FEAR OF FLIES: The Medfly outbreak that...

FEAR OF FLIES: The Medfly outbreak that has more than 1,000 square miles of Southern California under quarantine (A1) has not reached Ventura County. In fact, not one of the crop-ravaging flies has ever been trapped here, Deputy Agricultural Commissioner David Buettner said. . . . “But we’re very concerned about it,” he said, noting that Medflies feast on all of the county’s major crops--citrus, avocados and strawberries. . . . Closest infestation so far: Canoga Park, four miles east of the county line. Mountains give county farmers some protection--Medflies aren’t strong fliers. But that doesn’t stop them, Buettner said. “Our big concern is people bringing them here in infested fruit.”

PURPLE HAZE: Cabernets and Chardonnays are not one of Ventura County’s major crops. But from Oak View to Camarillo, a small group of vintners is making memorable wines (Ventura County Life, Page 24). . . . The total output last year: a mere 22,000 cases. But some local vintages can be found in top restaurants.

RISKY BUSINESS: Somewhere between McMartin and Michael Jackson, child-care providers have become afraid to touch their young charges. They could get busted for hugs (E1). . . . “It does cause concern,” said Berta Hurley, who cares for eight children daily at her Thousand Oaks home. “You just don’t know what could surface. But it hasn’t stopped me from showing love and affection.” . . . To Annie Zimmer of Camarillo, who minds 10 kids, “it’s all gone too far. . . . When a child comes to me, I can’t imagine thinking, ‘I could get sued for this.’ When a child wants a hug, it wants a hug.”