MASS ACTION: What to do when you...

MASS ACTION: What to do when you see a stranger with a screwdriver inside your car? Two women and two men promptly surrounded the auto parked on a street in Sherman Oaks about noon Monday, one holding the door shut with her foot (B1). . . . Police say the would-be thief, who was taken into custody, stayed put--he was less worried about being arrested than about confronting those four.

JUMP-START: A promise of $3.25 million in federal funds to create a manufacturing plant for developing an electric car and other high-tech ventures was announced Monday (B4). . . . Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City) said the defense conversion money is earmarked for Los Angeles, and he hopes it will end up in the northeast Valley.

BUSINESS BLUES: Six of eight major banks and S&Ls; in the Valley and Ventura County report losses in the third quarter (Valley Business, Page 4). . . . And continuing a disturbing trend, business bankruptcies--such as that of Vivaldi, a Van Nuys restaurant co-owned by Gus Pelaez, above--rose again. In the past six months, 260 businesses in the San Fernando and Antelope valleys and in Ventura County have declared bankruptcy, up 17% from a year ago (Valley Business, Page 12).

GRIDIRON FINAL--1-0: By that unusual score, El Camino Real earned a berth in the City Section 4-A Division football playoffs by defeating Kennedy on Monday (C3). . . . The teams had to play the rarely seen California tiebreaker--not a football game, exactly, but individual plays that look like one--to decide who took third place in the North Valley League.

VIDEO BY PHONE: Want to shop for fly-fishing equipment without leaving the comfort of your television room? That could happen soon in parts of the Valley, where Pacific Bell is wiring its new fiber-optic network (Valley Business, Page 8).