STRIKE THREE: After being tried three times...

STRIKE THREE: After being tried three times this year in the death of his wife, Jeffrey Dale Peitz of Palmdale walked out of Van Nuys Superior Courthouse on Wednesday a free man. . . . Prosecutors said they would not seek a fourth trial. Each previous trial ended in a hung jury (B1).

FEMA FLACK: Cal State Northridge President Blenda J. Wilson has been complaining that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has changed inspectors at the campus four times since the earthquake, delaying the receipt of FEMA aid. . . . FEMA spokeswoman Vallee Bunting was asked why these changes have occurred. Her reply: “I’ve only been here three weeks. I wouldn’t be able to answer that.”

HUB-BUBB: The naming of Paul Bubb, above, as interim athletic director at Cal State Northridge on Wednesday created mixed emotions. . . . affecting even Bubb himself (C8). Bubb said “the way that this transpired isn’t the way I’d have envisioned it.” Bubb replaces Bob Heigert, whose reassignment to a teaching job prompted outrage among some of Heigert’s colleagues (C8).

DEBRIS DILEMMA: Woodland Hills resident Nily Kolodaro has a problem. Tons of concrete and asphalt debris from the Northridge earthquake remain in front of her home. And because the government isn’t paying to pick up such piles anymore, thousands of other Valley residents like Kolodaro must do so themselves (B1). . . . Kolodaro’s estimated cost: $1,000 minimum.

LONG NIGHT: You had to get up pretty early to catch today’s announcement of this year’s Emmy award nominations, staged at 5:35 a.m. for broadcast to the East Coast. But if you worked at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in North Hollywood--where the awards are announced--you never even made it to bed. . . . “People are up all night at the academy to prepare for this,” said an academy spokesman.