BANNER BUILDING: For months it has been...

BANNER BUILDING: For months it has been going up next to the Ventura Freeway in Thousand Oaks, a nine-story colossus that will become the city’s $64-million Civic Arts Plaza. But does everybody know that? “It’s often confused with an industrial building,” said Helene Ross of the plaza publicity subcommittee. . . . Her panel’s solution: an identifying banner to be strung across the building during construction. . . . The request poses a bind for the City Council with the county’s strictest sign rules. Said Councilman Frank Schillo: “I would not want something others are not allowed to have.”

HAM JAM: These days, ham radio operators don’t just tap out Morse code and mess up your TV reception. They’re beaming signals off satellites and hooking up with computers around the globe . . . But some things haven’t changed: “Communicating with people around the world is still the real interesting part of it,” said Marc Holzer of Thousand Oaks. . . . This weekend, 3,000 members of the American Radio Relay League will convene at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. “It’s a candy store for gadget freaks,” Holzer said.

NEW YEAR: At temples across Ventura County, celebrations tonight will mark the start of the High Holy Days, a 10-day period of self-examination. . . . Rosh Hashanah, which begins at sunset, marks the start of year 5754 in the Jewish calendar. “It’s not like Jan. 1,” said Rabbi Michael Berk of Temple Beth Torah in Ventura. “It’s a celebration of creation. Then we turn inward to our role in creation.”

ROYAL PROBLEM: Royal High School’s water polo program has won 12 consecutive Marmonte League championships, but this year’s team is awash with question marks (C8). . . . Another uncertainty: where the team will play after this year. The Rancho Simi Community Park Pool--the only 50-meter pool in Ventura County--almost closed this year because of budget cuts, and school and park officials are still working out a long-term solution.