NORTHERN VISIT: The recent vicious earthquakes and...

NORTHERN VISIT: The recent vicious earthquakes and hurricanes battering Mexico led its poet Homero Aridjis to utter, “The Virgin of Guadalupe [its patron saint] has abandoned Mexico.” . . . No connection, certainly, but now at the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana--and breaking all its previous attendance records--is “Visions of Guadalupe,” the largest-ever display of religious art from Mexico City’s Basilica de Guadalupe shrine, designed to honor the Virgin of Guadalupe. . . . Says Bowers spokesman Brian Langston: “Many of these objects have never left Mexico before.”

LET HER BE: Screening calls for two city managers in eight years in Mission Viejo, executive secretary Kathy Rios knows what it’s like to get dumped on by the public. But nothing like this week. . . . A resident angry about the city trash hauler not picking up his old bamboo blinds brought them to City Hall and dumped them on Rios’ desk. . . . “I guess he felt he was making a point,” says Rios. Security forced him to remove them, but eventually a trash hauler did take them off his hands.

BASKETBALL NET: Basketball fans who can’t wait for the second Wooden Classic basketball doubleheader at The Pond of Anaheim can find some solace on the Internet. It’s now carrying information on the Dec. 9 event. Topics include the teachings and memories of John Wooden, the legendary UCLA coach who lends his name to the event. . . . Also available is information about this year’s teams--UCLA, Purdue, Villanova and Maryland. . . . Its Net home page: //www.woodenclassic.com.

HEAVY TRAFFIC: It’s a busy weekend at The Pond: The Clippers game Friday night, the indoor soccer Splash in a league playoff game at noon today, a Scottish marching band festival tonight and two college hockey games on Sunday. . . . Says Splash spokesman John Nicolleti: “It’s our first matinee ever. We’d always prefer an evening game, but for $5, which is less than the cost of a movie, you can see a playoff game.”