LABOR DAY: Don’t call Robert Mesta a...

LABOR DAY: Don’t call Robert Mesta a nonessential employee. . . . As the federal government shut down all but essential operations and government workers were sent home by the hundreds in Ventura County (B1), Mesta was hard at work Tuesday at the Ventura field office of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. . . . “I have to take care of things,” said Mesta, coordinator of the service’s Condor Recovery Program. “I can’t stop because of some political battles.”

PARTY ON: Ventura will celebrate the official opening Saturday of the California Street Plaza, signaling the completion of an $800,000 face lift for the beachfront area. . . . The 4 p.m. event will include the dedication of the art project, “The Five Senses”--a series of back-lit panels built into the plaza walkway. Designed by Los Angeles sculptor Mark Lere, the artwork features giant symbols of the senses: ear, nose, eye. . . . “The whole point is to get something people can relate to,” city spokeswoman Elena Brokaw said. “And to make them think about art in a different way.”

TOP GUN: Royal High water polo player Chris Richeson (C6) can really throw hard. So hard, in fact, that he set a record last summer in the “Top Gun” competition at the Junior Olympics with a shot clocked at 53 m.p.h. . . . His strong arm has helped catapult the Thousand Oaks water polo team to its 15th consecutive Marmonte League championship and to the top of the playoff rankings. “I like everything about the game,” said Richeson, a 16-year-old junior.

MAKING CHANGE: Changes are in store for the 3M plant in Camarillo with Tuesday’s corporate announcement that the company is quitting audio and videotape production (B4). . . . While no layoffs are expected locally, the Camarillo facility will become part of a new company. The plant has 620 employees and primarily produces data storage tapes for computers. . . . “3M has been a good company and it’s difficult to imagine leaving,” Manager Chuck Byrne said. “But it’s also exciting to think about being part of a dynamic new company.”