MEDFLY, BE GONE: Aerial malathion spraying will...

MEDFLY, BE GONE: Aerial malathion spraying will be a twice-monthly fact of life in Camarillo, as Ventura County seeks to wipe out a Medfly infestation. . . . For local car washers, the regular dousing of pesticide and corn syrup could mean boffo business. . . . Although many residents cover their cars with tarps, some car owners could be caught unaware. . . . Lewis Jensen of the Ponderosa Car Wash planned to double his employees after the first spray. “We’ll have to crank it up a little bit,” he said.

FAMILY TIES: Fillmore is extolling family values--and residents are being encouraged to get with the program. . . . City leaders are asking families to set aside every Sunday night as family night, when parents and children discuss love, self-esteem--and maybe even sit down together for dinner. . . . TV and Nintendo are out, and civic groups are being asked to avoid scheduling activities that would take people away from home. “We don’t want to dictate to anybody,” Mayor Linda Brewster said. “. . . But we think this is a good idea.”

ISLAND COUNT: Who knows what lurks in the depths of the kelp forests off Channel Islands National Park? . . . No one has a precise inventory, but researchers are trying to take stock (Ventura County Life, Page 8). They’re also cataloguing local flora and fauna. . . . Scientists from around the country visited Anacapa Island recently to check out the monitoring efforts. “It’s the sort of information that’s expensive to obtain, but priceless to have,” parks official William Tweed said.

QUICK STUDY: He’s lived in the United States for less than a year, but Ventura College water polo player Pedro de Lima has already learned how to blend in (C10). . . . As a two-meter man on the college’s water polo team, the 19-year-old Brazilian has led the sixth-ranked Pirates in scoring this season. An avid player since the age of 12, de Lima got off to a fast start in Ventura, Coach Larry Baratte said. “ I could tell right away he was real good.”