CRANES FOR PEACE: The cranes emerged first...

CRANES FOR PEACE: The cranes emerged first in a tragic children’s story, only to be rediscovered in Ventura by a church secretary reading to her daughter. . . . Now “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes,” the story of a Hiroshima girl who contracted leukemia from the atomic bomb, has inspired the College United Methodist Church to stage its own prayer for peace. . . . Members are folding 1,000 paper cranes to hang in the chapel on Sunday’s anniversary of the bombing. . . . “We want people to be peacemakers in the world,” said secretary Ellen Pearson.

BEACH BUMS: The hot weekend weather packed Ventura County beaches with locals as well as visitors from hot spots around the state (B6). Elizabeth and Michael Olivas of Ventura found themselves with a house full of guests for the week: three grandchildren who were refugees from Orange County. . . . “It’s about 109 degrees where they live in Mission Viejo, so they came to Ventura for the week to cool off and see us--in that order,” Elizabeth said.

FRUIT AND FILLIES: Remnants of the county’s farming past, dozens of stands sell fruit and vegetables at the roadside (B1). . . . But Tierra Rejada Farms in Moorpark doesn’t rely solely on the charms of sweet corn and string beans. It lures children with pony rides and farm critters. . . . “People come here to get carrots and then head over there so the kids can feed the animals,” salesman Matt Janik said.

NO WAY, 4-DAY: After a two-year trial run, most Ventura County supervisors have decided that the county’s experiment with the four-day workweek may not cut smog and irritates the public, too (B1). . . . But many county employees say their schedule of four 10-hour days is not only good for them personally, but also good for the public. . . . “It allows the public to come before work or after work,” said Sue Bratton of the Personnel Department. “I’d prefer they not go back.”