Cold, Not Flu: We’ve been hit with...

Cold, Not Flu: We’ve been hit with wind, rain and bone-chilling--by West Coast standards--cold this winter. But we’ve so far avoided a flu epidemic. . . . That’s according to Los Angeles County Health Director Shirley Fannin, who said the flu season has been mild this year, except for sporadic outbreaks of influenza B, which shows up in “small clusters” of people, rather than communitywide.

Aaaaa-chooo! . . . Some of those clusters may be in the northwest Valley. . . . More than 100 of the 600 students at Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth were out ill last week, with the school nurse sending home a dozen or more daily, most of them with body aches and fever.

Asking Why: Toluca Lake resident Bob Murphy ponders the killing of Peter Maloney, who was shot and killed by an unidentified bicyclist last week as he walked home. Some drew parallels to the slaying of Ennis Cosby, because both were apparent victims of random attacks in quiet areas. But while Cosby’s life and death were public, Maloney was an anonymous eccentric who gave up driving when his car broke down. B1

Music and Morals: If you would be great, says CalArts music professor and jazz standard-bearer Charlie Haden, first be good. The Grammy-nominated bassist is not just talking musicianship, but citizenship. “I tell my students, you’ve got to strive to become a good human being,” he said. “Then maybe you can become a good musician.” [L.A. Times Magazine]