WORK IN PROGRESS: Appropriately enough, the new...

WORK IN PROGRESS: Appropriately enough, the new Ventura Freeway interchange at Valley Circle Boulevard will include an equestrian bridge. “One hundred years ago, you had a stagecoach stop here,” said Caltrans engineer Jim McAllister. More on the history of this transportation lifeline is in Valley Briefing. (B3)

OFFICER MOURNED: Daniel Allan Tuffree, the former Chatsworth High School social studies teacher accused of killing Simi Valley Police Officer Michael Frederick Clark, was described by neighbors as a man who liked shooting guns at passing cars, and as “a bomb waiting to go off.” Clark, 28, was the first officer slain in the 29-year history of the Simi Valley Police Department. (B1)

GRIM PROSPECTS: Draconian cuts in outpatient services take effect Oct. 1 at Olive View/UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar, High Desert Hospital in Lancaster and Mid-Valley Comprehensive Health Center in Van Nuys. Most county health clinics in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys are likely to be closed . . . A score card on health care cuts resulting from the county’s fiscal crisis. (B4)

BONE WEARY: By his own admission, Victor Rustandi of Reseda “had no discipline.” At the U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, he’s making up for lost time. Rustandi, profiled with fellow Marine recruits Bill Norris of Van Nuys and Gilbert Escobedo of Canoga Park, actually likes boot camp. “Courage, commitment, honor: That’s a pretty cool thing to live by,” he said. . . . “In the outside world, there’s nothing but ‘I’ve got mine, you’ve got yours, and I’ll take yours too.’ ” (B1)

FLUSH WITH ANGER: The city of Burbank collected $9 million in sewer fees for improvements it turns out weren’t needed. But the money has not been refunded, prompting angry residents to launch a petition drive. (B10)

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Heavy Traffic

The Ventura Freeway ranked as one of the busiest in the state in 1994:

Freeway/route (location): Average daily traffic

Interstate 10 (Normandie Ave.): 328,000

U.S. 101 (Sherman Oaks): 325,000

Interstate 405 (south of Route 2): 308,000

Interstate 5 (Downey Road): 291,000

Source: Caltrans