TEENS, DATES, VIOLENCE: According to a USC...

TEENS, DATES, VIOLENCE: According to a USC study, teen-agers who are dating do a lot more than just kiss and hold hands. They slap, kick and hit each other at a high rate. . . . Of the Los Angeles high school students surveyed, some in the San Fernando Valley, 48% reported they had either been the recipient of violence by a person they were going out with or had inflicted violence on their partner.

AND SOLUTIONS: Maura O’Keefe, an assistant professor who conducted the USC study, said part of the answer may lie with conflict resolution, which teaches kids that “conflict is normal,” she said. “What is not normal or healthy is resolving it violently. There really are many excellent programs that teach kids conflict resolution.”

ITTY BITTY BABY: She stands only five inches tall but what she lacks in size, this baby pudu (above, with mom) makes up in cuteness. The pudu was born this month at the Los Angeles Zoo, one of only five zoos in the United States where the deer can be seen. Pudus are the smallest in the world, 14 inches at adulthood. The baby will be on exhibit at the zoo next week, but you’ll have to look hard. They are good at hiding in foliage. . . . small wonder.

PARKING WAR: It’s close and empty, so you park and go on your way. Think again--if you happen to be in Woodland Hills. Parking wars there have reached a new high. . . . Owners of Fry’s Electronic Store have been towing the cars of patrons who park in their lot but do business at establishments next door. (B1)

SHUTTLE CRACKS: Rockwell International’s Rocketdyne plant in Canoga Park came under fire Wednesday from two U.S. senators. . . . William V. Roth Jr. (R-Del.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), called for an investigation of whether engineers at the Valley facility failed to detect cracks in the main engines of the space shuttle. (D1)