Simi Valley

Dean Bradshaw, Simi Valley High's highly successful boys' basketball coach for the past 11 seasons, announced his resignation Monday, saying he wanted to spend the next two years watching his teenage son, Ryan, play the sport. Bradshaw, 45, compiled a 215-81 record after replacing Bob Hawking in 1988. The Pioneers won four Marmonte League championships, were runners-up for the 1993 Southern Section Division I-AA title and semifinalists the last two years, losing to Mater Dei and Artesia.

Henry Baker, the standout left-handed pitcher from Agoura High who wears uniform No. 32 in honor of Sandy Koufax ("It's the Jewish lefty thing - you got to represent"), did all he could to deliver a Marmonte League championship Tuesday at Agoura. Baker struck out nine, walked one and gave up four hits in Agoura's 2-1 victory over Simi Valley, allowing the Chargers (20-9, 11-3) to repeat as league champions. "It was everything we needed from our ace pitcher," catcher Albee Weiss said.

Tired of dancing to the same old canned Top-40 deejay tunes? Or just want to sit and listen to great country music and vocals? Well, hang onto your cowboy hats. There are plenty of opportunities across Ventura County this weekend to do both. Get a head start tonight with Larry Dean and the Shooters at Cousin's Country Saloon, Simi Valley's popular nightspot. Similar in size and atmosphere to the Crazy Bull in Camarillo, Cousin's is an intimate club that accommodates line dancers and couples.

Lost among all the bells and whistles added during Dodger Stadium's $100 million off-season renovation was the expansion of the trainers' room, which was outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment. But less than a month into the season, it's already become the most popular place in the clubhouse. Because when the Dodgers scratched scheduled starting pitcher Stephen Fife and placed him on the disabled list Saturday, he became the eighth player to appear on the DL this month. And that doesn't include Mark Ellis, who came out of Friday's game with a quadriceps strain, or Adrian Gonzalez, who missed the first six innings Saturday to make a brief trip to the hospital with what the team called a "small skin infection" in his right leg. BOX SCORE: Milwaukee 6, Dodgers 4 That left the Dodgers so desperate for healthy bodies they had to reach down to triple-A Albuquerque for right-hander Matt Magill, who wound up giving the team a huge lift by limiting the Milwaukee Brewers to two runs and four hits in 6 2/3 innings.

The 1990s brought a more diverse population to Ventura County. Due largely to an influx of Latinos in every local city, and a boom in upscale housing in the east county, the number of Ventura County residents rose to 753,000--up 84,000 in 10 years. The people pictured below represent the region's increasing diversity. * Sean Navabi, 20, and Vanessa Keller, 17, are hillside neighbors in Wood Ranch, above a tour-quality golf course and behind huge iron gates in a neighborhood called "The Legacy."

Simi Valley is a quiet suburban community and wants to keep it that way: No lights, no cameras, no porn studios. Not that adult-film producers are flocking over the hill from the porn-rich San Fernando Valley, but the fear is that they might. Angered by a recent L.A. requirement for on-set condom use, producers have made noises about leaving, and officials next door in Simi Valley are trying to thwart an invasion before it gets started. "The bottom line is we don't want to be known as the porn capital of the world," said Mayor Bob Huber, who is pushing for a local condom measure similar to one the L.A. City Council approved in January.

I live and work in Simi Valley and I have not met anyone who agreed with the jury's verdict in the Rodney King beating trial. In my heart, I do not believe people in Simi Valley are racist. ALICE SNOWDEN Simi Valley

Simi Valley (22-6) at Los Angeles Loyola (22-5) Tonight at 7:30 Why it matters: Get ready for a fast pace and lots of scoring in this Southern Section Division II-A playoff quarterfinal. Both teams enjoy shooting from long range and use defensive pressure to produce fastbreak opportunities. "They want to play fast and so do we," Loyola Coach Jamal Adams said. Loyola, the Mission League co-champion, is led by junior guards Jordan Gathers and Miles Cartwright.

Simi Valley High basketball Coach Dean Bradshaw was suspended by school officials from participating in Friday's Marmonte League game against Thousand Oaks. The suspension is the result of Bradshaw's verbal altercation with game officials after Simi Valley's 65-62 overtime loss to Camarillo on Wednesday.

It looked like the Simi Valley High girls' basketball team was going to win the game at the free-throw line. But that's where the Pioneers lost it, instead. Glendora St. Lucy's sank seven free throws in the last 1 1/2 minutes and rallied to beat the Pioneers, 45-40, in a Simi Valley tournament semifinal game Thursday night at Simi Valley. With Simi Valley ahead, 38-36, Christina Wilson of St. Lucy's (5-3) sank four consecutive free throws in an eight-second stretch to give St.

Film permits issued for porn shoots in Los Angeles County have dropped to almost zero since a law was enacted requiring actors to use condoms during shoots. So far this year, only two permits have been issued for pornographic filming, far off the pace for an industry that typically gets about 500 permits annually, according to Paul Audley, president of FilmLA, a nonprofit agency that oversees permitting throughout Los Angeles County. “It's a steep drop,” Audley said, adding that “both of those applications came in January.”   Coupled with an apparent increase in filming in nearby Ventura County -- where one politician says some residents have complained about “seeing people naked” during film shoots -- the decrease has been seized on by porn industry insiders who have long claimed that efforts to regulate their industry would end up hurting Los Angeles' pocketbook.

If Simi Valley High baseball players ever get lazy or start complaining about something innocuous, such as who has to rake the mound, they are usually snapped back to reality by simply watching the determination of senior outfielder Cody Jones. "I have an inspirational story," Jones said, "Why not help out and brighten their day?" To understand the commitment and love of baseball exhibited by Jones, you must go back to when he was 6 years old and trying out for a youth team. He couldn't use his left hand because his left side had been weakened when oxygen was briefly cut off from his brain during a troubled childbirth, leaving him with cerebral palsy.

One of the oldest adages in sports is "defense wins championships," and Tustin proved that still holds true with a lockdown effort in the first half that resulted in its 49-32 victory over Simi Valley Royal in Thursday's Southern Section Division 3AAA championship game at the Anaheim Convention Center. The top-seeded Tillers (30-2) held Royal to two points in the first quarter and six in the first half on two-of-16 shooting. Tustin had trouble scoring too, however, and led by only 14-6 at halftime.

Despite its youth, Corona Centennial High is proof that solid execution and hustle can trump experience. The Huskies have two sophomore starters and three more sophomores and a freshman as reserves, but they did not panic after falling behind by 10 points in the first three minutes Friday night in the semifinals of the Oaks Christian tournament. Senior guard Sam Finley scored 28 points, junior forward Deontae North had 15 and sophomore point guard Sedrick Barefield survived early foul trouble to score nine points as Centennial allowed only 24 points in the second half of a 69-63 victory over previously unbeaten Fresno Bullard.

She is unbeaten, unreal, and wonderfully unaware. "I guess I run because I'm not good at anything else," Sarah Baxter says with a tiny grin. She hasn't lost a cross-country race in the three years of her Simi Valley High career, yet she once got lost while leading a race on her home course. "She was supposed to go left, she went right, and everyone was screaming and jumping to get her attention," recalls Jessie Ellis, a Pioneers assistant girls' cross-country coach. "A funny story, but there are a lot of funny stories about Sarah.

Sarah Baxter of Simi Valley has established herself as one of the all-time great girls' cross-country runners in state history, and she's only a junior. On Saturday, she set a course record at Woodward Park in Fresno in winning her third consecutive CIF state cross-country championship. She won the Division I race in 16 minutes 40 seconds for 3.1 miles. The old record was 16:43 set by Julia Stamps in 1996. Earlier this month, Baxter set a course record at Mt. San Antonio College, winning in 16:00.

Westlake High, the Marmonte League's Cinderella team, has spent much of the season trying to earn some respect. Respect from the press, respect from its peers, respect from anyone. The Warriors didn't get any. In turn, they showed none. Behind the brilliant play of Todd Thompson, Westlake defeated Simi Valley, 24-20, for its second win over a highly ranked team in three weeks. Two weeks ago, Westlake knocked off Lompoc, which was ranked No. 4 in the Coastal Conference.

Before the season, Simi Valley Coach Willie Ruiz said his boys' soccer team should win the Marmonte League title, but there were skeptics. "Yeah, right," said one Marmonte coach. "He said that last year too." Ruiz's prediction gained validity Tuesday when Simi Valley eked out a 1-0 victory over Rio Mesa in the Royal tournament championship game. "This is great for Simi soccer," Ruiz said. "We finally proved something." It didn't come easy for the Pioneers.

In the eight years since he died, Ronald Reagan has lent his name to at least 31 roads, 17 schools, a federal courthouse in Orange County, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier based in San Diego, a missile-testing range in the Marshall Islands and now, a golf hole in Moorpark. It's the par-three 11th hole at Tierra Rejada Golf Course, where the tee commands a sweeping view that includes the Reagan Library on a hilltop in nearby Simi Valley. Course officials and Reagan Foundation executives on Thursday unveiled a plaque set in a rock monument and dedicated to the 40th president, "who always believed, like golfers do, 'Our most glorious achievements are just ahead.' " Taken from his speech at the 1992 Republican convention, the trademark ray of Reagan sunshine is not misplaced on the 210-yard hole, which requires golfers to loft their first shot over a cliff.

Less than a month after approving restrictions on Halloween activities by registered sex offenders, the city of Simi Valley has been sued, accused of violating their 1st Amendment rights and those of their families. The city's new law bans Halloween displays and outside lighting every Oct. 31 at the homes of people convicted of sex crimes. For offenders listed on the Megan's Law website, the city also requires a sign on the front door in letters at least an inch tall: "No candy or treats at this residence.