What’s in a . . . Any...

What’s in a . . . Any parent who struggled to name a baby knows what it must be like christening Simi Valley’s new magnet school by committee . . . An advisory group last month came up with Odyssey High, which the school district rejected. On Tuesday, the panel will give the board three more choices . . . There’s the no-nonsense: Center High. The wistful: Valley of the Winds High (playing off the Indian meaning of Simi). And the, well, confusing: Venture High.

Global Grads: Marking its 25th anniversary, Thomas Aquinas College near Santa Paula today graduates its largest class: 47 students. Most are local, but three graduates flocked from Lithuania and one from an orphanage in Ghana. . . . “They all hear about us in quirky ways,” says spokesman John Holocek. “But once they hear the concept [of a Great Books curriculum], they want to come.”

Wild Ride: Her brother David does the pedaling, but Simi Valley resident Kathy Thompson is doing almost everything else for the AIDS Ride, which made its way to Ventura on Friday (B1). . . . Kathy took a week’s vacation to join the support crew during her brother’s second year in the event. She directs traffic, waves down wandering riders, sets up tables and chairs and plots surprises for the weary cyclists: “They’re really thrilled when they come in and their tent’s up.”

In a Fog: Jim Hanks made one of his periodic descents from the Colorado Rockies this week to balance the books as Port Hueneme’s part-time finance director, and instantly remembered why he left three years ago. . . . The season’s first fog seemingly followed him off the plane. “It used to get pretty oppressive,” said Hanks, who now lives near Pueblo. “I wanted a change of seasons.”