BRIEFLY : PEPPER SPRAY STINGS AT CHATSWORTH OFFICE.

CHATSWORTH - One woman was taken to the hospital and six more people were treated at the scene Thursday after someone released pepper spray in the lobby of a U.S. Post Office.

It happened at 21606 Devonshire St. about 4:10 p.m., said Bob Collis of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Collis said a woman in her 50s had a pre-existing respiratory problem, and was hospitalized so she could be examined.

``Someone went in and pepper sprayed and then walked out,'' Collis said. ``Who or why, who knows?''

Capt. Steve Ruda said the post office has a surveillance camera in the lobby that might help determine who did it.

- City News Service

Knox reports flaw in interchange plan

SHERMAN OAKS - A proposed plan to help relieve congestion at the 101-405 freeway interchange has overlooked a 1,200-foot gap between lane additions on the San Diego Freeway and the 101-405 connector, Assemblyman Wally Knox, D-Los Angeles, said in a letter to Gov. Gray Davis released Thursday.

The $13.1 million project would add a lane on the northbound 405 from Mulholland Drive to the Ventura Boulevard off-ramp and add a lane to the connector linking the northbound San Diego Freeway to the eastbound Ventura Freeway.

But there is a 1,200-foot distance separating the two lane additions, Knox's letter said. Knox asked the Davis Administration to find the estimated $12 million necessary to close the gap, otherwise there would be a bottleneck.

- Daily News

Van Nuys business damaged in blaze

VAN NUYS - A fire Thursday at a one-story Van Nuys building containing Beyda & Associates, a wholesale book and video business, caused $1 million in damage.

The cause of the fire was electrical, said Bob Collis of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Seventy firefighters sent to 6943 Valjean Ave. at 8:19 a.m. gained the upper hand on the blaze in about a half-hour, he said.

No injuries were reported.

- City News Service

Deputy shoots dog after doorway jump

LANCASTER - A sheriff's deputy shot and killed a pit bull Thursday after he knocked on the door of a gang member's home and the dog attacked him, a sheriff's official said.

Deputy Erik Ruble and partner Brad Foss went to the man's Beach Avenue home at 4:15 p.m. because he was suspected of writing graffiti nearby, said sheriff's Lt. David Collin, of the Antelope Valley sheriff's station.

When Ruble knocked on the slightly ajar door, the dog jumped on him and he shot the dog. While Ruble was backing up, he tripped and twisted his knee. He was treated at a local hospital and returned to duty Thursday.

- Daily News