LOU’S DAY: The red, white and blue...

LOU’S DAY: The red, white and blue rally marking the end of the Republicans’ 100-day “contract with America” had a tint of Orange Friday. . . . The Pledge of Allegiance at the Washington, D.C., event was led by four grandchildren of the Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, of the Anaheim-based Traditional Values Coalition. . . . It was a great day for Sheldon, beaming from nearby, who is often a critics’ target for his harsh stands against gay rights. When House Speaker Newt Gingrich had to stop his speech to cough, there was Sheldon’s 9-year-old grandson, Matthew of Placentia, to hand him a bottle of water.

OUT OF THE WOODS: It’s respectable for any newcomer to the Masters to make the cut after the second round on Friday. That makes Tiger Woods, 19, a graduate of Western High in Anaheim, very respectable at golf’s premier event at Augusta, Ga. (C1). The Stanford University freshman--who wore a Stanford hat--is at even par--within nine shots of the leader. But Woods isn’t satisfied just to make the cut. He told CBS: “My goal here is to win.”

SIBLING GENERAL: Patriotism runs deep in Sandra Hughes’ family. The Costa Mesa secretary is a charter member of the Daughters of the American Revolution Katuktu chapter. And her brother, James B. Davis, a four-star Air Force general, retired last year after serving as the last American commander of NATO, a job Dwight Eisenhower once held. . . . Family ties strong, the general has flown in from Florida to speak today at a D.A.R. luncheon today at the Tustin Senior Center.

MONARCH HOMES: You want the beauty of butterflies flitting about in your back yard? They need native plants to feed on. . . . There’s a Spring Butterfly Festival at the Turtle Rock Nature Center in Irvine today. You can help the center plant a new butterfly garden--and at the same time learn something about native plants you need in your back yard to attract them. . . . One tip from Turtle Rock: You can’t go wrong with California lilacs or coffee berry bushes.