MEDICAL MARRIAGE: Health Net, the state’s second-biggest...

MEDICAL MARRIAGE: Health Net, the state’s second-biggest HMO, says it will team with QualMed of Colorado . . . an unlikely pairing, because Woodland Hills-based Health Net has bitterly fought off QualMed’s overtures in court. . . . It’s the latest in a wave of health-care industry consolidations (D1).

NASHING TEETH: Remember the tiny Nash Metros from the 1950s? Shirley Barnes remembers them with such fondness that she has 13 parked outside her Sunland house (B3). . . . But one person’s nostalgia is another one’s nuisance, and neighbors have complained that her place has become a junkyard. . . . Says Barnes: “I’m just trying to have a little fun.”

5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . : Twice this year, the space shuttle liftoff has been aborted three seconds before launch, and the finger is being pointed at the engines made by Rocketdyne in Canoga Park. . . . NASA is investigating, and, says its chief, “we’ve seen some significant improvements” . . . but “there’s a lot more room for improvement.” See Valley Business, Page 3.

ORTHODOX APPROACH: Many residents in a North Hollywood area chose their neighborhood because their homes are within walking distance of a synagogue. . . . It isn’t just a convenience--it’s a requirement. The tenets of Orthodox Judaism forbid the faithful to drive a car on Saturdays and holidays. . . . There are several synagogues within a one-mile radius. See Valley Business, Page 11.

BANNING THE BAN: An Orange County judge dissolved a temporary court order prohibiting gang members from associating with each other (B6). . . . Could it affect a similar ordinance aimed at gangs on Blythe Street in Panorama City? The city attorney’s office will review the Orange County ruling to see if it will, but one district attorney says, “right now, the Los Angeles police see the court injunction in the Blythe Street area as a boon to bringing a sense of order.”