SUPER MARKET: Stocks hit another record high...

SUPER MARKET: Stocks hit another record high Wednesday (D2), prompting a flurry of calls to Ventura County brokerages. “When the news is record high, record high, record high, the occasional customer finally picks up the phone and says, ‘What’s going on here?’ ” said Matt Morrison of Dean Witter Reynolds in Thousand Oaks. . . . Discouraging note: With stocks already so high, some figure that it’s too late to buy in. “The trick is to find stocks that are a bit beat up.” Morrison cites health care: Thanks to uncertainty over the Clinton health plan, some medical stocks are near record lows.

TREE HUGGERS: With 320 species of trees in the city, it’s no wonder that Ventura officials need help taking care of them all. “We hope to get the community involved in caring for young trees so we can look after the mature ones,” said tree coordinator Deborah Green, who is developing the program. . . . The “tree stewards” would attend classes on watering and pruning, and then care for street trees. “Sometimes it’s just a matter of asking a homeowner to water more,” Green said. . . . The city is responsible for trees lining streets, and crews plant about 100 a year.

REMAKING HAY: At Ventura County’s No. 1 FM radio station, deejay Charlye Parker is embracing the new generation of country stars--people like Aaron Tippin, Garth Brooks and Clint Black. But K-HAY’s new format has some listeners singing the blues (Ventura County Life, J6). . . . For old-timers, K-HAY was as comfy as an old boot, but they’ll get used to the change, Parker said. “The station should be happy they even noticed.”

PET RESORT: At Janelle Aguilar’s Ojai hotel, they check in, but they don’t check out--not willingly, anyway. Aguilar runs All Pets Bed and Breakfast, a boarding home for cats and dogs with special needs--like baked potatoes, beef stew and ice cream (E1). . . . Elfie Stuber said her miniature schnauzer, Miss Sophie, hates ordinary kennels. “Here, she just walks right in.”