LOVE THOSE LIZARDS: Reptiles are hot, and...

LOVE THOSE LIZARDS: Reptiles are hot, and iguanas are the hottest of the hot (E3). But those scaly babies can be pricey when you add up the extras. . . . At Petco in Simi Valley, a basic starter kit (sans lizard) costs about $50, and clerks at the Pet Company in Camarillo educate customers about reptilian necessities such as aquariums, lighting and special diets. Clerks tell shoppers that “for that little $20 or $30 animal, they may have to spend in excess of $100 just to accommodate it,” owner Don Holloway said.

HI-HO: All over Ventura County, girls (and some boys) went to work with their parents to find out about the real world (B1). . . . Carly Zinderman didn’t much like what she found--mother Carole, a bookkeeper, “writes paychecks,” yawned Carly, who wants to be a journalist. Carly’s philosophy of work: “Hopefully you enjoy what you do and you get paid for it.”

OUT IN FRONT: Sprinter and long jumper Ronney Jenkins is carrying quite a psychic load. . . . Hueneme High coaches have pinned expectations of an athletic renaissance at the school on him, hoping he will make other schools take notice of Hueneme and ignite interest among the Viking student body to rescue a lackluster athletic program (C10). . . . “For the past four or five years, Hueneme has really taken a beating,” football Coach Larry Miller said. “But Ronney is the turning point in our whole athletic program.”

PLAY AND PAY: Although the Rainbow Bridge Community Playground is open for fun at Blanche Reynolds School in Ventura, the job isn’t done. Spokeswoman Lori Z said the $100,000 project came up about $17,000 short, with part of that money earmarked for benches at the park. . . . The five-day construction effort, by more than 900 volunteers, was inspiring, she said, particularly in view of the fact that it began the day of the Oklahoma bombing. “Part of me felt so insignificant,” Z said. But the job “helped us come together and make a difference.” . . . Donations can be made to the school.