FIGHTING BACK: Since Nicole Brown Simpson was...

FIGHTING BACK: Since Nicole Brown Simpson was slain last month, the number of domestic abuse complaints received by the Ventura County district attorney’s office has risen dramatically (B1). . . . Between June 12 and July 17, the office received 275 complaints from county law enforcement agencies to review. Authorities say, though, that the increase began even before massive publicity about alleged spousal abuse in O.J. Simpson’s marriage. They say county police departments decided earlier this year to take a harder look at such cases.

URBAN VS. SUBURBAN: The third annual Unity Game between the communities of Simi Valley and South-Central Los Angeles is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Rancho Santa Susana Community Park. Pregame festivities begin at 10:30 a.m. . . . The softball game was organized in 1992 to ease relations after the Los Angeles riots. This year’s motto: “Urban vs. Suburban softball . . . One World . . . One people . . . It’s got to start somewhere.”

HOT DOG: Forget Lassie. Santa Paula residents love their “Shaggy Dog.” Walt Disney’s four-legged star is in town this week filming a new movie. . . . Santa Paula has served as a backdrop for a number of movies and television shows. In fact, the crew of “Melrose Place” is also shooting a new episode here. . . . Not everyone in town is star-struck, though. City Manager Arnold Dowdy said he only learned this week that “Melrose Place” was a television show: “I thought it was an address in Los Angeles.”

FLOWER POWER: The California Assn. of Flower Growers and Shippers is holding its annual convention in Oxnard this week. . . . Growers are meeting with shippers from all over the United States and Canada. “It’s an opportunity for wholesalers to see what California has to offer,” said one association official. “We have the widest variety of flowers anywhere in the world.”. . . This is the first time the convention has been held in Ventura County, where growers reported nearly $22 million in flower sales in 1992.