FISHING GEAR: About 2 million Californians have...

FISHING GEAR: About 2 million Californians have fishing licenses, more than any other state. . . . Under a law that takes effect Tuesday, anglers will sport a new accessory along with poles and lures: fishing licenses. . . . The law, requiring anglers to pin licenses to their clothing, aims to discourage illegal fishing, which costs the state as much as $14 million a year. . . . At Lake Casitas, many fishermen are already complying, said Bruce Schrader at the tackle shop. But, he said, “I think most people find it’s a new law they don’t want to have.”

MARCHING IN: Historically, March has been an eventful month in Ventura County. . . . On March 10, 1866, the city of San Buenaventura was incorporated. The first Ventura town meeting was held in a dance hall over a saloon near San Buenaventura Mission. . . . On March 13, 1928, 380 people were killed when the San Francis Dam collapsed east of Fillmore. . . . And on March 1, 1910, the Blanchard Memorial Library in Santa Paula opened with 800 books. . . . The Month Ahead (B2) lists events planned for this March.

OUTDATED LAW: An obscure Ventura policy that prohibits club owners from allowing people of the same sex to dance together could be wiped off the books. . . . The City Council tonight will consider striking the resolution, which dates from 1968. . . . The action comes after Dan Gaffaney, owner of Lipstix, a newly opened bar that caters to lesbians, brought the policy to the city’s attention. . . . The complaint marks the first time that anyone has challenged the rule.

STUDENTS’ VIEW: The nationwide debate over whether birth control should be taught in public schools inspired Travis Lund Moon, a high school student in Simi Valley, to take up his pen (Voices, B10). . . . “In the case of denying birth control information to students, ignorance can be downright deadly,” wrote Moon, 18. . . . The Simi Valley school board decided last week to include birth control in sex education classes.

License to Fish

Number of people in Southern California counties with yearly fishing licenses: Los Angeles: 99,037 San Diego: 52,723 Orange: 49,326 San Bernardino: 46,652 Riverside: 32,489 Ventura: 18,514 Santa Barbara: 13,394 Source: State Department of Fish and Game.