ROMANTIC NORWALK: The first few miles on...

ROMANTIC NORWALK: The first few miles on the rocky road of marriage are about to get longer. Beginning July 1, couples won’t be able to get wedding licenses at the Van Nuys and San Fernando courthouses (B1). To save the county money, licenses will be available only in downtown L. A., Lancaster and Norwalk. . . . Love, apparently, can’t compete with the needs of the criminal justice system.

GROUND DOWN: Although a new study shows that 27% of residents in an inner-city neighborhood go hungry for lack of money, the San Fernando Valley is about to lose an institution that fed hundreds of the poor each week. After five years, Ray Castellani is ready to close the Frontline Foundation in Van Nuys (B1). . . . Castellani, a Skid Row refugee himself, says he feels tired and alone, disgusted with empty-promise politicians and poor-mouth charities.

ON A ROLL: Bunco, the hot parlor game of the moment, is drawing people by the dozens to Valley homes to throw dice (Valley Life, page 12). . . . Many players say it fosters a sense of community they crave. A CSUN sociology professor agrees, saying such games provide a sense of social unity absent from today’s neighborhoods.

THE REEL STUFF: The Warner Studios VIP Tour is a behind-the-scenes look at filmmaking (Valley Life, page 32). Tours are small and tailored to what’s happening on the day you visit. No exhibits or attractions--just a close-up, personal look at the famed studio in Burbank, its exterior sets and sound stages, and scenes being shot.

LABOR ABUSE: Cherokee Inc. in Sunland is one of 157 Southern California apparel makers that have been told by the federal government to stop accepting “hot goods” from contractors violating labor laws (D1). . . . It’s part of a crackdown on violations of minimum-wage, overtime pay and child labor laws in the garment industry.