STAYING HOME: For Ventura County real estate...
STAYING HOME: For Ventura County real estate brokers, the bad news is that home sales dipped 1.8% in the first half of the year. The good news: It was much worse everywhere else in Southern California (B1). . . . With people staying put, local moving crews are idle during a normally busy period. “We’re usually turning down jobs this time of year,” said Karen Daily at Conejo Valley Moving and Storage. Instead, only three of her five crews were working Wednesday. . . . It’s the worst slump Daily has seen in 22 years, but she sees a bright side: “It’s a little better than last year.”
FILM VETERAN: In her first TV series 25 years ago, Peggy Lipton played a hip undercover cop on “The Mod Squad.” Then she traded her bell-bottoms for a role in “Twin Peaks.” Now it’s on to another series in another small town--Santa Paula. Lipton and actor James Brolin are the stars, but Santa Paula plays the title role in “Angel Falls,” a new CBS soap opera set in Montana (B4). . . . Santa Paula has long been prized by filmmakers for its Anywhere, U.S.A. look, suitable for films ranging from “The Addams Family” to “The Babe Ruth Story.”. . . Another plus: It’s so close to Hollywood, producers don’t pay for overnight stays.
IT’S THE LAW: Don’t ride your horse on the sidewalk or spit in the street in Ventura. And don’t even think about carrying a concealed slingshot in Ojai. All three are offenses listed in municipal code books (Ventura County Life, J6). . . . Here’s one to remember next time you get a bag of soggy fries: In Santa Paula, it’s illegal to swear at drive-in restaurants.
POPULAR DEMAND: An Oxnard man accused of running Ventura County’s biggest prostitution ring is out of prison after serving 1 1/2 years (B5). But there’s been no shortage of prostitutes since Oxnard police closed six “modeling agencies” in 1991, police spokesman David Keith said. “We made a dent in it for awhile, but it’s right back where it started.”. . . Biggest problem: “There’s always a market for it.”
