BRIEFLY : RUNAWAY FEARED IN POSSIBLE DANGER.

NORTH HOLLYWOOD - Police asked for help Friday in finding a 15-year-old girl who was supposed to be a key witness in a murder trial.

Authorities say Lisa Chamberlain, also known as Liza Chamberlain, walked away from a group home in Hollywood on July 15, one day before she was due to testify in court in Van Nuys, a detective said.

Lisa is white, 5 feet 7 inches tall, 125 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes. She has lived in the North Hollywood and Sun Valley areas of the city. Family members and detectives are concerned for her safety and welfare, police said.

Anyone who has seen her is asked to call North Hollywood detectives at [phone] or [phone] during regular working hours or the patrol desk at [phone] anytime.

- City News Service

Paint makers, reps fight AQMD ruling

DIAMOND BAR - A coalition of paint manufacturers, dealers and contractors met at the South Coast Air Quality Management District on Friday to protest an air-quality ruling aimed at reducing paint fumes.

The district's governing board in May adopted the rule, which requires that paints used to cover homes and buildings be reformulated to produce fewer pollutants.

On Friday, about 50 paint industry officials said the restrictions are too rigid, too costly to implement and diminish paint quality and durability while increasing consumer costs by $6 to $12.

A coalition of paint manufacturers, dealers and contractors have filed a complaint in Orange County Superior Court in an attempt to invalidate the AQMD's ruling, which outlawed 90 percent of all paint now on the market.

The initial paint formula changes must be made by 2002; the final formulations are due by 2006.

- Daily News

Bat that bit child found to be rabid

SANTA CLARITA - Health officials issued a warning Friday after rabies tests came back positive on a bat that bit a 9-year-old girl who tried to save it from a swimming pool at a Santa Clarita apartment complex.

The girl, a Los Angeles resident visiting friends, was in the pool when the bat flew into the water about 4 p.m. Saturday. It bit the girl's finger as she attempted to rescue it.

A neighbor managed to scoop the bat into a container and took it to the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control, said Sgt. Jerry White, field supervisor for the department's Castaic shelter.

The bat was destroyed Sunday, and officials determined that it carried rabies, said Patrick Ryan, director of the county's Veterinary Public Health and Rabies Control.

The unidentified girl is being treated for rabies.

In the past six to eight months, about four of 15 bats that have been caught in the area tested positive for rabies, possibly exposing two people to the virus, White said.

- Daily News