CHEAP DATE: When the economy is this...

CHEAP DATE: When the economy is this gloomy, dating leads straight to both romance and ruin. After that fancy dinner and show, your heart may be soaring, but your wallet is imploding. . . . See Valley Life, Page 10, for suggestions on cheap dates, and a contest to win an unabashedly pricey evening for two.

THE CHARM? State Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica), who represents part of the Valley, is remarrying. . . . Although Hayden won’t discuss it, sources confirm that he plans to marry actress Barbara Williams, a Canadian who appeared in the film “City of Hope.” The date: Aug. 7. Hayden’s second wife--actress, workout queen and fellow liberal Jane Fonda--is now married to sports and entertainment mogul Ted Turner.

TALL ORDER: At 6-foot-8, Lance Whitaker, who attended San Fernando High School, was high on the list of college scouts in both football and basketball. So he chose . . . boxing (C1). So far he’s won a national Golden Gloves championship and is a contender for the U. S. Olympic Festival super heavyweight gold medal. His explanation for his preference: “I like boxing because it’s an individual sport.”

P-R-O-F-I-T: Maybe Mickey isn’t “Le Mouse Hot” in France, but that hasn’t stopped the Walt Disney Co. from raking in money from movies, videos and other theme parks. Despite a second-quarter loss of $30.9 million on Euro Disney, the company’s net income rose 17% to a record $259 million (D2).

HEAVY RAP: The death of Latasha Harlins, the African-American girl shot by a Korean grocer after a scuffle that began over a carton of orange juice, shook up Burbank playwright Mary Mann. The result is “Thugun and Natasha,” a rap musical for youngsters based on the shooting, tackling such adult issues as guns and ethnic hostility. . . . It premieres Saturday at the Burbank Little Theatre. See Valley Life, Page 3.