SET IN STONE: One of the first...

SET IN STONE: One of the first things new freshman at Cal Lutheran did Monday was spiff up the letters that spell “CLU” (B1). Ventura College students plan to tidy the rocks spelling “VC” at their school too . . . Usually winter rain is the culprit. But once, “VC” became “E=MC2”. Said the college’s John Woolley, “We think it was physics students. But that’s a stab in the dark.”

SWISH!: The fourth annual Cedric Ceballos fund-raiser for the Boys & Girls Club of Ventura and Ventura College men’s basketball raised over $50,000. . . . At the alumni basketball game Saturday night, Ceballos hit a spectacular shot from three-quarters downcourt. But state Sen. Jack O’Connell was also impressive. . . . Although he went 0 for 4 in the 161-160 game, he did make one assist. Said the senator: “This is one of my legislative highlights.”

STEP LIGHTLY: The grassy hills and oak-dotted valleys that photo essayist Ed Lawrence captured 30 years ago are now the homes of hundreds of Thousand Oaks residents (B1). In the old days, he watched out for rattlesnakes. . . . “Now I watch out for the family dog. There are homes everywhere I used to tramp.”

BITS ‘N’ BITES: A Westlake firm, Franklin Telecom, is getting into the Windows 95 act (D5C). The firm has a computer card that can speed up the time it takes to transmit data tenfold. . . . Said the company’s Peter Healey: “That means you’re 10 times more productive because you’re not sitting around waiting for a picture to paint on your screen.”