VALLEY NEWSWATCH

PRO TIPS: Members of the Calabasas High School baseball team got tips from a heavy hitter Friday when Dodger hitting coach Reggie Smith helped the boys as they practiced at the high-tech Baseball Development Center in Canoga Park. . . . “It’s like training with a pro,” 17-year-old pitcher Tanner Trosper said. “It can’t get much better than this.”

LEGO DAYS: Dick Gordon has spent 315 hours in space, but today, he faces one of his biggest challenges: helping kids in the Santa Clarita Valley build Lego models of their favorite spacecraft. . . . Gordon, who piloted Apollo 12, will be at the Target store on Magic Mountain Parkway from noon to 2 p.m.

TIME TO CHANGE: We all know by now to set our clocks back an hour at bedtime tonight. But the International Assn. of Fire Chiefs notes that this is a good time to change the batteries in our smoke detectors. . . . The chiefs point out that 90% of fire deaths involving kids occur in homes without working smoke detectors. Is it just coincidence that this noble program is co-sponsored by a battery company?

COLD SPELL: As if you didn’t have enough on your list of “honey-dos” today, we pass along this tip from The Gas Co. Check those furnaces now. Don’t wait until the first cold snap of the season when The Gas Co. is deluged with service requests. . . . That way, you won’t be left in the cold.