Issues to Watch in ’98

As we step boldly into 1998, a mere two heartbeats from the 21st century, groups all over Ventura County are busily envisioning the future.

It’s especially enjoyable to look ahead in times like these, when the economy is up, crime is down and optimism runs high. But bright futures are reached by steps taken in the present, and for many Ventura County entities, the future is now.

Here are some of the issues The Times will be tracking in 1998 to make sure those big dreams are moving firmly toward becoming reality:

* What public policies would do most to help Ventura County’s farms survive as successful businesses, and as undeveloped green spaces? That’s the question the public will discuss at a series of town-hall forums to be hosted by the Agriculture Policy Working Group beginning Jan. 12. No issue is more fundamental to our economy and lifestyle. This page will continue to offer a variety of perspectives, and we encourage all citizens to attend the forums, listen, learn and speak out.

* What’s the best way to get the county’s 28,000 welfare recipients off the dole and onto a payroll? As of Jan. 1, the clock is ticking toward the day their benefits run out. On Tuesday the Board of Supervisors will review details of the county’s welfare reform plans. Ventura County has as good a chance as anyplace to succeed with this massive change in the nation’s approach to helping those in need. We’ll be following this issue closely.

* County supervisors took a big step last year when they divorced the parks department from its income-producing partner, Channel Islands Harbor. The move has invigorated plans to upgrade and better promote the harbor but has left the parks department in a bind, reliant on jacked-up user fees and dubious plans for a proposed concert amphitheater. The supervisors need to make sure the parks get the support they need. We challenge park users, as well, to suggest new ways to pay the bills.

* The lights are back on at the Camarillo State Hospital campus now that the creators of Cal State University Channel Islands have moved in. It’s just the most visible sign of the campaign to bring Ventura County its first four-year state university. We’ll be watching as the curriculum takes shape and the financial support comes together in the year ahead.

* Meanwhile, it’s time to resolve the festering labor dispute at Ventura County Community College District. If the current mediator can’t get the two sides moving toward common ground, it’s time for a different mediator.

* A potentially huge influence on the future of the county’s quality of life, traffic, water supply and flood danger is the Newhall Ranch proposal to build a city of 70,000 residents astraddle Highway 126 on the county line. Thus far, Los Angeles County has shown nothing but disdain for Ventura County’s concerns about this plan. This battle has just begun. The supervisors need to fight with vigor for our concerns to be heard and heeded, and The Times will do its part in this campaign.

* The county library system under interim director Richard Rowe has expanded hours, trimmed expenses and increased cooperation among the cities it serves. Next the system must step up plans to streamline management, and a permanent director must be chosen.

* This year’s Thousand Oaks City Council elections should have a completely different tone from last year’s recall. The skill and diplomacy with which Andy Fox, Judy Lazar and Elois Zeanah mend the wounds from that brawl will demonstrate more clearly than anything else which of them deserves to help lead that city into the next millennium.

* Also ahead: a full slate of April, June and November elections at every level from neighborhood districts to municipal, county, state legislative and U.S. congressional races.

Potential candidates and all eligible voters take heed: The time to make a difference is now.