LOST IN SUBURBIA: A woman chatting on...

LOST IN SUBURBIA: A woman chatting on the radio with KRTH disc jockey Robert W. Morgan the other morning said she lived in Tarzana. Or, as she put it, “Baja Encino.” We assume she used baja--Spanish for below--to joke about the relative status of the two areas. . . . Which reminds us of a Valleyite who joked about living in “Van Oaks.” He got the idea from a lawyer whose letterhead said “North Van Nuys.”

WAY OUT: Which brings us to North Hills, but not the place that took the name to dispel the downscale image of Sepulveda. We mean farther North Hills, a newly proposed tract in Santa Clarita. The Newhall Land & Farming Co. proposes an enclave for the needy--as in, people who have a “need” for one of the 650 luxury estates. A spokeswoman says a new name will be created for the tract. How about Alta North Hills?

DANGER ZONE: Just how bad does a school site have to be before the feds will help out? At Castaic Elementary, they’re wondering. . . . Power lines and natural gas lines crisscross the grounds. And the mighty Castaic Dam looms above. But federal officials have delayed funding needed to move the school to safer ground (B1). “They’re stalling us forever,” says board member Lester Freeman, above.

CHOICES: There is less than the usual time to submit applications for the Los Angeles Unified School District’s magnet program, and the district is taking to its airwaves to explain the program. Its educational channel, KLCS-TV, Channel 58, will air a 30-minute special on magnet schools during January. . . . Applications for magnet status are due Jan. 19 for the 1996-97 school year--two months earlier than in past years.

INNOVATION: Blockbuster Video in Woodland Hills is one of 10 stores participating in a nationwide test of videos designed for the visually impaired. Features include narration to describe action and scene changes. . . . See Morning Report (F2).