BRIEFCASE DISNEY RELEASING MORE VIDEO GAMES.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

BURBANK - Disney Interactive is releasing three Nintendo Game Boy Advance titles inspired by programs on the Disney Channel. ``That's So Raven,'' ``Lizzie McGuire 2: Lizzie Diaries'' and ``Lilo & Stitch 2: Hamsterviel Havoc'' will allow fans of the show to interact with their favorite characters.

Since the launch of the first Disney Channel-inspired game, ``Kim Possible,'' the company has shipped more than a million units of games based on hit television properties, said Dana Long, director of marketing for Buena Vista Games, Inc. The games are available at a retail price of $29.99.

State probe urged in sale of hospital

VAN NUYS - State Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Van Nuys, has asked for an investigation into the closure of Northridge Hospital's Sherman Way campus, a spokesman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer said Wednesday. Working in conjunction with the Service Employees International Union, Alarcon asked Lockyer to look into the sale of the hospital, slated for December closure, to developer Dan Selleck and Valley Presbyterian Hospital.

Alarcon, also a mayoral candidate, suggested that the sale might violate the state's Corporations Code, which requires the A.G.'s office to offer written consent prior to the sale of a nonprofit hospital to a for-profit entity. Lockyer spokesman Tom Dresslar said his office was reviewing the request.

Housing crunch's effects to linger

Rising prices and tight supply continue to drive a housing crisis that will have far-reaching effects for years, concludes a study that will be released today.

It was conducted by the Greater Los Angeles and Ventura Chapter of the Building Industry Association and the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

The study found that since 2000 the average price of a new home in Los Angeles County increased by $131,254 and in Ventura County by $155,621. A big contributor to the problem remains the lack of available housing to meet the demands of Southern California's growing population.

Applied DNA taps Klemm for COO

Karin Klemm was named chief operating officer of Los Angeles-based Applied DNA Sciences Inc., it was announced Wednesday.

Klemm will oversee the company's day-to-day operations, which include corporate finance, corporate governance, business development, revenue growth strategy and departmental coordination for the DNA security company.

Prior to Applied DNA Sciences, Klemm was branch manager for Robert Half International, an executive recruitment firm.

SEC looking into flu shot shortfall

SAN FRANCISCO - The Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an informal inquiry into how Chiron Corp. handled the disclosure of vaccine-manufacturing problems that caused the nation's flu shot crisis, the company said Wednesday.

The company's stock slide continued, with the shares losing another 5.5 percent. They have tumbled 30 percent since Chiron disclosed that it would be unable to ship close to 48 million flu shots this year. That represents about half the nation's expected supply of flu vaccine.