NO JOKE: The people now running the...

NO JOKE: The people now running the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library aren’t usually thought of as a bunch of jokesters. . . . But on Tuesday they host a conference to answer the question: “Do conservatives have a sense of humor?� The lineup includes the satirical songsters “The Capitol Steps,� political humorist P.J. O’Rourke and, no kidding, Dan Quayle. The former veep, who fed stand-up comics years of material just by misspelling potato , will be there to flog his book, “Standing Firm.� Tickets are $45.

STAND & DELIVER: Attacks on “zoot-suiters� continue to inflame the passions of Alice McGrath. . . . The social justice crusader is best known for her part in the successful campaign to free the zoot-suit clad Latinos convicted in the infamous Sleepy Lagoon murder case in 1942. On Thursday, she left her Ventura home to support a teacher suspended for trying to show the movie “Zoot Suit� to 11th-graders in San Diego County. “If we deny schoolchildren information about injustices,� McGrath said, “they will not become informed and responsible citizens.�

UP IN ARMS: As Congress inches toward banning semiautomatic weapons, gun lovers are dashing to their favorite gun shops. Store owners from Oxnard to Simi Valley report a run on guns that exceeds the frantic sales after the Los Angeles riots (B1). . . . Their customers are going bananas over rapid-fire guns and ammo. “I sold 50 high-capacity handguns in one day,� said Fillmore shopkeeper Gary Creagle. “I think Bill and Hillary have got to be working for the firearms industry.�

REGIONAL LEADER: Ventura County Supervisor John K. Flynn has garnered another title: He is the new president of the California Assn. of Council Governments. Recently elected to the post by local leaders across the state, Flynn wants to halt parochial fights in Sacramento and push regional solutions on issues from cleaning up air pollution to making water available to thirsty areas. Said he: “I consider myself a regional leader.�