UNEMPLOYMENT CURE: Hoping to beat back rising...

UNEMPLOYMENT CURE: Hoping to beat back rising joblessness, Oxnard College is searching for out-of-work professionals interested in becoming community college teachers. College officials say 15 people have signed up for a new class designed to introduce the unemployed to the teaching profession. . . . “What we want to know is whether they have the patience, the sensitivity and the love for teaching,” program Director Roland Glover said.

COPTER COVERAGE: Officials considered canceling the insurance policy for the county’s helicopter fleet shortly before fire destroyed a $1-million Sheriff’s Department helicopter last week. Risk Manager Robi Klein said the insurance policy was reviewed as part of a cost cutting program to help balance the Ventura County budget. “When you have an incident like this, you’re just happy to have the coverage,” he said. . . . The chopper went up in flames after its pilot landed on a hill near a controlled burn east of Thousand Oaks. Klein decided against self-insuring the fleet partly because of its excellent safety record. “Part of this job is an art. It’s just a feel for what can go wrong.”

JULY FOURTH: From Simi Valley to Santa Paula, fireworks shows lit up the skies during Independence Day celebrations across the county (B1). The festivities continue today with musical acts, food and a fireworks show in Ojai.

VINDICATION: The grand jury has determined that Oxnard officials did nothing wrong when they hired former City Clerk Mabi Plisky last year after she lost her reelection bid. Plisky, the wife of City Councilman Michael Plisky, was eventually fired from her Oxnard Police Department job after complaints that she received preferential treatment. . . . Plisky has been without work since her dismissal. “I’m pleased that the grand jury took the time and made the effort to follow through on the issue,” she said. “I’m not surprised by their findings.”