BRIEFLY.

Man enters plea in threat case

A Woodland Hills man accused of sending letters containing white powder to Jon Stewart, David Letterman and incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, among others, pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of mailing threats.

Conrad Castagana, 39, is scheduled to be tried Jan. 23 in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper on 14 federal counts. If convicted of all the charges, Castagana faces up to 70 years in prison, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

In addition to Stewart, Letterman and Pelosi, Castagana allegedly sent letters to Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York.

The powder contained in the letters turned out to be harmless.

-- City News Service

Inmate's death triggers probe

CASTAIC -- An inmate of the North County Correctional Facility's gang module who collapsed a week ago died from internal injuries, and detectives are now interviewing his fellow prisoners, sheriff's officials revealed Monday.

Deputies and paramedics took Alex Valdez, 43, from the facility when they were alerted of a ``man down'' last Monday about noon, said Sgt. Diane Hecht of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau.

Hecht said Valdez appeared to be having trouble breathing before going into cardiac arrest.

The coroner's office conducted an autopsy because there were no obvious signs of trauma to the body.

It was subsequently discovered that Valdez died from blunt force trauma to abdomen and, as a result, homicide detectives are now interviewing the 63 inmates who were housed with Valdez in the dormitory, Hecht said.

-- City News Service

Elephant issue to be discussed

A state lawmaker working to require larger elephant exhibits at California zoos will host a town hall meeting Wednesday on pachyderms in captivity.

Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, has invited factions for and against exhibiting elephants in zoos and at circuses.

But only those in favor of sending elephants to sanctuaries have agreed to participate, according to Levine spokesman Alex Traverso.

Levine, who strongly supports sending elephants to sanctuaries, will soon reintroduce a bill requiring more elephant room at the Los Angeles and other zoos.

The town hall meeting will take place at noon at the Ronald Reagan State Building, 300 Spring St., Los Angeles.

-- Daily News

Warning issued on sea bacteria

Beachgoers should stay out of the ocean for the next several days because of increased bacteria levels caused by the weekend's rainfall, Los Angeles County health officials said Monday.

Water near discharging storm drains carry flood water and urban runoff.

During and after a storm, discharges may contain large amounts of bacteria from multiple sources. Sewage normally is not present in the runoff, however, as the sewer system is separate from the storm drain system.

Analysis of water samples taken from drain discharge points after storms indicates that such waters can exceed state bacteriological standards, depending on such factors as amount of discharge and ocean currents and tides, for 72 hours after a storm.

-- City News Service