BIT OF IRISH: Ventura County can claim...

BIT OF IRISH: Ventura County can claim a lot of local ties to the Emerald Isle . . . One of every five residents in half the county’s cities boasts some Irish ancestry . . . Many of those with a bit of the Irish in them--along with thousands of other county residents--are expected to attend the ninth annual County Ventura St. Patrick’s Day parade Saturday at 10 a.m. in downtown Ventura . . . As always, the wearing of the green is mandatory.

DIGESTING THE TEST: The results of a new statewide student-testing system aren’t going down well in some districts where the scores were low (A1) . . . One day after the state released results of the California Learning Assessment System, some school officials are coming up with a host of complaints about the test, including criticism of its rigorous standards . . . In Oxnard, skeptical officials will devise their own version of the test in eighth-grade math (B1) . . . “We need to know whether our students can do basic math,” said Supt. Norman R. Brekke.

SEISMIC SAFETY: The Jan. 17 earthquake has pushed plans to retrofit bridges across the state--including 45 in Ventura County--into fast forward (B1) . . . Caltrans officials said a proposal already in place to strengthen the bridges will be accelerated because of the collapse of six major roadways during the quake . . . All of Ventura County’s 322 highway bridges withstood the quake.

FARM HONORS: Some of Ventura County’s oldest farming families will be honored by the California Women for Agriculture of Ventura County . . . The group will hold a March 17 dinner for family members and descendants of George Morton Richardson and George Washington Faulkner in Santa Paula and Henry Mayo Newhall in Piru . . . This is the ninth year the dinners have been held, said group President Donna Pinkerton. And given the county’s deep farming roots, she said, “we’ve still got families to go.”

Where the Irish Are

Percentage of residents claiming Irish heritage:

Thousand Oaks: 20.8%

Ojai: 20.5

Simi Valley: 20.2

Ventura: 20.0

Camarillo: 20.0

Moorpark: 19.4

Port Hueneme: 18.7

Santa Paula: 12.0

Fillmore: 10.9

Oxnard: 9.1

Source: U.S. Census