WAR OF WORDS: Truth is the first...

WAR OF WORDS: Truth is the first casualty of war . . . and as for politics? Consider the flyer from opponents of Ventura’s new greenbelt-protection measure: “It will cost Venturans millions to hire attorneys and consultants to defend Measures I & J. That’s what it cost Napa County for the same initiative.” . . . Not so, said Napa County Counsel Robert Westmeyer. He put Napa County defense fees for the five-year legal battle at about $200,000.

RUNNING MAN: When Hueneme High football player Ronney Jenkins unleashed a 93-yard touchdown on his first run from scrimmage, he knew he was going to have a big game (C1). . . . How big? The senior set a national record of 619 yards Thursday night, leading his team to a 52-34 victory over Rio Mesa. . . . In 30 carries, Jenkins scored seven touchdowns. “They told me about the record thing, but I was in a zone. I didn’t know what they were saying, really,” he said.

SAVE SERRA: Ventura antiques dealer Don Allen Shorts has launched a campaign to ensure that a nine-foot wooden statue of Father Junipero Serra stays put at City Hall. . . . In bulletins mailed to friends and posted in downtown eateries, Shorts encourages Serra supporters to phone city officials and voice objection to a proposal to relocate the 800-pound icon to a Camarillo church. . . . “Everybody is in an uproar about it,” Shorts said. “I’m surprised how many people really love that statue.”

WEIRD SCIENCE: GOP congressional candidate Rich Sybert has retained a professor of statistics to prove, scientifically, that voters were led to believe through literature mailed to them by U.S. Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson that Sybert was engaged in illegal conduct. . . . The analysis is key evidence in a lawsuit Sybert has filed against Beilenson accusing him of defamation during their 1994 campaign for Congress representing the San Fernando Valley and most of Thousand Oaks. . . . Beilenson plans to resign the seat at the end of his term.