BRIEFLY LEAF NAMED INTERIM DIRECTOR OF HEALTH.

Moving to stabilize Los Angeles County's beleagured health care system, the Board of Supervisors voted in closed session Tuesday to appoint Department of Health Services Chief of Staff Fred Leaf as interim director.

Leaf, whose appointment will become effective June 30, will replace director Mark Finucane, who tendered his resignation last month from an agency facing an $884 million deficit in 2005.

- Daily News

Elderly dog attack victim said stable

PACOIMA - A 78-year-old man attacked by three dogs as he was on an early morning walk was listed in stable condition Tuesday at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center.

Antonio Torres Rangel suffered injuries to his face and both of his arms and legs after he was attacked by three boxer mixes while walking in Pacoima early Friday.

- Daily News

Motorist rescued after car plunge

A 20-year-old woman suffered minor injuries Tuesday after the vehicle she was driving careened off Angeles Crest Highway and plunged almost 100 feet down an embankment.

Tamara McAllister was rescued just before 8 a.m. Tuesday, after driving off the highway near mile marker 10.74, just outside Palmdale.

- Daily News

Two brothers deny charges of murder

Two brothers pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder charges stemming from a botched robbery and shootout in front of a Costco discount warehouse in Van Nuys in August.

Ignacio Cervantes Chavez, 47, and his brother, Ramon Gutierrez, 38, entered their pleas during an arraignment in Van Nuys Superior Court.

- Daily News

Death of stand-in actor prompts suit

The widow of a ``Proof of Life'' stand-in actor killed in an Ecuador crash last year has sued the studios claiming negligence for hiring a local man to drive an unsafe truck on a mountain road.

William Gaffney Jr., a 29-year-old stand-in for actor David Morse, was thrown from the truck and killed when the driver lost control of the vehicle on a narrow dirt road.

- Associated Press

Two more bodies recovered in crash

Divers recovered two more bodies Tuesday from the ocean where a single-engine Cessna airplane crashed off Topanga Beach on March 28 with three people aboard.

The bodies, presumed to be those of the pilot and a passenger, were recovered late Tuesday morning after being found near the wreckage of the aircraft.

- City News Service

Ventura rally seeks law for living wage

VENTURA - Members of the Ventura County Living Wage Coalition rallied Tuesday at the Board of Supervisors for a proposed living wage ordinance that would pay workers $8 hour, plus benefits, or $10 without benefits for those contracting with the county.

The proposed ordinance is expected to come before the board April 24.

- Daily News