VOUCHER IMPACT: What happens to the L.A....

VOUCHER IMPACT: What happens to the L.A. school budget if the voucher initiative passes? Depends which side answers. The school district says it would lose $70 million--or $165 million if 2% of students switched to private schools--and need a state bailout (B1). . . . “It’s a lie,” countered the pro-voucher campaign, accusing public school bureaucrats of trying to “create fear among suburban white Republican families that their public schools are going to be de-funded.”

DEFENSE AGAIN: New twist in the case of a Van Nuys man who shot a panhandler to death at a gas station. Charles Hoyle was turned loose after he said he acted in self-defense. Turns out Hoyle shot a man in the foot six years ago, and also was released on grounds of self-defense (B1) . . . “ Deja vu ,” said the earlier victim’s attorney. “Horrible coincidence” said Hoyle’s lawyer.

PLASTIC FANTASTIC: In its 40th anniversary year, the Corvette--the fiberglass-bodied sports car once called “the ultimate middle-class expression of sex on four wheels”--has many fans. Says Mike McCloskey (above) of Santa Clarita: “It’s a way to relive our youth.” See Valley Life! Page 10

PINS AND POODLES: Some pet owners are really needling Fido and Puff. The new age new wave is animal acupuncture, available at clinics in North Hollywood and Burbank. It was “a last-ditch effort” for her arthritic Rottweiler Bela, said Cassandra Peterson, TV’s Elvira. Now, she says, “Bela’s romping around with my younger dog.” See Valley Life! Page 33.

SERIOUS LAUGHTER: At first he was skeptical about presenting “I Always Meant to Tell You, But,” a comedy about AIDS, in Spanish as well as English, says director Raoul N. Rizik. But he liked the idea “of taking a sensitive subject to a population--the Hispanic community--that’s never quite understood or accepted it--either homosexuality or AIDS.” It’s playing in North Hollywood until mid-October. See Valley Life! Page 6.