Ventura County

* Doug Messner, a financial advisor in the Ventura County office of PaineWebber Inc., has been named corporate vice president. Messner, who also serves as a retirement planning consultant and associate branch manager, joined PaineWebber in 1987. * Handel Evans, president of California State University at Channel Islands, has joined City National Bank's Ventura County advisory board.

Country comes to the county this weekend when the Oak Ridge Boys swing by the Ventura County Fair. To read about their show, find out where to browse for art such as this painting by Martin Parker, left, and to find news and listings on other entertainment events and reviews, turn to the new Ventura County Weekend pages inside today's Calendar section.

Ventura County Life Doug Adrianson sits in with some old-time fiddlers and discovers the music is as fresh as ever. Workplace Violence Some county businesses are resorting to extensive background checks and psychological tests to keep workplaces free of violence. Editorial Education at all levels in Ventura County has never been more available, or more important. Perspective Managed, sustained growth is necessary if our children are to be able to buy homes where they grew up, writes Jon Haines.

Moving away from individual campaigns that have sometimes pitted one city against another, Ventura County economic boosters are creating a group to promote countywide tourism. Momentum for a collaborative marketing campaign was building before the Sept. 11 attacks, said Janel Huff, director of the Economic Development Collaborative of Ventura County, which hosted a tourism brainstorming session last week.

A decade after Ventura County voters decided to preserve agricultural greenbelts, residents have rejected large-scale housing developments in Ventura, Santa Paula and Moorpark while approving only a handful of small projects. Under the Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources laws, city councils can still approve development that falls within the city's urban boundary, but any project outside urban borders must go to voters for approval.