ACID-WASHED: Police and postal officials in Los...

ACID-WASHED: Police and postal officials in Los Angeles are fighting back against crafty thieves who steal checks, use chemicals to erase the names of payees and then substitute new payees and amounts. A Northridge woman suspected of being a prolific practitioner of the scheme has been arrested. (B1)

READING RIGHTS: The San Fernando Valley Bar Assn. has gone into the publishing business . . . again. The organization has launched “Lawyers World,” a bimonthly magazine for lawyers in the Valley and elsewhere. The magazine represents a return to normalcy of sorts: The Northridge earthquake had halted the association’s previous magazine, “Bar Notes.”

FISTS FLYING: Lance Whitaker of Granada Hills advanced to the gold medal bout in the super heavyweight division with a semifinal victory over Charles Shufford of Las Vegas at the U.S. Olympic Festival in Colorado Springs, Colo. Carlos Navarro, who once trained at the Ten Goose Gym in Van Nuys, easily outclassed Jason Pires of New Bedford, Mass., to reach the gold medal round in the 119-pound division. (C8)

SUPE STAYS: Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, citing the county’s financial crisis, will pass up a run for Congress to seek a fifth term on the Board of Supervisors. Antonovich, whose district cuts a wide swath across the San Fernando, San Gabriel, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys, had criticized Gov. Pete Wilson’s decision to run for President in light of the state’s fiscal woes.

EYE OF BEHOLDER: A group of Sherman Oaks residents considers blight preferable to “Manhattanization” of their neighborhood. A narrow, rundown strip along Ventura Boulevard has become a battleground between factions that new City Councilman Mike Feuer hopes to bring together. (B1)