FIRSTHAND LOOK: Ventura teacher Marcia Greycloud has...

FIRSTHAND LOOK: Ventura teacher Marcia Greycloud has worked hard to make the subject of saving the rain forest a vivid lesson for her students. . . . This year, her efforts have been helped by a visit the Anacapa Middle School teacher made to a rain forest in Costa Rica (B1). Often, educators say, getting out of the classroom is the best way to make a topic come alive--for teachers and students.

TOWER POWER: Big-name stars are still lining up to help Ojai Valley residents who want to move a radar tower off Sulphur Mountain. . . . Singer Bonnie Raitt is donating proceeds from the sale of 50 tickets to her concert tonight in Santa Barbara. The effort has previously attracted celebrities who live near the so-called Black Orb. . . . The one-year anniversary of the tower’s construction is Sunday, and a candlelight vigil is planned--but not at the tower. These days, protesters stay away from the site. “No one wants to be up there,” tower opponent Kim Maxwell Brown said.

CUTTING EDGE: When it comes to hair cuts, you’ve got your choice: There are high-tech hair salons where stylists create designs . . . and then there are old-fashioned places such as Pete’s Barber Shop in Thousand Oaks--where hair is cut, not styled (B4). Though increasingly rare, such traditional places as Pete’s are still around, and the regulars keep coming. The biggest attraction: a friendly barber who greets customers by name.

JADE TRADE: Some jewelers are issuing warnings about inferior jade that has been treated to look like high-quality gems (D1). Widespread throughout Asia, the chemically treated stones have begun turning up in Southern California. . . . So far, there have been no reports of the doctored rocks in Ventura County. . . . Jade from California is highly prized by jewelry lovers and amateur rock collectors, said Bob Stultz, president of the Conejo Gem & Mineral Club. His advice for avoiding adulterated jade on the market: “Know who you’re buying from.”