MORMON PROPHET: The father of longtime Ventura...

MORMON PROPHET: The father of longtime Ventura County Judge John J. Hunter is expected to become the next president-prophet of the Mormon Church. . . . With this week’s passing of Mormon leader Ezra Taft Benson, the normal succession would move Elder Howard W. Hunter into the presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “I talked to him last night and asked him how he felt,” Judge Hunter said. “He said he felt the weight of the responsibility.” The Mormon Church has nearly 9 million members.

TO BOLDLY GO: When it comes to local companies landing jobs on foreign soil, Xsirius’ latest contract is out of this world. . . . The Camarillo company will provide NASA with X-ray technology to analyze the surface of Mars. The instrument will be mounted on a remote-control vehicle roving the planet in 1996. Xsirius Chief Operating Officer Mark Ramsaier said the concept is similar to looking at a white shirt under a black light. “You excite a material with gamma rays and then look at its X-ray fluorescence to determine its elements.”

TOOL TIME: Lemon rancher Bob Pfeiler knew he struck pay dirt when he found the crusty wooden carcass of a horse-drawn water wagon stuck in the mud (B1). . . . It was one of several antique farm implements the Oxnard octogenarian discovered remarkably well-preserved on Pine Mountain. “They are priceless, absolutely priceless,” Pfeiler said. They’ve also become the latest items in a collection he hopes will become the county’s Farm Implements Museum.

TOXIC SHOCK: How about bay leaves and cucumber skins to ward off roaches? Or buttermilk and molasses to catch flies? Or eucalyptus and rosemary to deter fleas? These are a few of the environmentally friendly ways that a county-issued booklet suggests to control 10 common pests. . . . The booklet, “Indoor Pest Control,” aims to reduce the toxic waste that must be disposed yearly. But do they work? Some suggestions carry the disclaimer: “not scientifically proven.”