NOW OR NEVER?: For Ventura County fans...

NOW OR NEVER?: For Ventura County fans of minor league baseball, this week might be the equivalent of the bottom of the ninth inning . . . Ventura is first up at bat among three cities deciding whether to support a proposed minor league baseball stadium (B1). Oxnard and Camarillo will also face the issue. Two big questions: Who would foot the $15-million bill and would fans come? . . . The last local venture into Class A baseball--the Ventura County Gulls--lasted a single season in 1986.

BURN, BABY, BURN: All those campaign signs that have littered the landscape for the past few months should be cleared out within about a week, under state and city laws . . . One Thousand Oaks City Council candidate has come up with a novel approach to get rid of his signs. Lance Winslow, who finished eighth among the 16 contestants, says residents who remove his plywood signs can burn them for firewood. Given the bitterness of the Thousand Oaks race, some of his former foes may welcome the chance.

CLEAN CLASS: A day spent cleaning up the county’s beaches has become an annual ritual for some county residents. . . . But about 50 children at Oxnard’s Emilie Ritchen School are taking that notion a step further and devoting one day every two weeks to removing trash and planting flora at McGrath State Beach (B1). They hope to resuscitate the beach, which was damaged in an oil spill last year, and study natural science. “I want to show that kids can make a difference,” said Christina Little, 10.

CLOSED DOOR: Closing high school campuses during school hours can be tough on students when an entire student body must rush to eat in a single lunch period (Voices, Page B10). . . . But in Ventura County and throughout Southern California, an increasing number of campuses are being closed for safety reasons. In Oxnard, all six of the high school district’s campuses are closed--a policy officials say has helped cut down on truancy.