MONEY TALKS: Who should control the Thousand...

MONEY TALKS: Who should control the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza when it opens? The question has touched off an unusual power struggle among the city’s civic leaders (B6). . . . Some say it should be the civic center’s rich donors. Others say it should be political appointees accountable to the voters. . . . Nancy Dolensek, executive director of the McCallum Theater in Palm Desert, offers this slice of practical wisdom: “Money begets money. We need people who travel in the right circles (to generate operating funds), and that’s generally not politicians.”

FLESH WOUND: Pure oxygen treatments have begun to suffocate an infection that was eating away at the skin and tissue of a Fillmore woman’s leg. . . . Guadalupe Pulido, 63, was rushed to a Thousand Oaks hospital Friday for special therapy to treat a condition known as “flesh-eating bacteria.” What started as a pimple a week ago spread from her groin to her knee and across her leg. . . . Pulido could be done with her treatments within two days, but it is too early to tell what follow-up treatment she might need. Her condition was improving on Saturday.

PARTY ON: For more than 50 years, Ventura County has offered a home to the Seabees. On Saturday, the Navy construction workers threw a giant party in Port Hueneme to say thanks (B1). . . . In full parade dress, 900 white-clad Seabees kicked off the annual weekend festival with an hourlong march and assembly at the sprawling naval base. More than 30,000 people are expected to attend the two-day event. . . . So impressed was 12-year-old Joey Cerda of Port Hueneme that he said he plans to join up when he’s old enough. “It’s a challenge,” he said. “I like tough challenges.”