HEAT WAVE: If seemed a bit warm...

HEAT WAVE: If seemed a bit warm Thursday (B1), think of the folks in Bullhead City, Ariz., where it reached 119 degrees. Ventura County never gets that hot, but our June has been more sunny than usual. So far, 18 out of 23 days here have been clear and sunny, said Rae Strange of Pacific Weather Analysis. . . . June gets a bad rap, he said. “There are June days that are gloomy. But it often has days that are clear all day long instead of the July and August pattern of morning fog with afternoon clearing.”

Record Highs

Highest temperatures recorded in Ventura County cities since 1948:

Ojai: 112 July 17, 1960 Sept. 6, 1955

Santa Paula: 109 Sept. 26, 1963

Oxnard: 103 Sept. 24, 1978

ARTS PATRONS: As the chief fund-raiser for the Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks, Richard Johnson has a golden rule: Never write anyone off as a potential donor. His policy has paid off--again. . . . Councilwoman Elois Zeanah, one of the sharpest critics of the arts center’s size, cost and design, has pledged $12,500 to its endowment. With $12,500 in matching funds from her husband’s employer, it’s the largest gift from a council member. She’s asked that the donation subsidize local talent: “I have always supported a community performing arts center for local groups.”

A MOUNTAIN VISION: Chumash elder Semu Huaute has a dream. . . . He wants to build a Chumash village on six acres in upper Ojai. It’s not far from the place in the mountains where Huaute was born 85 years ago. . . . At the Ojai Foundation on Saturday afternoon, Huaute said he will share Chumash legends and insights as a medicine man. It will be part of a fund-raiser for Un-At-Kah Tasen, a nonprofit group creating an intertribal education and healing center.

RUBBER DUCKS: After weeks of hype, the Ventura County Symphony pulled the plug on its rubber duck fund-raiser (B1). The plan: dump 10,000 ducks in a canal near the Santa Clara River. People could adopt a duck for five bucks. And the first lucky duck to cross the finish line would bring the winner a new car. . . . But other charitable organizations squawked that the symphony was breaking the law by not saying “no purchase required.” The D. A.’s office called to break the bad news.