MALL WARS, ROUND 2: The Ventura City...

MALL WARS, ROUND 2: The Ventura City Council is expected to give its final OK to the expansion of the Buenaventura Mall today, but that won’t be the end of things (B1). Lary Reid of Citizens Against the Sales Tax Giveaway promises an immediate attempt to overturn the decision. . . . “We have 30 days after the approval to collect the signatures needed” for a voter referendum, Reid said. “We are prepared to start on Tuesday. There is no time to spare.”

SUCCESSFUL STRATEGY: Sears, Roebuck and Co. credits its retailing turnaround to a change in strategy: The chain is going after the diverse Southern California market with a vengeance. And it’s working--Sears’ holiday sales increase was 6.8%, far higher than the retail average. . . . Cathy Klingsporn, operations manager at the Sears establishment in Oxnard’s Esplanade, says her store works to appeal to Latino shoppers. “We have increased our Spanish advertising on local radio and television, and every once in a while we have the local radio station in doing remotes.”

TOXIC TESTS: A spoonful at a time, Allen Faass scoops up soil for laboratory tests to determine levels of toxic contamination on San Nicolas Island. It’s all part of the Navy’s cleanup of old spills, leaks and ill-planned dumping on the island, 60 miles off the coast of Point Mugu (B1). . . . The Point Mugu Navy base now operates a large radar station there. But the wind-swept island is best known for its last Native American resident, who inspired the children’s book “Island of the Blue Dolphins.”

SMILIN’ EYES: George Kennedy, formerly of “The Dirty Dozen” and now pitching a breath freshener, will take on a new role March 16--as grand marshal of Ventura’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. . . . Kennedy was gracious about participating, said parade committee member Pat Hughes. “He’s a very outgoing, charitable person. He enjoys the public eye, and he enjoys participating in his profession. Some don’t.”