WHERE THERE’S SMOKE: Most adult smokers began...

WHERE THERE’S SMOKE: Most adult smokers began their habit by age 14, said Fran Waltman of Ventura County Public Health. Easy access is one reason youngsters take that first drag (B5). . . . But peer pressure and adolescent fearlessness are also to blame, Waltman said. “You can’t use scare tactics on kids. They think they are immortal,” she said. “They are more worried about getting yellow fingers from smoking than getting cancer.”

STRAWBERRY SCHOLARS: Five area high school graduates whose parents are strawberry pickers have won scholarships from the California Strawberry Commission. . . . Isela Escamilla was the big winner, with a $1,500 award. The other scholars were Clara Magana of Santa Paula High School, who won $1,000, and $500 winners Claudia Garibay of Channel Islands High School and Roberto Frias and Magali Arevalo of Rio Mesa High School.

BAIT AND SWITCH?: Diane Noda, the new director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Ventura office, supervised wildlife issues for the Army Corps of Engineers for seven years (B1). . . . Ventura colleagues are impressed, but want to know if she will have a problem picking sides when the Army Corps meets Fish and Wildlife for their annual volleyball grudge match. . . . Says Cat Brown, a biologist in the Ventura office: “We’re all wondering what side she’ll pick to play on. That will tell us if she has really transferred her loyalties.”

COLLEGE AID: It is getting tougher to scrounge up financial aid to attend the college of your choice (Valley Business, Page 10). . . . Camarillo High School teacher Fran Berman knows all about it. Recent Camarillo graduate Vikram Rao, named class valedictorian, was accepted at Harvard and Stanford, but had to turn both down due to finances, Berman said. Instead, he will attend UC Berkeley. “There is nothing wrong with Berkeley. But students who are unique and gifted beyond the norm should have their choice of going wherever they want.”