PAY UP: More than 12,000 Ventura County...

PAY UP: More than 12,000 Ventura County residents neglected to file state income tax returns for 1993. . . . You know who you are. . . . But just in case you don’t, the state Franchise Tax Board in January will mail “friendly reminders” to you and more than 600,000 other residents across the state who failed to file. Tardy taxpayers will be given 30 days to fork over any amount owed or face fees and a minimum penalty of $114. . . . Or, they should send a letter to the state explaining why they don’t have to file.

PINK DEATH?: It’s been a trusty heartburn remedy for years. . . . Now, Pepto-Bismol may be useful on an entirely different front: in the war against the Medfly. Scientists have concocted a spray, made from a dye found in the bright pink liquid, that zaps the insects dead (A3). The spray could eventually replace malathion, a pesticide being doused on Camarillo in the effort to wipe out a Medfly infestation. . . . Malathion opponents are tickled pink. “We’re delighted by the whole idea,” said Leonard Mehlmauer of GASP, or Group Against Spraying People.

AMGEN ARRESTS: Two men have been charged in a Boston industrial-espionage case involving Epogen, a genetically engineered drug produced by Amgen Inc., the Thousand Oaks-based biotechnology giant (D2). . . . The men allegedly tried to sell the drug, which stimulates production of red blood cells and is widely used by kidney dialysis and AIDS patients, to an FBI agent posing as a Russian government official.

LIGHTING THE WAY: If a police car with its headlights on pulls up behind you today, it may not necessarily mean that you’re about to get a ticket. . . . Authorities across the county are taking part in “Lights On for Life.” The annual observance honors people killed or injured in drug- and alcohol-related accidents--and aims to caution drinkers not to get behind the wheel. Drunk drivers are “always a problem” during the holidays, the California Highway Patrol said.

Tax Bite

Number of Ventura County residents who failed to file 1993 state income tax returns:

Thousands Oaks: 1,530

Simi Valley: 1,266

Camarillo: 1,178

Ventura: 1,140

Oxnard: 1,126

Port Hueneme: 561

Moorpark: 456

Ojal: 342

Santa Paula: 288

Fillmore: 128

Source: California Franchise Tax Board