HELPING HANDS: Thanks to community generosity, the...

HELPING HANDS: Thanks to community generosity, the Casa Pacifica children’s care center has come up with a way to reward good behavior. . . . The shelter, which houses 55 abused, neglected or abandoned children up to age 18, has opened a volunteer-run “store” in which children trade behavior points for extra clothing, toys and toiletries. . . . “The community really has come forward and donated multiple items to the kids,” spokeswoman Tanya Gonzales said. Those who want to volunteer or donate should call 445-7800.

THE BUG BIZ: Believe it or not, some people like bugs. All kinds of bugs. Those are the people who attended an insect fair in Los Angeles (E1). . . . Then there are the people who call exterminators. Kevin O’Connor, president of Global Pest Control in Oxnard and Ventura, says his business gets an average of 10 new calls a day in the winter and 30 in the summer. . . . “Calls go up dramatically when it hits a hot spell,” he said.

MALL OVERHAUL: With the pending departure of Robinsons May to Ventura, The Esplanade mall will have to regroup, merchants and shoppers say (B6). . . . The switch wasn’t entirely unexpected. Harry Macy, who owns Macy Mobile Homes near the mall, has been a longtime patron of The Esplanade. “The whole clientele situation over here has changed since this mall opened,” he said. “Robinsons May is probably aligning itself with its customers.”

WE’RE OK: Nationally, the economy has been in a downturn for several months, and some California experts fear that the malaise is entering the state. . . . But local economists aren’t worried yet. UC Santa Barbara economist Mark Schniepp doesn’t think that the national slowdown is affecting Ventura County. . . . Although he said, “We call it the ragged recovery because it’s been up and down,” Schniepp pointed out that recent job and retail sales figures in the county have been quite strong.