Southland

Crude Idea?: Public hearings on a controversial proposal to build a new crude oil pipeline from a spot near Bakersfield to Los Angeles will be held at several Southern California sites this week by the state Public Utilities Commission. The pipeline that Pacific Pipeline System Inc. plans to build is proposed as environmentally safer than tankers in transporting crude oil from the Point Arguello offshore field to L.A.-area refineries. But the idea is already generating opposition. One preferred route and three alternatives are under study. The PUC is inviting comments from the public, local government agencies, community and environmental groups. The discussion sites are: Palmdale Senior Center, 6 p.m. Monday; Ritchie Valens Recreation Center in Pacoima, 1 p.m. Tuesday; Glassel Park Recreation Center in Los Angeles, 6 p.m. Tuesday; Wilmington Boys and Girls Club, 6 p.m. Wednesday, and Vista del Lago Visitor Center at Pyramid Lake in the Antelope Valley, 6 p.m. Thursday. Spanish interpreters will be at all but the Vista del Lago site. For more information, call (213) 897-3104.