Thousand Oaks

The twins who now can't bear to be apart some of the time once couldn't stand to be together anytime. "In junior high it was constant bickering, like, 'You're on my side of the room!' " Janette Penfield said. "We almost had our parents build a wall in our room to separate us." Such a wall inevitably would have come tumbling down, because Janette and Carrie Penfield of Thousand Oaks High have long since reconciled such differences.

This contemporary Italianate villa in Thousand Oaks sits on 24 acres adjacent to the Sherwood Country Club. Its wrought-iron entry gates open to white-fenced pastures, expansive lawns and hills dotted with mature oak trees. Location: 578 W. Potrero Road, Thousand Oaks 91361 Asking price: $13.995 million Year built: 1986 House size: Four bedrooms, six bathrooms, 9,203 square feet Lot size: 24 acres Features: Wine cellar, glass-walled entertainment pavilion, private chapel, aviaries, stables, tennis court, lake, bonsai garden, bridges, 11 waterfalls.

A group of angry Thousand Oaks neighbors is fighting to keep a scenic stretch of Potrero Road from becoming another Ventura Freeway. Residents such as Michele Bellerue say their houses are deceptively peaceful at midday, with hawks soaring above the national park across the street and even quail scurrying on the road. But on weekday mornings, the scene changes. The roadway in front of her residence becomes a busy commuter route used by truckers and motorists alike, Bellerue said.

Two of the nation's best high school sprinters will try to make history at the 95th annual state track and field championships beginning Friday at Buchanan High in Clovis. All eyes will be on Khalfani Muhammad of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and Ariana Washington of Long Beach Poly, defending champions in the 100 and 200 meters. Qualifying is Friday and the finals begin at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. Expectations are high for Muhammad after he clocked personal-best times in both events at the Southern Section Masters Meet last week.

Two of the nation's best high school sprinters will try to make history at the 95th annual state track and field championships beginning Friday at Buchanan High in Clovis. All eyes will be on Khalfani Muhammad of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and Ariana Washington of Long Beach Poly, defending champions in the 100 and 200 meters. Qualifying is Friday and the finals begin at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. Expectations are high for Muhammad after he clocked personal-best times in both events at the Southern Section Masters Meet last week.

Address: 1733 Blue Canyon St., Thousand Oaks 91320 Listed for: $695,900 Size: Five bedrooms and three bathrooms in 2,465 square feet Lot size: 0.18 acre Features: The two-story house, built in 1998, has ceiling fans, plantation shutters and a three-car garage. MLS ID: 11008882 About the area: In the 91320 ZIP Code, based on 75 sales, the median sales price of existing homes in the first quarter was $565,000, down 6.6% from the median during the first quarter of 2010, according to DataQuick.

Pop star and singing competition judge Britney Spears is a Thousand Oaks homeowner, public records now show. The property came on the market in August at $8.5 million and was withdrawn from the Multiple Listing Service within a month. A withdrawal is a tactic sometimes used to hide celebrity home purchases. The sales price was not disclosed. The Mediterranean-style house, built in 2010, is in the Lake Sherwood area. Features include pocket doors, limestone and oak floors, beamed ceilings, two offices, a temperature-controlled wine cellar, a home theater/bonus room, five bedrooms, seven bathrooms and 8,456 square feet of living space.

FRIDAY'S RESULT Simi Valley Royal 5, Thousand Oaks 4 Leading contributors: Clayton Elliott and Jeff Winters each drove in a run for No. 7 Royal. Avondre Bollar hit a solo homer and Dustin Kahle was two for three with two doubles and two runs batted in for No. 20 Thousand Oaks. The scoop: Bryan Berglund's three-run, walk-off double in the seventh inning completed Royal's comeback from a 4-2 deficit.

The charming Conejo Valley community of Thousand Oaks transforms itself into an Old West haven during the annual Conejo Valley Days festival. Main street gets done up in its sarsaparilla-sipping finest, and a bevy of parades, events and foodstuffs will be on sale. Giddyup. Conejo Creek Park South, 1379 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks. Thursday through Sunday. $7. http://www.conejovalleydays.org.

Authorities were still searching Friday morning for two missing teenagers who they believe ran away from their homes in Thousand Oaks and may be suicidal. Capt. Dave Wareham of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department said late Thursday that deputies had turned their attention away from a 2,000-acre park and had cast their net wider.   Kaylee Rebert, 14, and Nicholas Marino, 13, are believed to have run away from home early Thursday. Wildwood Park was a likely spot because Kaylee knew the park well and was there Wednesday, Wareham said.

Harry Birrell, 85, a radio reporter and news anchor whose deep bass voice was heard on KNX (1070) for more than 30 years, died Saturday at his home in Thousand Oaks of complications from interstitial lung disease, said his son Walker. Birrell joined KNX in 1968 and was a regular weekday anchor on the all-news station until 1993, when he retired. But he continued to file daily reports of Ventura County news from his home in Thousand Oaks until January 1999. The Radio and Television News Assn.

Aided by calmer winds and cooler temperatures, fire crews began gaining control Saturday of a fast-moving blaze that scorched large swaths of rugged mountain terrain and forced mass evacuations in Ventura County. By late afternoon the so-called Springs fire, having engulfed about 28,000 acres since its Thursday start, was 56% percent contained and all mandatory evacuation orders were lifted. Though the blaze has damaged 15 homes and five commercial buildings, no residences have been destroyed and no injuries have been reported, officials said.

Hundreds of battle-wary firefighters made the transition to mop-up mode Sunday as the 28,000-acre Springs fire in Ventura County was declared 75% contained, with full containment expected Monday. Several engine companies were sent home Sunday as hand crews worked to establish a more-than-mile-long fire break in the Hidden Valley area to complete containment of the blaze, which burned all the way from Thousand Oaks to the ocean. “We're going to have this thing out by tomorrow,” Ventura County Fire Capt.

Aided by cooling temperatures, the massive Springs fire in Ventura County has slowed considerably overnight and is now 60% contained, Cal Fire reported Sunday. The fire has burned 28,000 acres. Because of minimal fire activity, Cal Fire said in a statement, "there is an increase in demobilization of firefighting resources. " Though the blaze has damaged 15 homes and five commercial buildings, no residences have been destroyed and no injuries have been reported, officials said.

Cool temperatures and moist air are expected to continue to help firefighters get a handle on a massive wildfire near Thousand Oaks through the weekend, with a 50% chance of rain on Sunday. High temperatures throughout most of the region were forecast to drop to the low 60s and mid-70s Saturday from just over 90 degrees the day before, said Scott Sukup, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service. The cooling weather and rising humidity levels caused the weather service on Friday night to cancel red flag fire warnings in the area.

A massive wildfire that was devouring huge swaths of brush in Ventura County reached the Pacific Coast on Thursday night after burning for more than 14 hours, officials said. The Springs fire, which had charred at least 8,000 acres of vegetation, reached Pacific Coast Highway near Yerba Buena Road,  Ventura County Fire Department spokesman Bill Nash told KCAL-TV Channel 9. The fire had been raging for more than 14 hours after breaking out shortly before 7 a.m. near Camarillo Springs.

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. * Adriana Ramirez, 27, has an upbeat spin on her little piece of Ventura County.

A 40-minute high-speed pursuit came to an end Friday in Thousand Oaks, where a driver lost control of his sports car and a CHP cruiser slammed into the side of it, officials said. TV images showed California Highway Patrol officers with guns drawn quickly surrounding the car and forcing a man out with his hands above his head before he laid down on the ground and was handcuffed. CHP officials said they are waiting for a report from the field on why the pursuit began. The officials said the pursuit began at 8:11 a.m. in Tarzana, with suspect speeding on the 101 Freeway and later the 23 Freeway and then taking to city streets in Thousand Oaks.

Two teenagers thought to have run away from their homes in Thousand Oaks and described as possibly suicidal have been found "in good health," authorities said Friday. Kaylee Rebert, 14, and Nicholas Marino, 13, were found in Newbury Park about 3 p.m. Friday after someone reported seeing the pair, the Ventura County Sheriff's Department said. Deputies found them a short time later. The teens were not in any danger when they were found, the department said, adding that at this time there was "no crime associated with this incident.