ROAD RULES: Caltrans workers hope to finally...

ROAD RULES: Caltrans workers hope to finally reopen flood-damaged Topanga Canyon Boulevard this weekend. . . . L. A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky wants to honor their efforts at the site, but doesn’t want to delay commuters. Ideas are still being considered, but his spokesman, Joel Bellman, says, “I don’t envision Zev out there with a pair of rally flags as the cars roll by.”

COSTLY RIDE: The first day of rate hikes on MTA buses Wednesday (B1) was tough on some riders. . . . Many had to scrounge up the extra $7 for monthly passes and 25 cents in one-way fares. “There’s been more than one person crying in here today,” one MTA agent said.

CAPITOL GANG: You’ve come a long way, Blinky. . . . Former gang member William (Blinky) Rodriguez, above, of Sylmar is expected to address U. S. senators today in Washington about the Valley gang truce he helped forge. Rodriguez will also sit down to a National Prayer Breakfast with President Clinton. This area is now known for the Northridge quake. Says Rodriguez: “I want them to know there is other shaking going on that is spiritual in terms of saving lives.”

PSYCHIC IMPRESSION: Etta Smith won’t be opening any psychic hot lines soon. . . . The Burbank psychic, who appears in Friday’s episode of “Unsolved Mysteries,” was wrongly arrested in 1980 after she led police to the body of a slain nurse. She later won a $26,184 settlement but has since kept a low profile. She has switched jobs and rarely uses her psychic talents. “I wouldn’t dare try to make a living at it,” she says.

PITCHING STREAK: Cal State Northridge pitcher Keven Kempton (C8) is improving at fielding life’s curveballs. . . . After his parents divorced while he was in high school, drugs became his refuge. But he cleaned up his act and went back to pitching . . . only to require elbow surgery. “This stuff is really tough mentally,” he said. “But it definitely builds character.”