The Drying Game: After seemingly endless rain,...

The Drying Game: After seemingly endless rain, Valley skies cleared and midday temperatures soared toward 80 degrees this week. . . . Dry weather arrived just in time for crews to begin work on the new Panorama City Library. . . . And the Cal State Northridge baseball team got to play at home, returning to a field that had been waterlogged the week before.

Bubbling Crude: A Superior Court judgment opened the way for the proposed Pacific Pipeline, which would transport crude oil from Santa Barbara wells through the Valley and to Los Angeles. . . . The Los Angeles City Council will meet in a closed session Wednesday to decide whether to appeal the ruling or let the digging begin.

Winners, Losers: Valley arts patrons got a double dose of good news as Councilwoman Laura Chick, above, helped break ground for a community theater in Canoga Park (B1) and promoters announced an April jazz festival. . . . Fans of boxing, a less genteel art form, suffered a blow when local promoter Roy Englebrecht pulled out of an agreement to stage monthly fights at the Warner Center Marriott.

The Week Ahead: The aforementioned Matador baseball team has raced to a 4-0 record this season, including a 5-3 win over No. 9-ranked Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday . . . Next Wednesday, CSUN welcomes cross-town powerhouse UCLA to Matador Field.