GYM GEM: The enrollment slump at Ventura...

GYM GEM: The enrollment slump at Ventura County’s three community colleges hasn’t discouraged district officials. They’re talking about building a fourth campus in Thousand Oaks (B1). . . . The district’s smallest campus, Oxnard College, hopes to lure more student athletes with next year’s opening of a $4.8-million, 1,700-seat gym, complete with racquetball courts, dance studios and training room. . . . “It’s been difficult to have a comprehensive community college because of our lack of an athletic facility,” said Ronald Jackson, vice president of student services. . . . The sports complex will be Oxnard’s largest and will be open to the entire city.

VIDEO VISIT: Another Oxnard school will be in the spotlight Friday when acting state Supt. of Public Instruction William D. Dawson visits E. O. Green Middle School to honor its designation in May as a national Blue Ribbon School. The selection committee noted Green’s track record with disadvantaged children--60% of its enrollment--and praised its high-tech math and science programs. . . . Example: The school has its own broadcasting studio, allowing Dawson to talk to the 977 students via classroom video. . . . Also selected as a Blue Ribbon School: Oak Park High.

NEW LIFE: It’s smaller on the outside, but bigger on the inside. The new Ventura County Life section has more entertainment columns, more listings, more consumer news and new how-to-find-it guides--all in a handier format that’s easier to keep around all week. (Ventura County Life, Section J)

SCUTTLE BUTTS: As recently as July, you could light up at almost any restaurant in Ventura County. Then Moorpark and Thousand Oaks adopted anti-smoking laws, and now Ojai is climbing on the ban wagon. . . . The City Council told its attorney to write a law to prohibit smoking not only in restaurants, but also at Libbey Bowl, the city’s popular outdoor arena. . . . Sidewalks remain neutral territory, Mayor Steven Olsen said. “We’re not trying to prevent people from enjoying the right to smoke.”