TALKING TRASH: Ventura County supervisors have voted...

TALKING TRASH: Ventura County supervisors have voted to study the effects of a proposed landfill in Weldon Canyon, although they have little choice but to place the issue on the March ballot (B5). . . . The study will look at some of the proposal’s environmental and financial impacts. “There are some questions that I would like to have answered for the public,” Supervisor Maggie Kildee says. “If [the landfill] is not successful, what happens?”

JOHNNY ON THE SPOT: It’s an unpleasant cause, but that isn’t stopping Peter Merva, an advocate for the homeless--and others--who use the restroom at Plaza Park in downtown Oxnard (B1). . . . The present restroom, Merva says, is filthy, so he’s told the City Council that he’ll go door to door until he gets enough money for renovations. “I made a threat to the council, and I’m making good with that threat,” Merva says.

SECOND CAREER: Betsy Quinn retired from her teaching job at Ventura High School a couple of years ago, but she’s not exactly taking it easy. She’s still working part time, teaching English as a Second Language and baking at City Bakery, and she’s getting a chance to do some volunteering. . . . Quinn leaves tomorrow for Guatemala, where she’ll spend two weeks helping locals in the highlands build shelters. It’s Quinn’s second trip for the cause. Two years ago, she went to Kauai to help out after Hurricane Iniki leveled much of the island.

WORLD WIDE WEB: The trip to Guatemala is one of about 70 planned this year to 48 countries through the Georgia-based Habitat’s Global Village program. . . . The trips are funded by the volunteers themselves, who kick in money for the family they’ll be helping, as well as for air fare, room and board. The total ranges from $1,200 or so for a Central American trip to more than $2,000 for locales like India. . . . And of course, local volunteers are always welcome. The number in Ventura County is 485-6065.