GETTING THERE: Crossing Ventura County on public...

GETTING THERE: Crossing Ventura County on public transit is a daunting ordeal, what with a half-dozen agencies providing bus service. But by next summer, the County Transportation Commission plans a countywide bus pass and new system of connections to ease cross-county travel. . . . The agency has already come up with that crucial first ingredient for any new government enterprise, a catchy acronym: VISTA, for Ventura Intercity Service Transit Authority. . . . For the car-bound, the commission is divvying up $5 million to speed up road projects (B1).

STILL SMOKING: The potheads of the ‘60s are the parents and professionals of today--and some are still lighting up (E1). . . . In Ventura County, 4% of adults use marijuana regularly, a county study found. When people seek drug treatment, pot typically is not the big problem, said Stephen Kaplan, director of county drug programs. “But marijuana usually is part of their pattern of drug use.”. . . . And Kaplan sees a conflict for pot-smoking parents. “It’s hard to be using even leisurely, and at the same time instructing their kids to refrain from drugs and alcohol.”

CROWD PLEASER: She ranks only seventh in the Pony Stock standings, but Helen Boucher of Oak View is No. 1 in the hearts of stock-car fans at Ventura Raceway. . . . Where else can you see a 51-year-old grandmother piloting a cherry red Ford Pinto around the track (C8)

SCHOOL’S OUT: As school opens for most Ventura County schoolchildren (B1), it’s vacation time for 3,250 pupils in the Oxnard Elementary district--one of two districts on year-round schedules. . . . Oxnard went year-round 18 years ago to ease overcrowding--then found that kids learned better. “If you break up that three-month summer, you reduce learning loss,” Supt. Norman Brekke said. . . . Fillmore Unified switched to year-round for educational reasons, Supt. David Haney said. Students get two weeks off in the fall and spring, three weeks at Christmas, and six weeks in summer.