Ventura County Star

When the Spanish flu crushed New York City in 1918, killing more than 12,300 people in a single November week, Diane Dobbins’ grandparents lived in an apartment in Brooklyn and made their living in the garment industry.Like swine flu, the virus was mild when it emerged in the spring of 1918, with illnesses lasting only a few days. But in the fall, it exploded into a pandemic. Mailmen wore doctor ... Full Story »

A judge sentenced a Camarillo man to prison Monday despite pleas from his family and friends, who asked for him to be put on probation for killing a friend and injuring a co-worker with a vehicle while he was intoxicated.After hearing more than two hours of testimony, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Patricia Murphy sentenced Lester Eugene Varnum, 23, to state prison for 15 years to life.The ... Full Story »

R. Wesley “Wes” Nichols, a longtime Fillmore city employee who rose to become its third city manager, has died. He was 88.Nichols served as city manager from 1968 until 1981.He died shortly before Thanksgiving at the Orange Blossom Villa, an assisted living facility for seniors in Fillmore. The cause of death was not disclosed.Deputy City Manager Bill Bartels said that prior to becoming city ... Full Story »

Two Simi Valley businesses have decided to up the New Year’s resolution ante by offering a cash incentive to those who lose the most weight during a 13-week, communitywide group fitness challenge.Melissa Collins, owner of the fitness studio Cardio Barre, and Dr. Randa Cobey, a chiropractor and owner of World of Wellness, have organized the Simi Valley Health & Fitness Challenge, which begins Jan ... Full Story »

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge sided with the city of Oxnard on Monday by rejecting Southern California Edison’s request to jump-start construction of a 45-megawatt “peaker” power plant near Mandalay Beach.The California Coastal Commission approved Edison’s plans in March. Oxnard responded by suing the state over the approval but the case likely won’t be resolved until July. Meanwhile ... Full Story »

The H.P. Wright Library in Ventura may have gone dark, but supporters refuse to close the books on the neighborhood branch.When library staff turned out the lights Dec. 7, the final night at the library on Day Road after 42 years, about 50 supporters refused to leave and staged an impromptu sit-in. They vacated only after Ventura County’s top librarian agreed to leave the books and “mothball ... Full Story »

A federal appeals court ruled Monday that California should pay the full cost of care for thousands of children in group homes, reversing a lower court ruling finding that state payments covering 80 percent of the expense were sufficient.The ruling issued in San Francisco applies to monthly payments for 64 of the 105 Ventura County youngsters living in group homes, based on a standard tied to ... Full Story »

The city of Santa Paula has reached a contract agreement with an Arizona administrator to become the town’s next city manager, Mayor Jim Tovias said Monday.Jaime Fontes, 52, the city manager of Nogales, Ariz., was selected from 78 candidates who applied, Tovias said.In a closed-door personnel session a week ago, the City Council members reached a consensus to hire Fontes if they could reach ... Full Story »

Thousand Oaks officials are being urged to move forward carefully and slowly after a consultant group issued suggestions to increase business and foot traffic at The Lakes shopping center adjacent to Thousand Oaks City Hall.The go-slow advice comes from a committee, set to report to the City Council tonight, which cautions that the consultant group’s proposed short-term, intermediate and long ... Full Story »

Carl Wade retired as a Navy chief warrant officer and in 2003 began volunteering with the First Memorial Honors Detail, a group that provides military honors at veterans’ funerals and public events.“I’ve talked to a lot of grieving people,” he said. “It’s been an education in learning when not to talk and just listen.”But in 2005, Wade’s 28-year-old son, Byron, died and he didn’t know where to ... Full Story »

WASHINGTON — Nearly $6 million will be going to projects or programs that benefit Ventura County under the federal spending plan that cleared its final hurdle in Congress over the weekend.Local projects in the $1.1 trillion budget bill, which is awaiting the signature of President Barack Obama , include everything from highway and infrastructure improvements to healthcare facilities and ... Full Story »

Donald Lukens, accused of running a $47 million Ponzi scheme in Ventura County in the 1990s, could spend the holidays in jail after he was arrested last week in Chicago on suspicion of investment fraud.Lukens moved to Chicago shortly after his Oxnard investment firms, and his marriage, collapsed in 2001. He was arrested Friday morning at his Lake Shore Drive apartment by police from suburban ... Full Story »

The first-degree murder trial of 15-year-old Brandon McInerney, accused of shooting an Oxnard classmate in 2008, is set to begin next year, attorneys said Monday.Prosecutor Maeve Fox and McInerney’s lawyer Scott Wippert told Ventura County Superior Court Judge Bruce Young that they would go to trial on May 14.The judge set a pretrial hearing for May 7, which will allow lawyers to engage in legal ... Full Story »

Oxnard College has named a new dean of student services.Karen Engelsen will oversee admissions, financial aid, the student health center, counseling and other areas of student services.She started the job Nov. 30.Engelsen was dean of student services at Monterey Peninsula College. She also served as director of student development for the Desert Vista campus at Pima Community College in Tucson ... Full Story »

The open-government advocate who last month settled a lawsuit with the Fillmore City Council over its technical violations of California’s open-meeting law has accused the council of yet another such violation.Fillmore City Attorney Ted Schneider, however, rejects the latest Brown Act violation allegation leveled by Richard McKee, president-emeritus of Carmichael-based Californians Aware.In a ... Full Story »

Santa Paula classrooms soon will get $443,000 for new technology, part of a federal grant for public education.The Santa Paula Elementary School District was notified by state officials recently that it was awarded the cash as part of the Enhancing Education Through Technology grant program, district officials said Friday.In Santa Paula, officials will use the money to buy interactive boards for ... Full Story »

The Small Business Development Center at Ventura College, which provides counseling services and programs for small business owners in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, will close down at the end of this year.Since opening in 2006, the center has relied on funding each year from the state. Budget cuts this year reduced funding by 51 percent, said Becki Walker, director of the center.Ventura ... Full Story »

The American Red Cross of Ventura County and local and county fire departments want you to give up one venti double-mocha, double-espresso soy latte frappuccino a year to save a life.Chris Johnson, CEO of the county chapter of the Red Cross, said the “$5 Saves a Life” fundraising campaign is taking place during December and January to raise the public’s awareness of the agency’s supportive role ... Full Story »

A week of intermittent storms has pushed Ventura County over normal rainfall amounts compared with this time a year ago, preliminary totals showed Sunday.From 3 to 4 inches has fallen over most areas in the past seven days, according to recordings at rainfall stations monitored by the Ventura County Watershed Protection District. It marked the second major series of storms since the rainy season ... Full Story »

Winter’s approach in Southern California is marked by a few constants: big waves, Ugg boots, rain — and ants. Billions of them.Much to the chagrin of homeowners, it’s the time of year when the rains start that ants find their way from their colonies underneath homes to the showers, sugar jars and counter tops of nice, dry homes.With an El Niño predicted this year, it could be a banner year for ... Full Story »

Students from six Camarillo-area teams will compete this week in the championship level of a robotics design and building competition.The teams earned the right to advance by participating last month in the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology tournament and Lego League Qualifying tournament at Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village.The Los Angeles Regional First Lego ... Full Story »

For the past 15 years, Temple Adat Elohim in Thousand Oaks has been providing the hungry, homeless and lonely with a free Dec. 25 holiday dinner packed with flavor and love.Each year, organizers plan for 300 people and serve about 225, and any leftovers are taken to area relief missions.This year, things might change a bit.“We read the newspaper ... that the Thanksgiving feast done in town had ... Full Story »

Calling it a celebration of religious freedom, Rabbi Dov Muchnik of Chabad of Oxnard presided over the annual lighting of the menorah at the annual Hanukkah Festival, which was held Sunday on the Ventura Pier.Ventura City Councilman Neal Andrews echoed that sentiment when he spoke briefly before the large metal menorah, fitted with converted tiki torches as candles, was lit.“This is about the ... Full Story »

A retired couple who were threatened with a lien on their Newbury Park home if they failed to remove trees and landscaping from adjacent, publicly owned land said they are delighted that Thousand Oaks officials had a change of heart.City officials said they have absolved Fred and Jeanne Rassuli of any responsibility to carry out the removal of mature trees and shrubs from the area that they have ... Full Story »

The verdict was unanimous: It was a perfect day for a run during the Santa to the Sea fundraising half marathon Sunday morning. “What’s not to like?” race director Mike Barber asked. “We go from one end of the city to the other.”Barber said the idea for the mini-marathon, which is in its second year, came from his annual toy drive. Each of the approximately 630 racers had to donate a toy as part ... Full Story »