SWEET SHOP: Erika’s Bake Shop has exquisite...

SWEET SHOP: Erika’s Bake Shop has exquisite eclairs, terrific truffles and loyal patrons who have launched a letter-writing campaign to keep the specialty bakery from closing (B5). But what it doesn’t have is anyone named Erika. . . . The bake shop was opened about 25 years ago by Erika Anderson, a Westlake Village resident who sold it to the current owner a few years later and moved out of town. . . . The new owner, Deiterich Heinselmann, kept the old business name. “If you have a good name, you have to keep it,” said Ingrid Krehbiel, a 10-year employee.

TROPHY HUNT: Former Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino has conceived a plan to ease fears stirred by recent mountain lion sightings: a trophy-hunting system. . . . In his monthly newsletter, Lagomarsino said the state could generate money by holding a lottery to issue big-cat hunting permits. “I believe fear of, or at least respect for man must be reinstalled in these big cats,” he wrote. . . . There has been a rash of mountain lion sightings recently, including an incident in March when a big cat killed an 85-pound dog near Fillmore.

LONG DISTANCE: Agoura High’s Amy Skieresz turned in the fastest distance double in her career last weekend, placing second in both the 1,600 and 3,200 meters in the Southern Section track and field championships (C6). . . . Skieresz has collected several Ventura County and state titles in cross-country. The senior will compete Friday in the Southern Section Masters Meet at Cerritos College.

FAMILY MATTERS: With hundreds of thousands of children growing up in divided homes, a result of two decades of widespread divorce and joint-custody arrangements (E1), investigator Dennis Peet has had plenty to do. . . . Peet works for Ventura County’s child abduction and recovery unit, dedicated to tracking parents who steal the children and then skip town. . . . “We do whatever is necessary to find the children,” said Peet, noting that in 1992 his unit returned 124 abducted children to custodial parents. “We don’t give up.”