THIN ICE: The 300 students in Terry...

THIN ICE: The 300 students in Terry Tonius’ ice-skating school have followed intently the Tonya Harding saga, including Tuesday’s guilty plea by Harding’s ex-husband (A1). “It’s gotten crazier by the day,” said the instructor at the Conejo Valley Ice Skating Center. . . . Tonius said he hopes that the sport has not been given a permanent black eye. “What it boils down to is that there are people who are not very ethical in this world, and some of them filter into this sport.”

SHADOW DANCE: Today is Groundhog Day, and once again the rodent is poised to pop out of the ground in search of his shadow to determine the duration of winter. But local weather watchers put little stock in the pre-spring ritual. . . . “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a groundhog,” said Tom Johnston, who collects weather data in Ventura. “Do we even have groundhogs here?”

FIRST AID: Not even a major earthquake could stop the Sierra Vista Family Medical Center from opening a new health clinic to serve needy east Ventura County residents (B4). The Simi Valley clinic opened the day after the 6.6-magnitude Northridge quake. . . . Across the county, the Centro de Salud Familiar de Fillmore wasn’t so lucky. It has been operating out of a trailer since the quake damaged its building beyond repair. “We are a clinic without a home,” program coordinator Al Limon said. . . . Next step for Fillmore: U. S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown today kicks off a temporary shelter program for earthquake-damaged shops.

SETTING SAIL: Oxnard’s Pacific Corinthian Yacht Club is trying to raise its membership to pre-recession levels. The 18-year-old club currently has 325 members compared to a high of 500 in 1985. . . . “The economy and all sorts of other things have brought that down,” said membership drive chairwoman Josette Schaffner. “We didn’t join right away because we thought yacht club people would be snooty. Now I think it’s the best thing we ever did.”