BRIEFLY JUDGE DISMISSES FURROW GUN SUIT.

In a tentative ruling, a federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday threw out a lawsuit by relatives of killed or wounded victims of a white supremacist who went on a shooting spree at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in 1999.

U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins found that the makers of guns Buford Furrow Jr. had in his possession cannot be held liable for the damage their weapons caused.

Furrow's shooting rampage at the Granada Hills center Aug. 10, 1999, left five people wounded, three of them young boys. After he left the center he killed a U.S. postal worker in Chatsworth.

Furrow, now 40, pleaded guilty to various federal charges. On March 26, 2001, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole for committing the hate crimes.

- City News Service

City won't press charges vs. flier

Los Angeles city prosecutors declined to press charges Monday against a man who checked in luggage containing a replica grenade early this month, causing two Los Angeles International Airport terminals to shut down for hours.

Manuel Velasco, a 36-year-old mechanic living in Washington state, said he hopes the city's decision, and an earlier decision not to prosecute by the U.S. Attorney's Office, closes the book on the March 4 incident.

Velasco said one of his bags had been packed by his younger brother, an illustrator who plans to move north and asked Velasco to take along some of his art supplies.

The supplies included the fake grenade, which Velasco's brother used as subject matter, Velasco said.

The Associated Press and other news organizations quoted a government official in Washington, D.C., as saying the fake grenade was intended to be a gag gift.

``I never meant this as a practical joke,'' Velasco said.

- Associated Press

Greenwalt named department chief

Mayor James Hahn on Monday appointed Jerry Greenwalt general manager of the Department of Animal Services, a position he has held on an interim basis since October.

Greenwalt previously worked in the department as assistant general manager and, prior to that, as interim zoo director. In addition, he worked in the City Administrative Office for nearly 20 years, Hahn said.

Greenwalt, whose appointment is subject to City Council approval, replaced Don Knapp, who Hahn removed last year.

Knapp earned $128,000 a year. Greenwalt's salary has yet to be determined.

- Daily News

$25,000 donated to CSUN outreach

NORTHRIDGE - An early college outreach program will receive a $25,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation during a luncheon today at California State University, Northridge, program officials announced Monday.

The money will be used to expand the Web site of Project GRAD Los Angeles, which works with more than 20,000 students at 18 schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The Web site will feature a video of exemplary teaching practices, a question-and-answer board for teachers, and a data reporting section to assess student achievement. The Web site can be viewed at www.projectgradla.org.

- Daily News

Losing candidate lodges complaint

THOUSAND OAKS - A candidate who ran unsuccessfully in March for the Ventura County Board of Supervisors has filed a complaint accusing his opponent of violating the state's campaign finance laws.

Randy Hoffman released a letter Monday that he's sent to the Fair Political Practices Commission, claiming that Thousand Oaks Councilwoman Linda Parks had failed to fully report her expenditures in the supervisor's race.

Parks said she's reported all her contributions and is still receiving contributions, which will be filed in the next reporting period in July.

``The filing with the FPPC and the fact he is continuing to attack is very discouraging,'' Parks said. Hoffman also said Parks likely spent $70,000 to $100,000 on campaign mailers in the weeks leading up to the March 5 election, although her finance statements said she had only $17,765 on hand.

- Daily News