Ventura County

Mark and Cindy Evans make the rounds of Southern California flea markets early, before most shoppers have gotten out of bed. Their favorite stops: The Groves Antique Market Held the first Sunday of the month from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Irvine Valley College, 5500 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine. Admission and parking are free. Dogs allowed. (949) 786-5277. Pasadena City College Flea Market Also held on the first Sunday of every month, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Due to a scheduling change, the market happens to be open this Sunday.

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.

A woman was arrested on suspicion of stabbing her husband with a small kitchen knife Monday afternoon, police said. Myrtis Franklin, 46, was involved in a domestic dispute with her husband, Patrick Baker, at their home in the 700 block of Paseo Camarillo when she stabbed him in the back, authorities said. The wound was not deep, they said. "We're talking a quarter-inch here," said Sheriff's Capt. Stephen Wade. Franklin was being held at Ventura County Jail on suspicion of spousal battery.

Hundreds of battle-weary 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 fire break more than a mile long in the Hidden Valley area to complete containment of the blaze, which burned from Thousand Oaks to the ocean. "We're going to have this thing out by tomorrow," Ventura County Fire Capt.

A transvestite's body riddled with bullets. A well-dressed, middle-aged woman lying strangled in a southeast Oxnard ditch. Two buddies shot to death in sleepy Piru. These cases keep detectives wondering at night, the murders of 1995 that remain unsolved. The year was a slightly above-average one for murder in Ventura County: Since Jan. 1, 31 residents have been found shot, strangled, stabbed, starved and otherwise deprived of life.

Two men have been arrested in connection with a marijuana farm in upper Ojai where Ventura County sheriff's deputies found 1,321 mature plants, authorities said Sunday. Mark Bautzer, 42, of Palm Springs and Michael Gale, 45, of Mexico were arrested Thursday after the plants were found inside two sheds on Bautzer's property on Sulfur Mountain Road.

Have you taken your kid to a show lately? No, not a movie. We're talking about live, right-up-there-on-the-stage, entertainment. Live concerts used to be strictly adult fare, but not anymore. Children's entertainment--even for kids barely past toddler age--is hot now, here in Ventura County and elsewhere. Brian Bemel's Ventura Children's Festival is bringing in acts from across the country. And at the Dorill B. Wright Cultural Center in Port Hueneme, a series of kid shows has been launched.

Oxnard remained the murder capital of Ventura County in 1990, recording a 50% increase in homicides that contrasted with a slight decline in murders for the county as a whole. Nine of the county's 20 homicides during the year took place in Oxnard, up from six murders there in 1989. Across the county, homicides dropped slightly from 23 in 1989. The decline in the county's overall murder total continued a decade-long decline from a high of 38 county homicides in 1980.

At an amphitheater in a Ventura County park surrounded by rolling hills and sandstone cliffs, about 150 people recently gathered to watch an outdoor screening of a film montage called “Oak Park in the Movies.” The film was a compilation of clips from classic movies shot in the 45-year old community of Oak Park at a former movie ranch in southeast Ventura County that served as a backdrop for such vintage films as “Of Mice and Men” (1939)...

Camarillo print shop owner Tim Anderson can't wait to vote for Democrat Julia Brownley in a key Ventura County congressional race, a contest eyed by both major parties as they struggle for control of the House. Anderson thinks the liberal state assemblywoman and former Santa Monica school board trustee is a good fit, and a needed change of direction, for Ventura County. But Mark Hansen, a regional sales manager, thinks the seat should stay red. He was happy with Elton Gallegly, Ventura County's voice in Congress since 1987, who announced his retirement this year.

Scott Dettorre was a young firefighter in 1993 when the infamous Green Meadow wildfire swept through, leaving a path of destruction from Ventura County to Malibu. The fire, which destroyed 53 homes and consumed 44,000 acres, caught firefighters unprepared and prompted officials to rethink the way they fight blazes driven by fierce Santa Ana winds. This week, Dettorre helped lead the battle against the Springs fire, which like the devastating 1993 blaze covered a wide swath of the county.

The second day of searing temperatures and unseasonably strong Santa Ana winds kept firefighters busy Friday battling blazes that threatened homes in Ventura County, Glendale and Walnut, but the day ended with hope that cooling conditions would ease the siege. The day was filled with tense moments as the Springs fire lurched closer to homes near Thousand Oaks and a fast-moving blaze in Glendale prompted evacuations and temporarily shut down parts of a busy freeway interchange. Although the amount of burned acreage increased significantly Friday, the fires did not cause major damage to structures.

The Southern California wildfire season got off to an ominous start Thursday with a massive brush fire in Ventura County that officials fear is just a preview of dangerous months ahead. The fire showed in dramatic fashion how the region's record dry conditions and lack of rainfall can quickly combine with fierce Santa Ana winds to produce widespread havoc. Firefighters said the dry winter and spring left the brush much more combustible than they've ever seen it at this time of year.

Terry Doebler woke up choking from the smoke. Doebler, 80, and her 82-year-old husband, Paul - retired New York transplants living in the Camarillo Springs neighborhood of Ventura County - had seen brushfires before in their 15 years there, but this was the first time a blaze forced them to evacuate. "I opened the front door and the whole mountain was on fire," Paul Doebler said. The Doeblers were among hundreds of residents in several Ventura County communities who fled their homes Thursday to escape a fast-moving brush fire that burned 8,000 acres and threatened thousands of homes.

One pilot died after two small planes collided Monday afternoon over Ventura County, sending one plummeting into a mountainside and forcing the other to land on a golf course. Both planes were Cessna single-engine aircraft. At least one had departed from Santa Monica Airport before crashing about 2 p.m. in the Santa Monica Mountains, according to preliminary information from the Federal Aviation Administration. The other, which had three people on board, belly landed at the Westlake Golf Course.

Following the lead of Los Angeles County voters, Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks plans to introduce an ordinance that would require actors in adult films to wear condoms. The supervisor said such a measure may encourage producers of such films to go elsewhere, according to the Ventura County Star .  “If it means they can only film someplace else, that would be fine with me,” Parks said, according to the Star. The ordinance would apply to unincorporated areas of Ventura County and is expected to be taken up by the Board of Supervisors in May. One of the nation's most prominent pornography producers is suing Los Angeles County in federal court to overturn its new law. The suit by Vivid Entertainment, filed in January in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, says the condom measure, approved by 57% of L.A. County voters in the Nov. 6 election, violates the 1st Amendment protection of free expression.

Set behind wrought-iron gates and sitting on a hill facing the ocean, this Tuscan-style villa in Ventura County was designed for large-scale entertaining. Outside, a motor court driveway can park more than 50 cars. Inside, features include a sports bar den with five plasma TVs and a theater system. Location: 750 Camino Tierra Santa, Camarillo 93010 Asking price: $6.9 million Year built: 2008 Builder-designer: Don Glen Boehm House size: Five bedrooms, 51/2 bathrooms, about 12,000 square feet Lot size: 2.78 acres Features: Includes 1,894 square feet of indoor/outdoor living space, 1,153-square-foot garage with a gym and tanning room, grand entry, two-story living room, two dining rooms, arching masonry and stone walls, hand-carved woodwork, stone crown molding, indoor and outdoor fireplaces and wine coolers, multiple balconies, guest quarters plus a guest house, two-booth recording studio, game/event room, salon with hair cutting bay and nail station About the area: In the first half of the year, 180 single-family homes sold in the 93010 ZIP Code at a median price of $410,000, according to DataQuick.

PORT HUENEME: Phase 4 of Weston Development's 134-unit Pacific Collection; 10 3-4-bedroom, 2-3-bath detached homes, 1,460-2,420 square feet; $263,950-$339,950; June move-ins; open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily at 2490 Seamist Court, reached from southbound Victoria Avenue exit of Highway 101.

Southern California is marching toward its fourth-driest year since 1877, and that has firefighters increasingly girded for battle. In the hills of Los Angeles County, tests show the brush is drying out at a significantly quicker rate this year because of the lack of rain. In Ventura County, firefighters say the parched conditions feel like what they typically see in June or July. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, which handles fire protection for about a third of the state, said it has dealt with 150 more blazes so far this year compared with 2012.

The air show at Naval Base Ventura County, which had been expected to draw upward of 200,000 people with the Blue Angels headlining, is being canceled because of the automatic budget cuts called sequestration. "The community here in Ventura County is very supportive and we appreciate their understanding while we navigate the fiscal constraints we've faced this year," Capt. Larry Vasquez, the base commander, said Wednesday in announcing the cancellation. The announcement came a day after the Blue Angels announced that the famed squadron was canceling all of its remaining shows this year, including the Ventura County show, the three-day air show at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego, and San Francisco Fleet Week.