SAFETY FIRST: It took volunteers four months...

SAFETY FIRST: It took volunteers four months to collect signatures for a ballot measure turning over all Proposition 172 tax money to five public safety agencies. And it took the county supervisors barely an hour Tuesday to decide they didn’t need an election (B1). . . . They simply turned the measure into law. “That’s exactly what we wanted,” says Otto Stoll, who led the petition drive. “We’re delighted. . . . Democracy works.”

MEAL BY MODEM: You can use a computer to send flowers, shop from catalogues, even seek legal advice. Why not order pizza? . . . Now residents in the Camarillo area can do just that. Domino’s Pizza and Beyond the Realm Information Services have joined forces to open a pizza stand on the information superhighway. If it succeeds, they plan to expand countywide. . . . And why stop at pizza? Beyond the Realm is now negotiating with local clothing shops, music stores and florists for a virtual shopping mall.

DESK SET: Short $96,000 to buy desks for the new Oxnard High, administrators have launched a fund-raising drive to pay for the new plastic-and-aluminum models (B1). . . . Their counterparts at Adolpho Camarillo High School are one step ahead, with an adopt-a-desk program already in place. Alumni, businesses and teachers can pay $50 and have their names affixed to a new desk. The result: The school has raised about $30,000 and bought 700 desks. “They’re graffiti-proof, and they’re extremely durable,” says Principal Terry Tackett.

FAMILY STRINGS: It was 65 years ago that Myra Belarde married Elmo J. Harrison at the San Buenaventura Mission. A year later the couple started a rubbish-hauling business that now dominates western Ventura County. . . . This week, her three sons will honor their mother and her Spanish heritage by sponsoring a “Glittering Guitars” concert at the mission. The concert Friday is part of the Ventura Chamber Music Festival, which opens tonight with a $100-a-head gala at Ventura Harbor.