Desert Aid: Help may soon be here...

Desert Aid: Help may soon be here for alleged Antelope Valley land fraud victims. . . . Today, a task force formed by Supervisor Gloria Molina is expected to submit a report detailing ways to immediately assist as many as 250 land buyers living in the desert without water or power. Developer Marshall Redman allegedly promised that water and utilities would be brought to the parcels.

Party Animals: Tips from the Automobile Club of Southern California for July 4 party hosts: Offer a variety of cooling, nonalcoholic drink alternatives, arrange rides home for drinking guests and offer a gift to guests who volunteer to be designated drivers. . . . The Auto Club’s new message: “You Drink. You Drive. You Lose.” More drunk-driving deaths occur in the summer than any other time.

Acton Animals: Samson the snow leopard, above, is one of two new big cats adopted from an Indiana zoo by actress Tippi Hedren for her Shambala Preserve in Acton. Spokeswoman Susan Tellem says people should know about the problems of keeping wild animals as pets. . . . The group wants standardized laws to prevent selling such animals, said Hedren, who once bought two tiger cubs from a man selling them from his car.

Waste Not: Each day, more than 39 tons of waste is disposed of in Los Angeles County--enough to fill Dodger Stadium every 11 days. Now the county Department of Public Works is launching a big public education campaign called the Los Angeles County Curbside Recycling Education Program. . . . Said Supervisor Mike Antonovich: “We are engaged in a very far-reaching effort to save Los Angeles County from being buried in an avalanche of waste.”