GOING FOR GOLD: From Burger King to...

GOING FOR GOLD: From Burger King to boxing elite is the short course on Lance Whitaker. The San Fernando High graduate fights tonight in the semifinals of the Pan American Games in Argentina--less than six years after a scout spotted him in line for a burger and asked: “Would you like to make a million dollars?” . . . If Whitaker--6-foot-8, 238 pounds--wins tonight, he fights for the gold on Sunday (C8).

QUAKE AID: Insurance companies are still reeling from the financial jolt of last year’s Northridge earthquake, making it tougher for new homeowners to get coverage. To prevent a crisis, Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush extended by six months an emergency insurance program set to expire (D2).

ENVELOPE, PLEASE: With no boyfriend, Valentine’s Day started out badly for Vanessa Schwartz, above. But it ended well as the 25-year-old Cal Arts student scored an Academy Award nomination for her animated short, “The Janitor.” Monday, Schwartz will hobnob with the stars on Hollywood’s biggest night. . . . “Me,” she said. “Just a little animator.” See Valley Life, Page 8.

CAPTIVE AUDIENCE: In town to talk about affirmative action, the Rev. Jesse Jackson will stop off this morning at Sylmar Juvenile Hall to preach a message of personal responsibility. Program services supervisor Dennis Carroll said the audience was picked from the hall’s 750 detainees on the basis of who would benefit most from the presentation. . . . Carroll said the message “will center around peace.”

HEY, ABBOTT: In both life and in death, Lou Costello haunted the Valley. His studio was Universal. Over the years, the jowly funnyman and his family lived on Longridge Avenue in Sherman Oaks and then on a ranch at Whitsett Avenue and Roscoe. His 1959 funeral was held at St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church in Sherman Oaks. . . . Now a play about Costello’s life premieres tonight in North Hollywood. See Valley Life, Page 5.