DEPROGRAMMED: If the feckless mimic dangerous actions...

DEPROGRAMMED: If the feckless mimic dangerous actions they see on film, are entertainment makers responsible for protecting them from themselves? No academic question. Disney cut a scene from “The Program” after it was blamed in two deaths. MTV changed “Beavis and Butt-head” after another. Some show-biz figures, worried by threats of federal regulation, applaud (F1) . . . others worry about artistic freedom.

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COLLEGE TRY: Under terms settling a feminist lawsuit, Cal State Northridge has until 1999 to bring opportunities for men and women athletes, and money spent on them, to about the same level (C15) . . . . In danger elsewhere: football. No women’s team to offset its expense.

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SMALL VOICE: Tragedy and poets go together. But at 10, Fernando Vega (above) is starting too early. To a Woodland Hills audience, Fernando read no childish doggerel, but verses on his jailed mother, the stepfather who died in his arms. . . . “Just me in a little dark, cold room. Only me and my little sad self.”

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BRAKES ON: We all know Sam Winston, the folksy tire mogul, from his “aw shucks” TV spots. State investigators know the Winston Tire Co., based in Burbank, on a less friendly basis, saying the company foisted unnecessary auto repairs and parts on customers (D1). Officials are expected to announce a settlement that includes a fine of around $1 million and restitution.

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RUNNING SHORTS: It was just the start of her problems when Candy Dodge of Canyon Country was bounced from her third-place women’s finish in the San Francisco Marathon, on the grounds she didn’t run the whole course. That inspired the Boston Marathon--where she was listed fifth in the women’s masters division--to recheck records . . . . Same deal, officials said, disqualifying her (C5).