BRIEFLY : MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN FATAL CHILD ABUSE.

Fernando Paz has pleaded guilty to child abuse charges in the death last year of his 19-month-old foster child, Julio Gonzalez, said Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Kathleen Cady.

The 35-year-old Glendale man's wife, Maria Paz, 30, has pleaded no contest to child endangerment charges, which means she will face at least five years' probation, Cady said.

Cady said the two were expected to go to jury trial in Los Angeles Superior Court in Pasadena on Monday, but decided to enter the two pleas instead. Sentencing has been set for Oct. 10.

The couple had been accused of beating or shaking the toddler to death two days after Christmas 1996.

Fernando Paz ``admitted he was the only one who inflicted the injuries,'' Cady said.

?13- Daily News

41 deputies call in sick at courts

Forty-one of 61 deputies who provide courthouse security at four Westside locations called in sick Thursday.

``The (court) proceedings were delayed until personnel could be redeployed,'' said Deputy Henry Garza of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Headquarters Bureau.

Fifteen of 21 deputies assigned at the West Los Angeles Court called in sick; 18 of 30 deputies at the Santa Monica Court called; all four deputies at the Malibu Court and four of the six deputies at the Robertson Traffic Court also phoned in, Garza said.

The deputies are seeking a new labor contract with the county.

``(The) employees are being ordered to produce proof of their illness upon returning to work,'' said Lt. Mike Ford of the Headquarters Bureau. ``It is against department policy to feign sickness or injury to deceive a department representative.''

?13- City News Service

ACLU sues city over panhandling

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California filed a federal lawsuit against the city Thursday, to block enforcement of an ordinance that bans aggressive panhandling.

The ACLU alleges the ordinance violates free speech guarantees in both the U.S. and state constitutions.

``This is a law that began as an attack on the homeless,'' said Carol Sobel, a former ACLU lawyer working on the case. ``This is a law that prohibits protected speech in public places in this city if all you do is ask for support for your cause.''

The ACLU says the ordinance violates the federal and California constitutions' free speech guarantees.

?13- City News Service

Man gets probation for posting signs

The operator of a Tustin-based business was sentenced to 30 days on a Caltrans crew for illegally posting signs in the San Fernando Valley, it was announced Thursday.

Darin Lloyd Slack, 28, pleaded no contest in Van Nuys Municipal Court on Thursday to one misdemeanor count of the crime. Along with the work crew assignment, Judge Karen Nudell placed Slack on two years' probation.

Slack's conviction for illegally posting signs - in this case to advertise a computer show - was his second, said Deputy City Attorney Dan Cocek.

In February 1996, Slack was ordered to pay $100 in fines and $1,000 in restitution to the city of Fountain Valley after pleading guilty in a similar case, the prosecutor said.

?13- City News Service