BRIEFLY : QUAKE SAFETY FAIR SET FOR VAN NUYS.

The Los Angeles Chapter of the American Red Cross will hold an Earthquake Preparedness Fair from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

The California Institute of Technology, Los Angeles Fire and Police departments and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will present safety messages.

Q-Safety Inc., an earthquake safety company based in Duarte, will have its earthquake simulator on display - reproducing the effects of a 6.0-magnitude temblor.

Free one-hour informational sessions, titled ``Living With Earthquakes,'' will include a video and workbook-based course designed to educate people on preparing for and responding to earthquakes.

Teen-agers from the Red Cross youth club will perform an earthquake preparedness-themed puppet show for children.

Neighborhood Watch programs, public safety and drug-use prevention also will be discussed by Police and Fire department officials.

The fair will be held at the Red Cross Valley Service Center, 14717 Sherman Way in Van Nuys. For information, call [phone].

- Daily News

Mom, 22, accused of killing newborn

A 22-year-old Glendale woman was charged Thursday with murdering her newborn girl, whose body was found Monday in a Koreatown trash bin.

Jimi Lee was charged with one count of murder, and her bail was recommended at $1 million, Deputy District Attorney Lonnie Felker said.

Lee's mother, Ki Sook Lee, 50, and the suspect's sister, Kum Shil Lee, 24, were charged with being accessories after the fact. Their bail was recommended at $500,000 each, Felker said.

The three women were expected to enter pleas this afternoon in Division 1 of Glendale Municipal Court.

- City News Service

Insurance agent facing fraud counts

A Northridge insurance agent faces 20 insurance fraud violations in a case where she is accused of altering or forging receipts to inflate her claim for damage to her home in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, a state Department of Insurance official said Thursday.

Carla Louise Rawstron, 35, faces the 20 felony counts in a case brought by the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

Rawstron surrendered to authorities Tuesday, and was held on $5,000 bail, said Dana Spurrier of the Insurance Department's Fraud Division. If convicted, she could face up to five years in prison and a fine up to $63,753 - the amount of money she is accused of defrauding from the insurance company, Spurrier said.

Rawstron and her husband filed a claim with Safeco Insurance Co. and got reimbursed for $850,000 in damages.

- City News Service

Riordan to receive award for culture

Mayor Richard Riordan will receive an international culture award for donating $5 million to the Disney Concert Hall.

Riordan was named the U.S. winner of the 1998 Montblanc de la Culture award, which promotes culture, said company spokesman Leila Phillips.

The mayor is the first Los Angeles recipient of the award. He was singled out for helping jump-start the stalled project, Phillips said.

Riordan said he will donate the $15,000 check that comes with the award to the Disney Concert Hall as well, Phillips said.

- City News Service

Motorist who died in crash identified

CHATSWORTH - Coroner's officials on Thursday identified the Northridge man whose car spun several times through the air after ramming into a concrete barricade at more than 100 mph.

Chris Nolind, 25, crashed into the barrier at the end of a dead-end street Wednesday at 8:25 p.m. on Mason Avenue, just north of Corisco Street in Chatsworth, police said.

Nolind later died at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, coroner's officials said.

Detectives said the driver had been arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving on Tuesday, said Los Angeles police Detective R.S. Uber of the Valley Traffic Division.

- Daily News

Valley group hails DWP's excellence

UNIVERSAL CITY - The Department of Water and Power was honored Thursday by the Valley Industry and Commerce Association for corporate excellence.

David Freeman, the general manager of the utility company, accepted the award at VICA's 21st annual awards dinner meeting, held at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City.

Steve Lew, chairman of the VICA board, said the DWP is working hard to meet the challenges of open competition in California and at the same time has been a strong supporter of local concerns. ``DWP has been a strong supporter of VICA for 50 years,'' Lew said.

The DWP was awarded the Robert E. Gibson Corporate Award for Excellence at the dinner, which featured a keynote address from Antonio R. Villaraigosa, D-Los Angeles, speaker of the state Assembly.

- Daily News

Woman assaulted; wakes up in garage

SANTA CLARITA - A woman was assaulted and left unconscious Thursday after possibly being pistol-whipped by a man in her garage, sheriff's officials said.

The suspect, described as a white 25-year-old male with long hair and wearing dark clothing, fled the scene by the time the victim awoke in her garage about 10 minutes after the attack, said Sgt. Rick Doan of the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's station.

The woman was transported to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, where her condition was not immediately available Thursday night.

The woman returned home in the 27000 block of Catala Avenue at 3:38 p.m., Doan said.

A man approached her and began making idle conversation inside her garage, Doan said.

After the man turned to leave, the woman also turned her back to the man, who hit her numerous times over her head with what might have been a handgun, he said.

After she regained consciousness about 10 minutes later, the woman ran to a neighbor across the street and called 911, Doan said.

- Daily News