BRIEFLY : ARCO TOWER SCALED BY NATURE ACTIVISTS.

Environmental activists using hooks and suction pads scaled 15 floors of the downtown high-rise headquarters of Atlantic Richfield Co. on Wednesday and unfurled a banner protesting Arctic oil drilling.

Two Greenpeace members climbed window-washing rails on the 51-story Arco tower before stopping about 6 a.m. to stretch out the banner. They came down six hours later and were arrested.

Three other activists on the ground were arrested at the outset of the protest.

Fifth Street between Grand Avenue and Flower Street was closed during the protest because the Fire Department positioned huge air bags on the ground in case one of the climbers fell.

?13Associated Press 

Welfare reform talk scheduled at CSUN 

State Sen. Hilda Solis, D-El Monte, will discuss the effects of welfare reform on women and children today at CSUN.

Solis' discussion, part of the 10th anniversary of CSUN's Commission on the Status of Women, will begin at 2 p.m. in the Grand Salon of the University Student Union.

Solis was the first Latina elected to the California Senate and is an advocate for higher education, women's issues and the environment.

?13Daily News

Boy slain by stray bullet laid to rest

COMPTON - Scores of mourners said final, tearful goodbyes Wednesday to Selwyn Leflore, the Compton child killed by a gang member's stray bullet Oct. 6 - one of 40 shooting victims in that city in just over a month.

Pastor Julius Rogers, who officiated at the House of Refuge Church, expressed outrage over the death of the youngster, later buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery.

``When, if ever, will this stop?'' Rogers asked. ``A boy, 9 years old, standing on the street with his mother, and his life taken away. It's just deplorable.''