WHAT ABOUT THEM? While Ventura officials plot...

WHAT ABOUT THEM? While Ventura officials plot strategy for the dormant Peirano’s Market, some merchants beyond downtown grumble that not enough attention is paid to them (B1). . . . Seaward Avenue beachfront business owners, for example, have waited years for public restrooms and more parking. “What we have right now is two Andy Gumps,” restaurateur Joanne Lopez-Rojas said, referring to portable toilets at the edge of the sand. “Most of the time, they’re turned on their sides.”

WITH SYMPATHY: Sharon Foster and the kids she teaches at Kindercare in Simi Valley wanted to do something for the children of Dunblane, Scotland, who lost friends or relatives in the massacre of 16 kindergartners. So Foster will send off a parcel of at least 20 books Tuesday, inscribed by her students to the children of Dunblane. . . . Foster’s kids, ages 6 to 11, were touched by the disaster. “A lot of these kids have brothers and sisters in kindergarten,” she said. . . . Call 527-2766 to help.

LONG JOURNEY: The Memphis, Tenn., nonprofit group that bought Newbury Park resident Jeff Litoff his new heart has received $65,000 worth of donations so far to cover the cost of the $200,000 transplant. Before the Organ Transplant Fund stepped in, Litoff and his wife had feared they would have to divorce so he could be declared indigent and have his operation covered by Medi-Cal. . . . While most of the checks have been from Ventura County, many came from Santa Monica and Venice, said Andrew Prislovsky of the group. “There are a lot of people willing to do anything they can to help.”

BASIC TRAINING: Officials say a debate over student uniforms won’t derail a back-to-basics program next year at Will Rogers Elementary School in Ventura (B1). One proposal calls for blue or white polo shirts and dark trousers or skirts. . . . Some parents say the focus is misplaced. “I wish they would spend more time improving the curriculum rather than telling us how to dress,” said PTA President Jennifer Cox.