Westside : NATIONAL NIGHT OUT

More than a few Westside families ignored the de facto curfew in their communities and took back their neighborhoods--at least temporarily--Tuesday night.

Children took rides on police horses in Santa Monica, where about 80 people participated in a balloon-festooned march down the Third Street Promenade. The procession ended with a barbecue in a park that once was infested by drug dealers.

At another site, about 50 residents of the Carthay Square neighborhood listened to speeches by police and Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Feuer. There were gatherings in Hollywood, too.

All this civic pride represented the Los Angeles observance of the 12th Annual National Night Out, sponsored by the National Assn. of Town Watch. It was the second year of the observance in various Westside neighborhoods.