AIDS HOSPICE: After years in the planning,...

AIDS HOSPICE: After years in the planning, Ventura County’s first hospice for people with AIDS will open May 1 (B1) . . . Volunteers are putting the finishing touches on Christopher House, a converted Victorian structure that will house low-income patients . . . From 1981 to 1993, 399 AIDS cases have been reported countywide, with 255 deaths. Statewide, there have been more than 67,000 AIDS cases, and 62% of those diagnosed have died.

WEIRD TV: It’s not quite the harmonic convergence . . . But twice a year the sun, orbiting TV satellites and satellite-receiving stations align, blocking some cable reception . . . The blackouts, usually around 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., last two to 15 minutes and are common during two-week periods coinciding with the spring and fall equinoxes . . . So don’t adjust your TV set. “The earth keeps spinning and in a few minutes we’re out of it,” said Steve Weingardt of Century Cable in Ventura.

BUILDING BOOM: The foundering economy has held some developers back, but Pardee Construction Co. has throttled ahead, particularly in Camarillo (Valley Business, Page 10) . . . Pardee has built 3,000 houses in the city’s Mission Oaks area since 1975 . . . But not everything’s coming up roses . . . Pardee’s plans to build an 11-screen movie complex, in partnership with United Artists, drew fire from some residents, who have threatened to file a lawsuit to stop the project.

WIDER HORIZONS: First Simi Valley, now the Republic of Georgia . . . John Kelleher, who is managing Simi Valley Councilwoman Barbara Williamson’s run for the Board of Supervisors, will head up a nonprofit foundation to raise money for the republic . . . He will meet Wednesday with Georgia President Eduard A. Shevardnadze to discuss ways to help Georgian companies establish ties with American corporations.. . . The goal: “To help bring their standard of living closer to what it should be,” Kelleher said.

AIDS Cases

Number of AIDS cases reported in Southern California counties, 1981-93: Los Angeles: 23,639 San Diego: 5,305 Orange: 3,093 Riverside: 1,689 San Bernardino: 1,412 Ventura: 399 Kern: 397 Source: State Department of Health Services