Local News in Brief : Nancy Reagan Drug Center Site Sought

The Nancy Reagan Drug Treatment Center could be housed at a Long Beach nursing home or an Antelope Valley rehabilitation center instead of at a Lake View Terrace hospital, according to members of a county-anointed committee.

The 18-member panel of northeast San Fernando Valley residents was formed by Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich after area residents complained that politicians were ignoring their opposition to the drug treatment center. Panelists--who include religious leaders, political aides and homeowner representatives--said they plan to suggest additional sites at a meeting Sept. 19.

Officials of Phoenix House, the agency proposing the center, also serve on the panel. They said they will try to keep an open mind about alternative locations, even though they already have negotiated a $7.7-million purchase option on the bankrupt Lake View Medical Center.

When Phoenix House President Mitchell S. Rosenthal approached First Lady Nancy Reagan in 1987, he said she agreed to lend her name to a center that would be close to Bel-Air, where she and the President plan to retire next year.