TEAM DEFENSE: The stakes are high: Ventura...

TEAM DEFENSE: The stakes are high: Ventura County’s two Navy bases and the $1.5 billion they pump into the local economy. With so much in the balance, county officials have hired a high-powered lobbyist to spare the bases at Point Mugu and Port Hueneme from closure (B1). . . . The Washington firm includes a former California congressman and an attorney with extensive experience in base closures. “They are well-positioned to help us pry open doors wherever we need to,” said Carolyn Leavens of the Ventura County Economic Development Assn.

WARM REGARDS: With winter approaching, Operation Warm-Up today kicks off its annual push to shield the homeless from the cold. . . . For the past six years, the group has donated sleeping bags, blankets and other items to Ventura County’s estimated 2,000 to 3,000 homeless people. The items will be distributed through April of next year. . . . “We care about the homeless and we are doing our best to address their warmth requirements,” spokeswoman Darlene Howery said.

PUMPKIN EATERS: Ever wonder what happens to post-Halloween pumpkins? At McGrath Farms in Ventura, Food Share gleans the good fruit from the pumpkin patch. And at Faulkner Farms near Santa Paula, pumpkins become cattle feed. . . . Despite selling 500 tons of the overgrown gourds, Faulkner had about 50,000 pumpkins left over. A cattle company will haul them away. “They are used completely: the seed, the stems and everything,” said Linda Ayers, co-owner of the ranch. “I mean, they eat the total pumpkin.”

MURDER TRIAL: According to the prosecutor, Mark Scott Thornton was a desperate man, running from the law and in need of a getaway car: That’s why he kidnaped Westlake nurse Kellie O’Sullivan on Sept. 14, 1993, and shot her dead (B1). . . . Deputy Public Defender Howard J. Asher steered clear of the slaying during the first day of the murder trial, but acknowledged that his client was under intense pressure. “Mark spent a sleepless night Sept. 13,” he said.