RESCUE: Canoga Park-based Rocketdyne helped rescue a...

RESCUE: Canoga Park-based Rocketdyne helped rescue a stalled satellite Monday. That was the reason for the noisy morning test-fire of an Atlas component. . . . Spokesman Paul Sewell says Rocketdyne had a rush order for a carburetor-like part called a regulator. A communications satellite has been waiting since Nov. 22 on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center. “We had to find one around here, get it tested and fly it down there,” Sewell said.

GARBAGE OUT: Santa Clarita is hoping to cut down on trash by making it harder to get rid of it. To that end, 35 personal trash cans belonging to city employees were taken away. Now employees must toss paperwork or banana peels at communal receptacles. Bryan Boeskin, a waste management analyst for the city, says the idea is to make employees “take that extra step and say, . . . ‘Can it be recycled?’ ”

JUST KIDDING: When former Assemblyman Tom McClintock, above, lost a race for Congress in 1992, he vowed to leave politics. . . . Now, he’s entered the race for Assemblywoman Paula L. Boland’s seat--his second bid for office since that ’92 loss (B1).

PERESTROIKA: How you gonna keep ‘em down on the potato farm in Albania after they’ve seen jumping jacks in the Valley? No sweat. . . . Fascinated by physical education in American schools, two officials from the tiny Balkan nation dropped in on Sepulveda Middle School in North Hills to learn our secrets Tuesday. “They were very enthused about the team effort,” Principal Robert Reimann said.

PARADE: Grammy winner Andrae Crouch has been named co-grand marshal of Pacoima’s 28th annual Christmas parade Dec. 23 along with Yvonne Chan, principal of Vaughn Next Century Learning Center. It’s been quite a year for Crouch, the gospel singer-songwriter who returned to Pacoima to pastor Christ Memorial Church. His installation in September drew coverage from CNN and People.