Demolition Derby: Time is running out on...

Demolition Derby: Time is running out on property owners who have not yet taken advantage of the city’s moratorium on fees for permits to demolish, repair or rebuild buildings damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. . . . The Department of Building and Safety says it will start charging for permits again Jan. 18, one day after the temblor’s three-year anniversary.

Tunnel Vision: The underground adventures of the subway digging duo Thelma and Louise have gone on holiday hiatus through Thursday. But anyone interested in catching up on the slow progress of the MTA’s two tunnel-boring machines through the Santa Monica Mountains can call up the agency’s Internet home page . . . See https://www.mta.net/metro/construction/smmt/smmtns.htm for their location and the number of feet mined in the past 72 hours.

Year in Review: 1996 will be remembered not just for safety violations in the MTA tunnel that Walter Byers, above, has helped to dig. Stories and photos on B1-B3 also recall Cardinal Mahony’s decision to abandon St. Vibiana’s, an emotional dust-up over Antelope Valley land sales, a battle royale at CSUN during a Proposition 209 debate, and several bizarre trials. . . . More brightly, minor league baseball came to Lancaster and civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks came to Van Nuys.

Generous Portions: Several charities in the Valley and across the nation are reporting a sharp surge in donations this year (B4). . . . Benefiting are the Motion Picture & Television Fund Foundation and the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Assn. in Woodland Hills, Children of the Night in Van Nuys, and the San Fernando Valley Child Guidance Clinic in Northridge. Still hurting is Hathaway Children’s Services in Sylmar.