Good Sign: The San Fernando Valley’s troubled...

Good Sign: The San Fernando Valley’s troubled real estate market improved in November, with sales of single-family homes rising 10% and average prices also nudging upward (D15A). . . . Median prices declined, however.

Food Fight: Jerry’s Famous Deli, which opens a new restaurant in Woodland Hills today, is looking to start a price war by selling its bagels for 19 cents each. . . . But don’t expect Art’s Delicatessen in Studio City, which charges 60 cents, to take the bait. . . . “I’d be better off giving people 50 cents every time they walked in,” said Harold Ginsburg, Art’s son and the general manager. “I can’t afford to do that.”

Switching Teams: Ron Ponciano, the defensive coordinator at Cal State Northridge, was considered a prime candidate for the school’s football coaching vacancy. Consider no more. Ponciano and offensive line coach Bob Bostad will depart with Dave Baldwin, who resigned from CSUN last week to become head coach at San Jose State. . . . Jeff Kearin, the offensive coordinator at CSUN, has been named interim coach.

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Housing Sales

Average monthly home sales and prices for the Valley.

Home Sales, 1996

May: 995

*

Average Prices, 1996

June: 233,400

Source: San Fernando Valley Assn. of Realtors