NOT CHEERING: They say a watched pot...

NOT CHEERING: They say a watched pot never boils, but a Moorpark woman is steaming after watching a program about pot (B6). . . . “Hemp, Hemp, Hurray” is one of dozens of public-access programs on Ventura County Cablevision. “About once a year there’s a controversy like this,” said Cablevision’s Alan McDaniel. . . . But by law, he said, the company must air any program submitted by a local resident, unless it endorses a product, operates a lottery, or is judged obscene. . . . Other offerings: “The John Birch Society,” “Air Force News,” and “Parapsychology: A Light Perspective.”

DINNER DEEREST: From New York to Santa Paula, enterprising farmers are harvesting a new crop: venison (A1). . . . And deer dishes are popping up on restaurant menus. “We used to serve it only in winter, but demand was so great we now have it every day,” said Hans Muehlinghaus at the Old Vienna Restaurant in Ventura. . . . Few customers recoil from eating Bambi, but he has learned not to offend sensibilities. “I served marinated rabbit around Easter--big mistake. We didn’t sell one order. I had to eat all the rabbit myself.”

NEXT STANZA: After three decades of serious writing, William Saroyan’s only son is probably best known for his one-word poem--”lighght.” Now Aram Saroyan lives in Thousand Oaks, has a 9-to-5 PR job, and hopes for commercial success with “Rancho Mirage” (Ventura County Life, Page 21). . . . Aram’s book is nothing like his father’s sweet fantasies--it’s about the 1981 murder of millionaire Robert Sand.

HOOP HOOPLA: It’s no wonder Jamaal Keith Wilkes has been nominated for the Basketball Hall of Fame. He helped UCLA win two national championships and averaged 17.7 points per game in a 12-year NBA career. . . . What’s not so well-known is Wilkes’ one-year stint with the Ventura High School cage squad in 1967-68. . . . Wilkes, an alumnus of the Ventura Boys & Girls Club, hasn’t forgotten his roots: He’s honorary chairman of the club’s $750,000 fund-raising campaign.