TIGHT SQUEEZE: Sociologists know what happens when...

TIGHT SQUEEZE: Sociologists know what happens when you pack people into a city: “The crime rate goes up, and the complexity of society increases,” said Hoda Mahmoudi, head of the sociology department at Cal Lutheran University. But densely populated areas also allow for benefits like mass transit and cultural diversity. “Throughout history, human beings have been attracted to one another,” she said. . . . Oxnard’s most crowded areas--Southwinds and La Colonia--also have the most crime, police analyst David Keith said.

Feeling Crowded?

People per square mile in Ventura County cities: Oxnard: 5,828 Santa Paula: 5,448 Port Hueneme: 4,618 Fillmore: 4,612 Ventura: 4,515 Simi Valley: 3,026 Camarillo: 2,842 Thousand Oaks: 2,103 Moorpark: 2,072 Ojai: 1,730

Source: California Cities, Towns & Counties, 1993

EAT FIRST: The Ventura Pier is set to reopen in October, but don’t plan on dinner. It will probably be 18 months before a new pier restaurant opens, said city Parks Manager Bill Byerts. The city is studying three restaurant proposals--after sending notices to 60 companies. “We hoped for more, but with the economy some are reluctant.”. . . . Among the bidders: Ruby’s, a 1940s-style diner chain already located at the Balboa Pier in Newport Beach, and Reel Inn, a seafood chain that has a restaurant in Malibu.

FACING DISASTER: As a local water district considers enlarging a reservoir (B1), it’s comforting to know that Ventura County is ready for disaster at the area’s 13 dams. “We assume the worst case,” said Wendy Haddock, emergency services coordinator. The plans detail areas that would be inundated and evacuation routes. . . . Though we’ve had no dam failures since the 1928 St. Francis Dam collapse--which killed 450--the county routinely runs disaster drills, most recently at Lake Piru in June.

MATCHMAKER: Want to tie the knot without spending a lot? A retired Ventura minister has placed an ad offering to perform weddings free. “I thought, times are tight, this is something people probably need,” said the Rev. Norma Pruitt, a minister of the Church of the Metaphysical Mind. A few rules: “You come to my house--I have a nice little patio--and you bring the license.” So far she’s had 25 calls. . . . “Weddings are a happy, happy time. I always carry a Kleenex.”