TAX BILLS: Get out the checkbook. Ventura...

TAX BILLS: Get out the checkbook. Ventura County will be sending out tax bills today to 222,501 property owners . . . While many homeowners can expect to pay $3,000 this year, nine county companies and a local mall must cough up about $28.6 million. “We’ll just crank out the check and send it in,” said Tom Bryson, a general manager for Southern California Edison, the county’s largest taxpayer . . . The due date is Nov. 1. But procrastinators have until Dec. 10 to pay without a penalty.

Tax Time

Top 10 property taxpayers in Ventura County for 1993-1994 (in milions of dollars):

So. Californa Edison: $8.4

GTE: $5.2

Proctor & Gamble: $2.7

Rockwell International: $2

Amgen Inc.: $2

Shell Oil Co.: $1.9

Pacific Bell: $1.9

Texaco Inc.: 1.6

The Oaks Mall: $1.4

So. California Gas Co.: $1.4

Source: Ventura County Treasurer-Tax Collector

ARMCHAIR VOTERS: With less than three weeks left until the November election, 29,105 people in Ventura County have asked for absentee ballots. And Ventura City Council hopefuls haven’t wasted any time in sending mailers to the in-home voters. Eight of the 14 council candidates are paying the county up to $30 daily for the latest listings . . . “It’s really important for these candidates to send their mailers to the people who are going to vote,” Elections Chief Bruce Bradley said.

DONOR SEARCH: Katalina Um was one of the lucky ones. The Ventura woman, stricken by leukemia, beat the odds by finding a perfect donor match for her bone marrow (B1) . . . But the bone marrow search continues for 80 Ventura County people--including 67 children--who are afflicted with the deadly disease. “It’s frustrating,” said Chris Landon, director of pediatrics at the county hospital. “We are on a race against the clock.”

BROOME RANCH: Although the hillsides and valleys of the 640-acre Broome Ranch officially became state parkland Thursday (B1), don’t put on your hiking boots yet. It will be at least several more weeks before outdoor enthusiasts are allowed to explore the property, situated off Potrero Road in Newbury Park . . . Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy officials said they must first work out the details of the acquisition with National Park Service and city officials. The conservancy’s Rorei Skei said in the meantime: “The best view is from the side of the road.”