BLOWN AWAY: So if it was the...

BLOWN AWAY: So if it was the Santa Anas whipping around Orange County’s palm trees Monday, why wasn’t it the usual warm-weather wind? The first Santa Anas of the season caused at least one fire (A3) and spread debris around the county. . . . Meteorologist Curtis Brock, with WeatherData Inc., explains that they usually come by October with hot air because it’s still so close to summer. . . . Winds today are expected to be calmer, with sunny skies and temperatures about 80 degrees, lows in the low 50s.

ON-SITE HELPER: The city of Santa Ana needed one more building inspector for all its apartments. But it found something cheaper: four hand-held computers--totaling $16,000--that can help other building inspectors speed up their work. . . . The city is responsible for inspecting about 1,500 government-subsidized units, and that number should go up to about 1,800 by spring. The computers can even generate printouts to show landlords what code violations they need to work on.

DINO-MIGHTY: Christopher Schneider, the 12-year-old boy killed by a reckless driver last year as he waited to cross the street at McGaugh Elementary in Seal Beach, loved drawing dinosaurs. So it was fitting that the Christopher Committee, put together after the incident, raised $7,000 to put a 10-foot-long metal ankylosaur on the school’s playground. . . . After the unveiling Monday, committee member Renee Handler, who witnessed the boy’s death, said they wanted something that “children could enjoy, but would honor Christopher.”

ALL BUT DAD: The La Habra Depot Theatre proposes “Christmas at the Depot,” which opens Saturday, as the perfect family outing. As it turns out, being in the holiday revue is another family activity. . . . Denise Hadlund of Placentia and her three youngsters--Chloe, 4, Gillian, 7, and Benn, 9--are featured in most of the show. . . . Dad Mark is relegated to a supporting role: He’s out of town as part of the lighting crew on the set of a new John Travolta film, working title “Phenomenon.”