A WAY OF LIFE: When is cheap...

A WAY OF LIFE: When is cheap good? When you’re former Thousand Oaks Assemblyman Tom McClintock and you’re running for state controller. . . . In a campaign poster, the Republican says he’s “just like you. Only cheaper.” A photograph of McClintock points out the parsimonious splendor of his attire: “Tie. Purchased 7/27/74. $3.99. . . . Sensible black oxfords. Purchased 2/23/89 . . . Resoled 6/22/93.”. . . McClintock, who faces Democrat Kathleen Connell in November, claims his talent pinching pennies would help with the state budget.

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Whistle while you work, the song advises. . . . But listening to music on the job may be of even greater benefit--at least for surgeons, a new study has found. (A22) The Journal of the American Medical Assn. study says surgeons operate better with background music, from rock and roll to classical. . . . Music is just as calming for many patients, says Dr. Gus Iwasiuk, president of the Ventura County Medical Society. “If they can concentrate on something pleasant, it helps a lot.”

OLD BONES: Human teeth and other bone fragments were among the skeletal remains uncovered at a project to widen Santa Rosa Road in Camarillo, according to a report to county officials (B6). . . . Chumash cooking utensils and small animal remains were also unearthed. . . . Local Chumash who believe the site may be a burial ground are eager for the four-year-old project to end. “We won’t feel really comfortable until they are off the site,” said Chumash descendant Cote Lotah.

FACING THE FUTURE: High school students everywhere grapple with the question: What to do after graduation? . . . A program in Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks schools aims to help underrepresented students from low-income families and minorities get into college (B5). By tackling the issue, “you can’t help but make some inroads into resolving the problem,” said Joe Mendoza, the county’s director of migrant education.