARNISHED HALO? The California Angels are running radio spots touting ticket sales this season as if there were no strike. If there were no strike, how would the Angels fare? Here’s what the new issue of Major League Baseball magazine says about them: “The worst team in the worst division in baseball, if not all professional sports.” . . . But it also quotes Manager Marcel Lachemann: “The worse it gets, the more determined I get.”

SQUEEZE PLAY: Here’s a bankruptcy headache for tiny Villa Park, the county’s smallest city. The city has received a 20% matching grant from the state to help it with its biggest street improvement project this year. The catch is: The contract must be awarded by June, and Villa Park’s matching money is frozen in the bankrupt county pool. . . . A bill in Sacramento to extend the deadline for the state grant has been stalled by legislative political brawling. Says City Manager Fred Maley: “This shouldn’t be caught in that controversy.”

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In a Heartbeat

The number of county residents being certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has increased by nearly 40% since 1990 (in thousands):

1994: 17,014