PAPER CHASE: For anyone who’s waded through...

PAPER CHASE: For anyone who’s waded through legal documents, this may come as no surprise--the county’s courts go through about 6 1/2 tons of paper a year. . . . But change is in the works. To meet requirements of a state law that goes into effect Jan. 1, the Municipal and Superior courts are switching to recycled paper. . . . The courts have already been recycling used paper as part of a program that diverts 35% of Government Center trash from landfills. Now, “they’re completing the loop by buying recycled (paper),” analyst David Goldstein said.

FIGHTING CHANCE? Nearly a year after it was given as a Christmas gift, a dog belonging to a Thousand Oaks family--one of two Rottweilers accused of attacking passersby--may be rescued from being put to sleep. . . . The clock is ticking, though. The family must meet an unusual condition before the dogs are saved for certain (B5).

LOOKING FOR TOYS: It’s a perennial problem during lean economic years: The number of toys donated to local holiday drives lags far behind the need (B1). . . . The U. S. Marines are looking for thousands of toys by next week, with hopes of giving them to local children in time for Christmas. The drive was in the same predicament this time last year--demand up, donations down. Despite the hard times, county residents came through. This year, the challenge is on.

TOUR FOR PEACE: After fasting at the former Nazi death camp in Auschwitz, Poland, three Ventura residents this week began a 10,000-mile journey--mostly on foot--that will take them across Eastern Europe--including war-torn Bosnia--to Nagasaki, Japan, by August to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the World War II bombing of that city. . . . Lauren Fernandez, Aaron McFarlin and David Laughlin joined about 50 other adults on the Buddhist monk-led expedition. “Their goal is to walk through areas of conflict to promote the idea of peace,” spokeswoman Annie Z. Hall said.