PARTY FAVORITE: Saturday marks Abraham Lincoln’s 185th...

PARTY FAVORITE: Saturday marks Abraham Lincoln’s 185th birthday, a day of special significance to local Republicans. Lincoln was the first Republican President and Ventura County remains a GOP stronghold. . . . “He believed in as little government and as little taxing as possible,” said Ventura County GOP Chairman Bob Larkin, charter president of the county’s Lincoln Club. “As long as Republicans focus on the message so well delivered by Lincoln, we can again become the majority party in this country.”

GONE FISHING: As many as 60 sea lions may be relocated to the waters off Ventura and Santa Barbara counties in an effort to prevent them from devouring large numbers of steelhead trout at their spawning grounds in Washington state (B1). . . . The National Marine Fisheries Service has proposed the relocation in an effort to keep the trout population from being fished out. . . . Local fishing enthusiasts oppose the move: “It’s not right that one state’s problems are being dumped on another,” fisherman Brian Jension said.

UNEASY CALM: Sarajevo fell quiet Thursday as a cease-fire between Serb and Muslim factions forged a fragile peace (A1). . . . But Ventura neurosurgeon Melvin Cheatham has seen too many cease-fires to believe this one will hold. Cheatham and other doctors recently spent time in central Bosnia treating war victims. . . . “If you look at past patterns,” he said, “the possibility of things flaring up all over again seems fairly great.”

LOVE LINE: Looking for love in all the wrong places? Try making a love connection over the radio. . . . KVEN (1450-AM) will host a “Valentine Line” program tonight from 10 until midnight for singles searching for soul mates. KVEN traffic reporter Christopher James and K-HAY announcer Charlye Parker will host the program. . . . “Who knows?” James said. “We might get some perfect matches out of it.” Talk show number: 656-1450.

Voter Registration

Percentage of eligible voters in Southern California counties who are registered Republican:

Orange: 37%

San Diego: 33%

Ventura: 32%

Riverside: 29%

San Bernardino: 28%

Los Angeles: 22%

Source: 1993 California Statistical Abstract