O.J. WATCH: Los Angeles school officials reacted...

O.J. WATCH: Los Angeles school officials reacted quickly even though they were taken aback by the swiftness of the verdict in the Simpson case (A1). “I thought they were kidding,” said one assistant high school principal. . . . A principals’ meeting was hastily canceled. The principals were advised to run tight campuses today, but let students talk about their reactions.

QUICK DRAW: Others also had a quick response to the news, such as Froggy’s Topanga Fish Market restaurant, which came up with a pun for its famous outside chalkboard. . . . Afternoon commuters driving by the well-known seafood restaurant viewed the declaration: “The verdict is fin.”

SCHOOL MAZE: Breaking up the school district is still hard to do. . . . Even after the state Legislature supposedly simplified the process, there’s still a benumbing jumble of administrative hoops to jump through before the Los Angeles school district can be dismantled. . . . How does the process work? A special graphic on B2 today traverses all the steps. The choices, above, are numerous.

TIN CAN ALLEY: James D. Beam is a can-do kind of guy. . . . The company he heads, Silgan Containers Corp., has cornered nearly 40% of the country’s metal food can market. Less than a decade old, Woodland Hills-based Silgan has thrived by gobbling up competitors. . . . Details in the Valley Business pages (D7A-D7F).

SURVEY SAYS: Valley residents seem more likely to leave California because of crime than people in the rest of Los Angeles and Orange County. . . . So says the Hitachi Poll, a survey sponsored by the California and Los Angeles-area chambers of commerce. Fully 41% of Valley people queried said they have considered crossing state lines in search of safer streets. Only one-third of those living elsewhere have considered jumping ship.