FIGHTING BACK: Domestic violence might not be...

FIGHTING BACK: Domestic violence might not be on the increase here, but calls for help have skyrocketed--double over last year. And law enforcement sources say most have come since the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Hot line calls also shot up at the local Women’s Transitional Living Center, which aids battered women. . . . Says its spokeswoman, Melinda Everhart: “The Simpson case triggered awareness, especially after those 911 tapes were played on TV.”

WARDROBE HELP: Battered women are getting some extra help in their job searching. Working Wardrobes is having a workshop today for 150 women from local shelters at Our Lady Queen of Angels Parish in Newport Beach. The volunteer group, which helps enhance women’s self-esteem going into the work force, will try to prepare them for a job hunt. And a bonus: Each participant will get five complete outfits suitable for interviews.

HELLO COLUMBUS: Christopher Columbus’ legacy as the man who discovered America has taken a bit of a beating in recent years. But he’s still got big fans, like Claudio Arena, owner of Tutto Mare Restaurant in Newport Beach. Today, Arena will don a Christopher Columbus costume and spin yarns about Columbus’ exploits to abused children from Childhelp Village. Then Monday--Columbus Day--he’ll hold a $75 per person Italian buffet benefit dinner for them.

SAWING TIME? The county’s signs in English tell you its offices are closed every other Friday. But its Spanish signs, at the registrar of voters office and at nearby county buildings, read: “Este edificio estara serrado los siguientes viernes. . . .” meaning the county buildings will be “sawed off.” The word should be cerrado (closed). . . . Says Fullerton College professor Kiki Zuniga, a Latino activist: “If the county was in compliance with affirmative action, that never would have been overlooked.”

Domestic Disputes

Requests for police to respond to domestic violence are expected to double this year.

1994*: 32,000

* Projection

Source: State of California, Bureau of Criminal Statistics