CHARGE IT? It’s a far cry from...

CHARGE IT? It’s a far cry from a ritzy hotel . . . but a night’s stay at the Ventura County Jail could be a pricey proposition if a proposal to charge criminals a $100 fee meets with approval from the county and its 10 cities (B1). The notion came up as a way to resolve a dispute over who should pay jail booking fees. . . . But will they take credit cards? “That’s an interesting concept,” mused one sheriff’s deputy at the jail, where bail amounts can already be charged. “We’d have to make sure it was theirs.”

ROUND TWO: The Los Angeles Marathon was just a warm-up for two Oxnard runners who next weekend will compete in the American River 50, an endurance race in Sacramento. Pat Farrell and Lianne Kimball are raising money to help 3-year-old Hillary Corley of Oxnard, who is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. . . . Their marathon efforts helped raise more than $3,000 to defray Hillary’s medical expenses. They hope to do as well up north--although the race may be slow going. “The last three miles are all uphill,” Farrell said.

BIG DRAW: Some tennis players at the North Ranch Country Club are suing the establishment for opening its courts to the public for lessons and tournaments (B4). . . . But the Thousand Oaks club’s manicured fairways are also fair game to non-members. College golfers from across the country are at North Ranch for the Southwestern Intercollegiate Invitational (C6). Stanford freshman Tiger Woods (above), last year’s U. S. amateur champion, drew crowds, but was outdistanced by Pepperdine sophomore Mike Walton.

NATO’S FUTURE: Two NATO officials will be in Ventura County to mull over the organization’s future with the local World Affairs Council. . . . Among possible topics: the European Community, tensions in the Middle East--and the Port Hueneme Naval Base, which provides support to NATO and was developed as part of a NATO cooperative effort. For information on the April 5 event at Camarillo’s Spanish Hills Country Club, call 449-9953.