GOOD NEIGHBORS: A fund launched to help...

GOOD NEIGHBORS: A fund launched to help the family of burn victim Michael Halsell has collected more than $7,000, says Mary Guy, manager of the Westlake branch of Los Robles Bank. . . . “Every single day we get no less than a dozen cards with checks in them and with little notes,” she said, adding that the missives are delivered to the family nearly daily. Seventeen-year-old Michael of Newbury Park died last month, two weeks after being burned while climbing an electric transmission tower.

NEVER MIND: The idea was that, in recognition of Earthquake Preparedness Month, Ventura County supervisors during last week’s meeting would dive under the dais after a warning was sounded. The reality was that the moment came and went after a failed hookup nixed the alert. . . . Supervisor Maggie Kildee said the panel has hit the floor each year during her 16 on the board, but they won’t reschedule the test. “The rest of the world might have ducked, covered and held, but we didn’t this year.”

SORROW: The death last week of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown dealt a hard blow to the black community, says Andrew Rucker, president of the Tri-Counties African American Chamber of Commerce. “One of our biggest hang-ups as African Americans is that we don’t have enough to do with commerce.” . . . Rucker applauds plans by a local church to provide loans to minority-owned businesses and create jobs for youth (B1).