A SIDEWAYS GLANCE : ANGEL FANS GLARE RIGHT BACK.

Freeway motorists are complaining of being blinded by stadium lights since Disney remodeled the Angels' ballpark, now called Edison International Field.

Specifically, it's the new glowing Big A - a symbol of the former Anaheim Stadium - in the parking lot near the 57 Freeway.

A California Highway Patrol spokeswoman said her agency has asked ballpark officials to tone down the lights.

``Drivers are calling us and saying the lights are so bright it's blinding them,'' CHP Officer Angel Johnson said.

A California Department of Transportation spokeswoman said her agency has also gotten complaints.

Following last season, Disney spent $117 million to renovate the 32-year-old stadium before the season started April 1.

A chunk of the ballpark's east side was carved out during the remodeling, opening a view of the freeway and the mountains beyond.

Don Leavey of Huntington Beach says the shimmering lights of the 45,050-seat ballpark and the electronic sign out front overwhelm him when he drives past.

``The danger appears to be far greater than I anticipated, especially on a rainy night,'' he said.

Stadium officials point out that the tall towers of lights that shine on the field were not changed during the renovations, and the east walls that were removed returned the ballpark to a configuration it had in the 1970s.

It's not the first light-related trouble at the stadium. An electrician changing bulbs on the halo around the Big A received a shock on Opening Day and was hospitalized.

CITY WANTS PIECE OF WRIGLEY'S AMBIENCE

Fans who watch Chicago Cubs games from rooftops outside Wrigley Field could be hit with a new tax under a proposed city ordinance.

A city alderman has introduced the ordinance, with Mayor Richard Daley's blessing, that would impose an amusement tax on fans and safety regulations on owners of buildings who sell rooftop seats.

Views from the roof started years ago as informal gatherings of friends. Now it's big business, with some neighborhood bar owners renting their roofs for $75 a head.

``We want the tradition to continue - but in a safe manner,'' alderman Bernard Hansen said.

The ordinance would require building owners to get a special ``club license'' for $500 a year, would ban the sale of hard liquor and strictly regulate food preparation - particularly a ban on barbecue.

``All we'd have to have is one of those Weber grills knocked over accidentally and we'd have a disaster on our hands,'' he said.

Much like the disaster Cubs fans have had to witness on the field for the past half century.

- Tom Hoffarth