COMPASSION: Today’s Hearts of the City...

COMPASSION: Today’s Hearts of the City page (B2) asks: What ethical or religious tenets should guide a decision on whether to place an elderly parent in a nursing home? . . . Says Prof. Elliot Dorff of the University of Judaism in the Sepulveda Pass: “One may . . . hire others to care for one’s parents, if the children assure that the care is not only good, but compassionate.”

SAFE SPACE: A Van Nuys-based on-line organization may have made cyberspace a little bit safer. Via the World Wide Web, SafeSurf unveiled a ratings system Tuesday designed to block adult material from children. . . . “A child will only have access to a site that is child-appropriate,” said Chairman Ray Soular.

LIFTOFF: Speaking of space, Tuesday’s launch of the shuttle Atlantis, above, marked the 100th U.S. manned space mission (A4). One person who has more than a casual interest is Bill Vietinghoff, 67, an engineer for Rocketdyne in Canoga Park, who has gathered data or developed rocket engines that went aboard Apollo, Mercury and Gemini spacecraft, as well as the shuttle. “I’m glad it occurred in my lifetime,” he said Tuesday. “It proves you can do anything you want to do.”

SAYONARA: Another American is going to play professional ball in Japan--but it’s not baseball this time. The athlete is CSUN basketball player Mike Dorsey, the team’s MVP last year (C8). . . . Dorsey gets a one-year contract and will be able to finish work on his degree.

IT’S NOT CNN: If you’re waiting for world news on the Reseda-based Los Angeles Radio Reading Service, you’ll wait a long time. The service, which broadcasts the reading of newspapers and periodicals for visually impaired listeners, features grocery ads and advice columns (B3). . . . It marked its second birthday Tuesday, which is also the 115th birthday of Helen Keller.