STAYING AFLOAT: The start of the summer...

STAYING AFLOAT: The start of the summer swim season--when most drownings occur--has Ventura County officials holding their breath. “A lot of it depends on the weather,” Deputy Coroner Craig Stevens said. In this case, bad is better: Last year’s drop in drownings was attributed to the county’s 90-plus days of beach-clearing gloom, Stevens said. . . . Best ways to prevent drownings: Fence your pool and take a CPR class, said Carol Becker of the American Red Cross’ Ventura County chapter.

EMPLOYERS GLOOMY: Like Mark Twain’s death, reports of the recession’s demise are proving premature in Ventura County. A survey of the county’s major employers finds that 37% plan to cut staff in the third quarter, while only 13% expect to add workers (Valley Business, Page 16). In the second quarter, half the employers thought they would be expanding staff. . . . Big concern: how much the Clinton Administration’s health plan will cost employers.

GROWING TREND: While Moorpark sows its first community garden (B4), Ventura’s two-acre city garden has been providing fruits, vegetables and flowers for nine years. About 70 plots, 18-by-25-feet each, are currently rented at $40 apiece. . . . “It’s very relaxing,” said former Ventura Fire Chief Bob Horne. And challenging: “I don’t have any personnel problems, but I’ve got aphids.”

LOGJAM: Ojai officials have discovered there’s little demand for a three-story, 3,000-square-foot replica of the fort on Tom Sawyer’s Island at Disneyland. . . . The disassembled cabin, donated by a Mira Monte man, has been stacked at the city yard for four years. The only bid for the fort was a disappointing $1,300. Tonight, the City Council will decide whether to give the fort to the Boy Scouts for their 1830s-style village at Lockwood Valley. “It would be our centerpiece,” Scout leader Frank Royer said. That’s if the Scouts can get some free help moving it, he said.

Drownings Down

Drownings in Ventura County last year matched their lowest total in seven years. 1992: 7 1991: 10 1990: 7 1989: 10 1988: 9 1987: 8 1986: 9 Source: State Department of Health Services