SURF N’ SIP: What’s new on the...

SURF N’ SIP: What’s new on the Net? Coffee and croissants. You can order them and other munchies over the Internet from the Surfnet Cafe, Ventura’s newest trendy coffeehouse. . . . Once inside the restaurant, you can sign on to a terminal and surf the Net for $6 an hour. Brothers Jim LeCroy, a computer scientist, and Stephen LeCroy, a restaurant manager, own the venture. . . . “They put their heads together and came up with this,” said sister Yvonne. Find them at jlecroy@surfnetcafe, or 1445 Donlon Ave., 658-1287.

NO DUMPING: An Oak View man was sentenced to 60 days in jail for dumping tons of debris into the Ventura River. . . . That material was then washed downstream by winter storms (B1). State lifeguard Craig Sap called the act “unconscionable”. . . . Said Sap: “He had to know what would happen. Water is the No. 1 force on Earth. If you put anything in the flood-plain area of a river, it’s going to end up in the ocean or on the beach.”

FILLMORE COMMUTER: Fillmore City Engineer Bert Rapp cuts his commute time by hopping on the bus. . . . At least three days a week, the Oak View resident drives to Ventura to catch the Vista bus and ride it 25 miles out to Fillmore. It saves on air pollution, time behind the wheel and, perhaps as important, wear and tear on his car, a 1968 Mustang he has had since high school graduation. . . . “I figure the bus saves me about $7.50 a day. That’s a pretty fancy lunch.”

BEAR NECESSITIES: Bears and other wildlife in Yosemite National Park need calm to flourish, and an Oxnard company has just the thing (D7D). . . . APS Systems is selling the park an electric bus to replace one in the park’s noisy and polluting diesel fleet. . . . Said Hank Snyder, chief of park resources: “The diesel buses let out this great bellow as they accelerate.” That startles the bears and makes them nervous. “The new buses ghost by, almost like a sailboat,” he said.