BY HARRY RING
Probably so - A California judge upheld the life sentence meted out to Kevin Weber under the state's "three strikes" law. He said Weber was the type that the legislature had in mind when it passed the law providing a life sentence for a third conviction. Weber's third offense? Stealing four cookies from a restaurant.

Waste management - Over a six-year period, manufacturing companies shipped more than 271 million pounds of toxic waste like lead, dioxin, and arsenic to fertilizer companies and farms. It's usually included with nutrient substances like zinc. Federal labeling regulations cover the nutrient substances, not the toxic ones. No testing is required for smokestack ash, and waste can be sold to farms if it's deemed safe for landfills.

He's a charter member? - To brush up its image, the leader of Britain's Tory party urged that the party's 166-year-old Carlton Club admit women into membership. Huffed one member: "I have nothing against women having their own clubs, but the idea that everyone can go everywhere and there is nowhere men can go on their own, is very annoying."

Almost wish it were true - According to an alleged study, managers face double their usual risk of heart attack during the week after they fire someone. What to do about it? The doc who led the study suggests diet and exercise. Which makes sense, it's easier than not firing people.

Probably good for you - The Associated Press article on boss risk also notes that some studies "suggest" that chronic job stress can contribute to heart disease. "However," it adds, "many experts are skeptical about how important this kind of stress really is because just about everybody who works for a living has at least some daily job stress."

`É word back in Georgia schools - Concerned by the low ratings given to the state's science curriculum, Georgia educators wrote a new draft in which the "e" word - evolution - is restored. Under pressure from politicians, the offending word was snipped from a mid-1980s curriculum. Instead, it resorted to such euphemisms as "organic variation."

Step lively - Tests confirm that electronic anti- shoplifting devices are risky for people with pacemakers. The signals can quicken the heartbeat, causing palpitations and dizziness. The Food and Drug Administration, advises shoppers with pacemakers to move rapidly through exit security gates. We'd add a caution: But don't sprint. Might touch off a security cop.

How about an SPCP? - We don't know if San Francisco officials have accepted the offer of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to permit homeless people to stay overnight as "roommates" to the dogs at its spiffy shelter, which features such amenities as couches, Persian rugs, and TV.

Thought for the week - "The more you think about it, the more bizarre it becomes because of the statement it makes is that the nicest shelter in town is going to be for the animals." - Paul Boden, director of the Coalition on Homelessness, comparing the SPCA quarters to the 600-bed city shelter.  
 
 
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