SMALLER BROODS: They’re not really cheaper by...

SMALLER BROODS: They’re not really cheaper by the dozen. Which explains why only 3.8% of Ventura County households have seven or more people. . . . Moorpark College sociologist Linda McDill said economics is just one of the factors affecting family size. “The higher the mother’s education, the fewer kids she’s likely to have,” McDill said. And immigrant couples often have larger families for cultural reasons, she said. . . . Two-person households account for a third of the county’s total.

BANANA SLIP-UP: The Port of Hueneme imported 187,000 tons of bananas last year. But sometimes a shipment goes awry. . . . About 4,000 tons were dumped at the Simi Valley Landfill last week after a ship broke down on the way from Central America. That’s about 24 million bananas. . . . “They were turning yellow,” Del Monte spokesman Tim Chu said. Wholesale cost: $2.2 million. Then there’s the landfill’s charge: $143,000. . . . “If this happened very often, we’d go belly up,” Chu said.

FEWER TOYS: When Ventura County shut down its honor camp at Rose Valley, it also closed a tiny toy factory. . . . For years, jail inmates used Rose Valley’s wood shop to make hundreds of toys for needy children. Now only a few inmates use the smaller woodworking facilities at the Ojai Honor Farm. . . . “Inmates really enjoyed doing it,” Sheriff’s Cmdr. Dante Honorico said. This year, fewer than 100 toys will be available. . . . Supervisors will present the toys to nonprofit organizations Tuesday.

GUN DEBATE: Yes, Ventura County Reps. Elton Gallegly and Anthony C. Beilenson both voted for the Brady Bill, the five-day waiting period for gun purchases. But they agree on little else in the gun debate (B1). . . . Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills) is more sympathetic to gun control advocates, while Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) tends to side with the National Rifle Assn. . . . But even he reports a shift in public opinion: “We’re hearing more and more from people who want to stop the use of guns.”

Big Families

Percentage of households with seven or more people: Oxnard: 9.6% Fillmore: 7.3% Santa Paula: 6.4% Moorpark: 3.4% Port Hueneme: 3.4% Simi Valley: 2.3% Camarillo: 2.0% Thousand Oaks: 1.5% Ventura: 1.4% Ojai: 0.8% Source: U.S. Census