PICKING UP: More motorists are trading in...

PICKING UP: More motorists are trading in their cars for pickup trucks, dealers say . . . In Ventura County, where there were more than 571,000 registered vehicles in 1992, more than 114,000 were trucks. Upscale design has kept the demand high . . . “In the past, a truck was a truck,” said Jim McConica of McConica Motors in Ventura. “Now they ride much more like a passenger car.”

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Each is subject to daily scrutiny from tough audiences . . . but while John Uelman stands before high school history students in a Thousand Oaks classroom, his brother Gerald confronts a considerably bigger crowd as an attorney on the O.J. Simpson legal “dream team.” . . . John has taught at Newbury Park High for 25 years. In pre-O.J. days, Gerald did time in the classroom too, as a law professor. John’s colleagues--and students--sometimes quiz him about his brother. “It’s funny how people are picking up on it,” John said.

UNIFORM APPROACH: It seemed like a good idea at the time. . . . But the uniforms that students at Simi Valley’s Garden Grove Elementary wore at the start of the school year may be falling out of favor (B3) . . . The concept seems to have taken hold at schools in Long Beach and Orange County, said state school board head Sherry Loofbourrow. That may prompt more districts to mull the idea. “Parents and students seem to be quite favorable into looking into it,” she said.

MAKING FRIENDS: Sometimes it’s hard to get to know your neighbors. But in Moorpark, a 100-year-old quilt--of all things--has brought two families closer together. . . . Debra Daley’s quilt, hand-stitched by her grandmother, was falling to shreds from age. Then Mary Osborn, who lives part of the time with relatives nearby, painstakingly restored it. Before, the women were barely acquainted. Now they’re good friends. “She’s been only two doors down from me all these years,” Daley said.

TODAY: Oil paintings by Anne Garcia, noon to 4 p.m., Landing Gallery at Holiday House, Heritage Square, 750 B St., Oxnard. Info: 483-7960. More events, B2

WEATHER: Mostly sunny with highs in the 70s. Lows in the upper 40s and 50s. B8

Truckin’ Along Number of trucks in Southern California counties: Santa Barbara: 63,148 Ventura: 114,382 Kern: 126,895 Riverside: 213,724 Orange: 327,462 Los Angeles: 1,030,824 Source: Department of Motor Vehicles