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Short Takes

15 minutes of fame in Portola Valley

An independent feature film has begun shooting in Portola Valley, the venture of a youthful group with long ties to the town.

Gardner Loulan, a VJ, writer and producer with MTV's college network, came back home to direct the film. He and Joseph Brady wrote the screenplay, a comedy about a young man making a movie in a small town with deep pockets. It explores the great lengths people will go to attain fame and fortune.

Can't imagine where they got that idea.

Locals can sign on as "extras" by going to www.auntcolony.com. Filming in Portola Valley, Woodside and Los Altos Hills will wrap up July 15, said producer JoAnn Loulan of Portola Valley.

Stuck at the office

With great fanfare, local transit agencies last year unveiled a program to offer commuters free rides on buses, trains, ferries and BART on smoggy "Spare the Air" days. The catch? Only morning commutes were free, leaving the riders to pay their own way home.

This year, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission appear to have figured out that people who go to work in the morning generally like to come home again in the evening. So, from now through October 13, free rides will be offered all day long on up to five weekday Spare the Air days.

Spare the Air days are declared by the air quality district when weather conditions make it likely that air pollution will reach unhealthful concentrations, and Bay Area residents are asked to avoid driving and other air-polluting activities. The advisories are usually issued the previous afternoon. To sign up for an "AirAlert" e-mail, go to SparetheAir.org. For information on how to get where you're going via public transportation, go to www.511.org.