TEEN TOWN: Bob Buckles wasn’t surprised to...

TEEN TOWN: Bob Buckles wasn’t surprised to learn that Fillmore has proportionately more teen-agers than any other Ventura County city. . . . “We do have a lot,” said Buckles, whose job as recreation director is to keep them all busy. “It’s a challenge. We do surveys to find out what they want.” High on the wish list: a skating rink and bowling alley, neither of which is feasible in the small community. . . . One recent innovation is midnight basketball on weekends, an alternative to the street. Next month’s schedule includes a youth car show. “The kids run the whole program. It’s something for them to be in charge of.”

Where the Teens Are

Percentage of residence age 13 to 19:

Fillmore: 12.0%

Santa Paula: 11.1%

Oxnard: 11.0%

Simi Valley: 10.5%

Moorpark: 9.8%

Thousand Oaks: 9.7%

Port Hueneme: 9.3%

Camarillo: 8.8%

Ojai: 8.3%

Ventura: 8.2%

Source: U.S. Census

LONG WEEKEND: Thousands of government workers in Ventura County are enjoying a four-day weekend, thanks to that trend toward Fridays off in many agencies. . . . With Martin Luther King Jr. Day today, about 2,425 Ventura County employees have a total of four days off, as do 1,000 city employees in Oxnard, 400 in Thousand Oaks and 30 in Ojai. . . . Most county workers prefer four 10-hour days, union chief Barry Hammitt said. “The county would have a battle if they tried to take it away.”

BOOSTING DOWNTOWN: Unlike several Ventura County communities--Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, for example--Moorpark has a downtown. But the city has been frustrated in attempts to enliven the High Street area (B6). . . . Some hope to lure quaint shops to create the Ojai of east Ventura County. . . . Moorpark ranks second-to-last in taxable sales among local cities: $3,011 per resident, contrasted with Ojai’s $9,454.

SLOW SIGNAL: “Press Button to Activate Green Signal,” the sign says. So you do. But it doesn’t--at least not for a long time. Does pressing the button again and again make the light change any faster? Street Smart knows (B1). . . . A typical intersection needs eight Walk/Don’t Walk signal boxes, which cost about $300 apiece, Ventura Traffic Engineer Mark Watkins said. And though you might doubt it sometimes, “the buttons all work,” he said.

TODAY: Freedom March honoring King Day; Plaza Park, Oxnard; 8:15 a.m.; free. Info: 385-8147. More events, B2

WEATHER: Sunny, with gusty winds. Highs in upper 60s. (B8)

* The Top of Today’s News is on A2