BIG IS BETTER? For years, the Bank...

BIG IS BETTER? For years, the Bank of A. Levy has promoted itself as a local bank that cares more about its customers than bigger competitors. On Tuesday, the family owners announced they sold the bank to First Interstate for $86.5 million (A1). . . . It’s not the first offer to come along since Achille Levy founded the bank in 1882. In 1940, Bank of America was willing to pay any reasonable price. But Achille’s son, Joe, refused to sell, according to the bank’s official history, which noted: “The bank remained a local institution. Perhaps Joe never even considered selling out.”

RESTLESS BONES: Ancestors of pygmy mammoths that once roamed the Channel Islands swam the channel sometime during the Ice Age. Or so scientists speculate. . . . Now, the bones of a pygmy mammoth skeleton will make the trip back (B1). National Park officials have yet to settle on a home for the bones. They hope to erect a replica at park headquarters in Ventura. But the fossil may go to a museum elsewhere. “It needs to be kept in a museum,” said park spokeswoman Carol Spears. “We’re not equipped to have it here.”

PROUD PERCH: What eats 650 pounds of birdseed every month? The Steckel Park aviary near Santa Paula. . . . Officials say the sanctuary for 200 unwanted birds has a conscientious caretaker and now attracts gaggles of visitors daily (B1). “It was a grand old lady that sort of fell by the wayside,” said parks official Pam Gallo. “We picked her up and gave her a new set of clothes.”

PARTY ON: Thousand Oaks isn’t the only city gearing up for a big bash in October. Simi Valley plans to celebrate its 25th anniversary. . . . Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton said the opening of Thousand Oaks’ Civic Arts Plaza will not overshadow his city’s birthday bash. “I don’t know many people in Simi who are even aware of the Thousand Oaks event,” he said. He worries about Simi Valley Days in September. “Hopefully, everyone won’t be so pooped from Simi Valley Days that they won’t be interested in the party.”