CINCO DE MAYO: Oxnard College holds a...

CINCO DE MAYO: Oxnard College holds a series of events today to commemorate the Mexican victory over occupying French forces at the battle of Puebla on May 5, 1882. . . . Although widely celebrated in the United States, Cinco de Mayo is actually a minor holiday in Mexico. There, the big day is Sept. 16, the anniversary of the call to independence from Spain. Armando Lopez, an Oxnard business consultant, said Mexican leaders are often surprised at the emphasis on May 5. “I’ve had a number of them ask me, ‘What’s the big deal?’ ”

PARTY UNITY: Simi Valley Councilwoman Sandi Webb is not your typical fan of radio shock jock Howard Stern. But she’s supporting Stern’s bid for governor of New York. He’s running as a member of Webb’s Libertarian Party. . . . Stern’s dicey comments have attracted a national audience and many complaints to the feds. Webb appreciates Stern’s fight for free speech. “The fact that he is outspoken on the air is fine with me,” she said. She has heard Stern’s show only a few times. “My husband listens to it all of the time.”

BIRD-DOGGING: Chris Faanes is hardly your typical bird-watcher. The 42-year-old Ventura resident spends most of his free time and disposable income jetting across America in pursuit of one bird or another (Ventura County Life, Page 8). . . . The trained ornithologist’s weekends are filled with close encounters of the compulsive kind. According to his tallies, he has spotted 1,627 out of the 1,850 species in North America. Faanes recognizes his compulsion: “Pretty bad, huh?”

HARD BALL: Simi Valley High baseball coach Mike Scyphers came out swinging Wednesday, dismissing as “ludicrous” suggestions that he improperly rented out the school’s baseball field to an adult baseball organization (C1). . . . Meanwhile, parents rallied behind Scyphers at Wednesday’s game against Thousand Oaks. They angrily denounced the suspension of the successful coach while police officers probe what they call possible financial improprieties.