BRIEFS

Quake Grants Awarded: Three Los Angeles minority-owned businesses still recovering from the 1994 Northridge earthquake received grants under a $2.2-million Commerce Department program. Hari Casuals, a West Los Angeles family-owned clothing manufacturer and distribution company, received $110,000; Back East Bakery in South-Central Los Angeles was awarded $115,000; Marvin M. Lawton, an auto registration firm, received $50,000. The money is part of a federally funded grant program operated by First African Methodist Episcopal Renaissance Assistance Corp., the nonprofit economic development arm of First AME Church.