ONE MORE TIME: Thousand Oaks voters, just...

ONE MORE TIME: Thousand Oaks voters, just recovered from the fall’s bitter City Council campaign, can look forward to a special election to fill a vacant council seat (B4). . . . During a debate on the issue, the shrill chirp of a cricket punctuated the state-of-the-art sound system at City Hall--leading to a mid-meeting search for the insect. “They’re good luck in the Orient,” said Assistant City Manager MaryJane Lazz. . . . Maybe the luck will trickle down to candidates mulling bids for the office.

SHORT SUPPLY: A nationwide blood shortage has prompted Ventura County health workers to step up the push for donors. . . . While the county’s blood supply is not lacking, Los Angeles and areas of Texas and New Mexico are in need, particularly of type O-positive. . . . Year-end blood shortages are common, but the number of donors started declining earlier than usual this year, said Lauren Mourmouris of United Blood Services, the county’s only blood provider. . . .. To make an appointment to donate, call 654-8104.

FINE DINING: School cafeterias and fine cuisine are usually mutually exclusive--but not at Oxnard College (Ventura County Life, Page 8). . . . Drawn together by a love of good food, aspiring chefs in the college’s program for hotel and restaurant management prepare six meals a week and serve them in the cafeteria. Menus feature foods from around the world. . . . Budget-minded gourmets, take note: The program opens its doors to the public once a week, offering top-flight food at a bargain price.

DOWN TO SIZE: Get a phone bill, save a tree. . . . Officials at GTE in Thousand Oaks said they have started printing telephone bills on both sides of the paper, a move they say will save about 3,000 80-foot-tall trees a year. . . . The change was driven by demand from some of the company’s 3.1 million customers weary of wading through lengthy bills, said site manager Phillip Williamson. The new version should trim the number of pages in the average customer bill--if not the amount--by about half.