WORKING CLASS: As Ojai’s citrus orchards gave...

WORKING CLASS: As Ojai’s citrus orchards gave way to development, the city has become a Mecca for lawyers and administrators. Census figures show that 79% of the working residents have white-collar jobs. . . . This doesn’t surprise Margaret Grzybowski, who works at a dry-cleaner on California 33. She is responsible for making sure the executives’ duds are clean. . . . “We get between 250 and 300 dirty shirts in here each week,” Grzybowski said. The most common color: White, of course.

DERAILED PLANS: Life is back to normal at the Seacliff Beach Colony, the site of a train derailment two years ago (B1). . . . But state Assemblyman Jack O’Connell’s plans to toughen up railway safety codes are off track. . . . After the Seacliff crash, O’Connell proposed two bills requiring trains to carry lists of toxic cargo. However, Gov. Pete Wilson vetoed the legislation. . . . O’Connell said he can take a hint. “I have better things to do than bang my head against a wall,” he said.

PHONE TAPS: Starting this week, computer whizzes can access book listings at county libraries with the touch of a finger and a telephone. Instructions are available at library branches for residents who want to tap into the system. . . .”Computer owners will be able to come to the library with their research already done,” said county Librarian Dixie D. Adeniran.

COFFEE TALK: A ballot initiative to convert Ventura schools to a year-round calendar has sparked heated debate among parents and teachers (B1). . . . Jeff Evans, manager of Nicholby’s Coffeehouse in Ventura, sees the proposal as a mixed blessing. If the initiative passes, Evans could lose a large portion of his high-school customers, who turned the coffee shop into a teen hangout over the summer recess. But then again, Evans said, “Our idea was to attract an older crowd. It will be nice to have fewer kids.”

White-Collar Towns

Percentage of workers in white-collar jobs: Thousand Oaks: 85.1% Ojai: 79.0% Camarillo: 78.9% Simi Valley: 76.5% Ventura: 76.3% Moorpark: 75.0% Port Hueneme: 69.5% Oxnard: 57.9% Santa Paula: 53.8% Fillmore: 50.3% Source: 1990 U.S. Census