Ventura County Star

If Metrolink adopts the biggest of the across-the-board fare increases it’s considering, the price of a round-trip ticket from Moorpark to downtown Los Angeles will rise $1, to $19. That might be the final dollar for Keith Oatman, who rides Metrolink every weekday from Moorpark to Burbank. “For me, it’s an economic choice to take the train, so if they keep raising the fares, it really starts ... Full Story »

James Montgomery, the driving force behind the creation of Banco Buenaventura, has bought controlling shares of the failed bank and is now working to end the litigation that has ensnared it. At a court hearing Monday in Ventura, his attorney, Ronald Turovsky, confirmed what several sources have told The Star — that Montgomery, who previously owned about 34 percent of the shares in the bank ... Full Story »

Fillmore residents began complaining four years ago about the eyesore that was three dead cars stored in a neighbor’s front driveway. In response, the city started sending a series of notices to the property’s owners that the vehicles must be removed pursuant to Fillmore’s Municipal Code. The notices — no fewer than eight over a two-year period — were ignored, the city says. In January 2008 ... Full Story »

As president of the California Youth Connection’s local chapter, Raquel Montes helps troubled young people in the foster care system. The young faces she sees daily often remind Montes of her own traumatic childhood and road to recovery. An abusive household and her mother’s death sent Montes into a downward spiral, she said. She started abusing drugs and at the age of 12 tried to commit ... Full Story »

Video game enthusiasts stormed retailers Monday night for the highly anticipated midnight release of “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.” One such retailer, GameStop in Westlake Village, had nearly 1,000 presale deposits, nearly a record for the 6,200-store company, said Chris Ludlow, the store’s assistant manager. A few hundred gamers were expected to turn out by midnight for the store’s “Call ... Full Story »

Seniors seeking to adopt a pet could benefit from a new incentive program being proposed by the head of Ventura County Animal Regulation. The “Seniors for Seniors” adoption plan would offer seniors a discount on the standard fees to adopt an older pet from the county shelter in Camarillo and officials hope the county Board of Supervisors will approve the plan at its meeting today. “Older dogs ... Full Story »

Under state order to boost recycling rates, Santa Paula is coming close to the mark. During the early part of the decade, records showed the town had been diverting about 35 percent of its trash from landfills and never approached the 50 percent mark required of California cities. “We were not achieving,” said Jon Turner, the city official who began overseeing solid waste operations last year ... Full Story »

Beginning sometime next year, the Navy plans to start testing laser weapons at its Sea Range off Point Mugu and San Nicolas Island. “These would be laser weapons intended to disable or destroy various types of things,” said Tony Parisi, head of the sustainability office for the Naval Air Systems Command at Naval Base Ventura County. Under scenarios described in an environmental assessment ... Full Story »

Next year will be the last time that Ventura County landowners write “Larry Matheney” in the “to” line on their property tax checks. Matheney, the county’s treasurer-tax collector since 2002, announced Monday that he won’t seek a third term next year. Matheney, 63, said he’s been “pondering this for quite a while” and decided he couldn’t commit to a term that would end when he is 68. The ... Full Story »

An Oxnard man who nearly killed a liquor store owner during an attempted robbery on Thanksgiving Day in 2007 was found guilty Monday of attempted murder and other charges. Alexander Mendez, 41, will be sentenced Dec. 11, Superior Court Judge Charles Campbell decided. Shamsher Thind, who owned the Log Cabin Liquor store at Alameda Avenue and Ventura Boulevard in Montalvo, told jurors last week ... Full Story »

During a preliminary hearing Monday, a judge found enough evidence to hold Missael Villanueva Palma for trial for allegedly sexually assaulting two female victims this year. Palma is charged with numerous felonies, including lewd acts upon a child and aggravated sexual assault of a child by oral copulation and digital penetration. There are also special allegations that the acts were committed ... Full Story »

Several tenants at the Hollywood Beach Mobile Home Park are suing the owners, alleging they broke a promise and almost doubled an agreed-upon price to sell the lots on which the homes sit. “After they received government approval for the conversion, they went back on their promise and almost doubled the price,” said Trenton Hill, an attorney representing the tenants. “We responded repeatedly ... Full Story »

Two people were shot and injured Monday afternoon in Oxnard, police said. Officers responded at 2:26 p.m. to a reported shooting in the 1400 block of South E Street and found one victim, police said. The victim’s name, condition and other details were not immediately available. Another person was found shortly later with a minor gunshot wound near C Street and Wooley Road, police Cmdr. Tom ... Full Story »

A Port Hueneme man was arrested this weekend in connection with an attack at the city’s pier, police said. Joshua Martinez, 26, was arrested Sunday morning after he hit another man over the head with a stick at the pier in the 500 block of East Surfside Drive, police said in a prepared statement. Reported at 8:23 a.m. Sunday, the incident began as a verbal confrontation in a beach parking lot ... Full Story »

A 36-year-old man was injured Sunday night in an assault with a deadly weapon in Oxnard, police said. Police began investigating the assault after officers responded about 10 p.m. Sunday to a report that a person with a head injury had shown up at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, the Oxnard Police Department reported in a prepared statement. The victim, an Oxnard resident, told ... Full Story »

Police are looking for an arsonist who set fire to an American flag in front of a Port Hueneme home this weekend, authorities said. The incident was reported late Saturday night. A neighbor spotted flames in front of a home in the 600 block of North Ventura Road about 11:15 p.m. Saturday and alerted the homeowner, who extinguished the flaming flag with water, police said in a prepared ... Full Story »

Two people were shot and injured in Oxnard this afternoon, police said. Police responding at 2:26 p.m. to a report of a shooting in the 1400 block of South E Street found one shooting victim there, police said. Another person was found shortly afterward with a minor injury from a gunshot near the intersection of C Street and Wooley Road in Oxnard, police said. The second shooting victim had ... Full Story »

The H.P. Wright Library in Ventura will close at the end of the month, the county’s chief librarian said today. The announcement was anticipated but still a blow to library supporters who have raised $100,000 — much of it in small amounts from dozens of backers — to keep the 42-year-old Day Road institution open since July, after county and city funding was eliminated. Supporters were hoping ... Full Story »

A man who pleaded guilty Friday to killing a 6-year-old boy in 2007 will now see prosecution and defense mental health experts and others testify on whether he was sane at the time. Superior Court Judge Kevin DeNoce will determine whether Calvin Sharp was insane when he used a meat cleaver to kill Sev’n Molina on Aug. 12, 2007. Sharp also nearly killed the boy’s mother, Sandra Ruiz. On Friday ... Full Story »

A jewel of nature tucked in the mountains high above Santa Paula for eons is being defaced by vandals armed with spray cans and a desire to trumpet their monikers through graffiti. For as long as anyone can remember, hikers have hoofed it up to the Punch Bowl on an arduous 6.5-mile round-trip walk, which starts at the entrance to Thomas Aquinas College on Highway 150. At the end of the ... Full Story »

Pay more, maybe get less. That’s the unfortunate reality facing many workers in Ventura County as they choose next year’s health insurance plan. Not every insurance carrier is raising its rates, but many are responding to the rising cost of healthcare by hiking premiums about 15 percent, and some are going higher, said Chuck Rosen, a real estate broker from Simi Valley who helps businesses find ... Full Story »

Parishioners at Sacred Heart Church in Ventura were not only able to get a head start on their holiday shopping Sunday, but also had an opportunity to help the Poor Clare Sisters of Divine Mercy. The sisters were visiting from the Chalco, Mexico, diocese to raise money for their program that helps the women of the region learn skills that will allow them to earn a living. Lupe Anguiano, who is ... Full Story »

With two pieces of irrigation pipe, some paint, a wine cork and markers, Ojai students have joined a humanitarian mission to bring music and friendship to kids in a country far away. Ojai composer and musician John Zeretzke first got the idea for Flutes Across the World around the holidays last year, he said. He had worked in the schools for about 30 years, teaching kids about world music and ... Full Story »

A Santa Paula man was arrested Sunday on suspicion of leading police on a 12-mile car chase Saturday night, then disappearing into an orchard. A team of officers, deputies and dogs from the Santa Paula Police Department, California Highway Patrol and Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, along with a helicopter, searched for the man but were unable to find him Saturday night. Police arrested ... Full Story »

Ventura’s City Council will consider opening a dialogue tonight on restricting tattoo parlors, including limiting hours of operation or parts of town where parlors could operate. Nine tattoo parlors exist in Ventura, with seven opening this year. Currently, tattoo parlors are considered a “personal service” and require only a city business license to open citywide. Ventura Mayor Christy Weir ... Full Story »