MONEY MATTERS: Here we go again. For...

MONEY MATTERS: Here we go again. For the second time in four weeks, federal workers were sent home Monday because of stalled budget talks (A1). . . . However, federal agencies in Ventura County fared better this time than last. Navy bases, the FBI and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library stayed open. . . . On the other side, national parks and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were shut down. “We want to work,” said the Wildlife Service’s Judy Hohman. “It’s an uncomfortable position to be in, especially this time of year.”

HALO EFFECT: With the big malls and factory outlets slugging it out for holiday customers (B1), Ventura merchant Keith Richardson figures he has an edge. Call it his guardian angel. . . . Richardson is manager of Things From Heaven, a downtown store specializing in angels. Angel T-shirts, angel jewelry, angel paintings. If you need an angel, the store is likely to have it. . . . The specialty niche in the holiday market is unaffected by the yuletide dogfight among retailers. “We are immune to it,” he said. “That is what has saved us.”

DESIGNER WEAR: Alba Alargunsoro, above, also knows something about business: She introduced her Alba line of rayon outfits last week at the opening of her Ventura showroom (D7D). The showroom is attached to the sewing factory Alargunsoro has owned since 1989. . . . Seeing her name on a label is a big step in a career that began when she emigrated from Uruguay 18 years ago and started sewing garments. “Because I couldn’t speak the language, I had to do something with my hands,” she said.

HOT FLASH: Ventura County’s fire season ended with little fanfare Monday, except for fire officials who let out a sigh of relief. . . . Even though last year’s rains produced tinder-dry hillsides, there were few major blazes this season, which started in May. About 2,500 acres burned this season, compared to 80,000 acres in 1993. . . . “When you consider all of the opportunities for fires to start, I think we did very well,” Ventura County Fire Department spokeswoman Sandi Wells said.