RAINING PROFITS: When downpours hit south Florida...

RAINING PROFITS: When downpours hit south Florida last winter, Ventura County celery farmers reaped the benefits: the highest prices in at least eight years, according to Rex Laird of the Ventura County Farm Bureau. . . . But all that flooding in the Midwest (A10), which has devastated corn, soybean and wheat fields, won’t have a similar impact. “The crops they grow in that area are not grown here,” he said. . . . As anyone who stalks the produce aisle knows, celery prices have remained high, bringing smiles to long-suffering growers, Laird said. “It’s like the Cubs winning the World Series.”

FIRM ACCEPTANCE: OK, so they changed the ending. “The Firm” was still the hot topic Tuesday around law office water coolers (F1). “I think the movie’s ending is better,” said Bartley S. Bleuel, former president of the Ventura County Bar Assn. And a lot kinder to the legal profession. “It makes him an honest guy,” Bleuel said of the Tom Cruise character. “He’s trying to be ethical against all odds.” . . . Oxnard attorney Larry L. Hines liked the film’s portrayal of a lawyer’s life. “Anything to make it sound more glamorous is good. The basic meat and potatoes of law is not very exciting.”

KICK ARTIST: When he competed in karate, Jim Mullen of Simi Valley was often disqualified for hitting opponents too hard. That’s no longer a problem since he switched to kickboxing, where hitting hard is the whole idea. . . . In barely 1 1/2 years, Mullen has become one of the top amateur heavyweights (C6).

WILD CARD: Don Drysdale’s unexpected death had some Ventura County baseball card dealers bracing for a stampede. It hasn’t happened. . . . “I haven’t had one call on him. I can’t believe it,” said Tony Geraets of Baseball Cards Etc. in Simi Valley. Several dealers said Drysdale’s rookie card already sells for as much as $250 and probably can’t go much higher. . . . Ventura Sports Cards owner Gary Wilmott expects higher prices for the Hall of Famer’s autograph: “He can’t sign any more now. Production has stopped.”