BRIEFLY : PANORAMA CITY MAN FOUND SHOT IN HIS CAR.

PANORAMA CITY - A 21-year-old man was apparently shot to death early Saturday after he chased men he thought were breaking into his house, police said.

The victim, identified by the Coroner's Office as Armando Zuniga of Panorama City, was found dead in his white Jeep on Osborne Street near the intersection with Wakefield Avenue.

At 3:45 a.m. Zuniga saw several males outside his home whom he suspected of being burglars or car thieves, LAPD Detective Stephen Fisk said in a statement. Zuniga gave chase in his vehicle, Fisk said.

Police received a call just before 4 a.m. from neighborhood residents who saw the Jeep Wrangler stopped at the curb on the wrong side of the street, with its lights on and motor running.

The driver had been shot several times in the upper torso, apparently while driving, said Detective Jim Rahm with the Los Angeles Police Department's Van Nuys Division.

- Daily News

City denies ballfield bias in favor of boys

Los Angeles officials ``emphatically deny'' the city refuses girls access to softball fields, lawyers declared Friday in a written response to a federal civil rights lawsuit.

Friday's filing was the city's first official response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the private West Valley Girls' Softball League. The league accuses the city's Recreation and Parks Department of reserving all the best fields for baseball while leaving the girls' league without a permanent home.

- Daily News

Teen motorcyclist dies in Santa Clarita

SANTA CLARITA - An 18-year-old Saugus man died Saturday after he lost control of his motorcycle while making a turn and then crashed into a fence post, police officials said.

The 7 p.m. crash happened after the teen attempted to make a turn from Ranier Street to Evening Shade Avenue, said Lt. Daniel Castillo.

``He was speeding as he went around the turn and then laid down his bike,'' Castillo said, quoting witnesses accounts.

The man was not wearing a helmet and sustained severe head trauma, he said.

Paramedics rushed the teen-ager to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, where he later died from his injuries.

His name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

- Daily News

Wildlife Waystation plans night tours

ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST - The Wildlife Waystation will host its annual nighttime safaris on four Saturday evenings this summer, beginning June 20 through Aug. 29, officials said.

The facility, on 160 acres off Little Tujunga Road, provides shelter, medical treatment, rehabilitation and placement services for about 5,000 wild and exotic animals each year, said spokesman Jerry Brown. Many of the animals are abandoned, injured or abused.

The safaris will be held June 20, July 18, and Aug. 15 and 29.

For information, call [phone]. For ticket information and reservations, call [phone].

- Daily News

Recording academy gives grant to CSUN

NORTHRIDGE - California State University, Northridge, officials announced that the university's Music Therapy Program and Clinic received a $31,252 grant from the recording academy to examine methods of working with autistic children.

The research work is scheduled to begin in the fall.

The 2-year-old program employs two part-time therapists and several student interns.

- City News Service

Groups hold fiesta for poor in Pacoima

PACOIMA - More than 600 low-income people were invited to a special fiesta luncheon Saturday sponsored by the Meet Each Day with Dignity organization and the Pacific Bell Pioneers.

Shoes, clothing and food were provided along with health exams and treatment to the people who could not afford medical attention. The fiesta was held at the MEND headquarters in Pacoima.

- Daily News