SPANKING NEW: It’s no big surprise that...

SPANKING NEW: It’s no big surprise that some of Ventura County’s newest school campuses are in high-growth areas. . . . Moorpark, for years the county’s fastest-growing city, has opened four new campuses since the late 1980s, most recently in September. Oak Park and Camarillo have also built new schools to ease crowding. Relocating campuses to replace decrepit sites is also big: Moorpark’s Community High moved several years ago, and Oxnard High is getting new digs, although they won’t be ready until next summer at the earliest.

TELEDYNE PAYS: Settling a lawsuit filed by a whistle-blower, Teledyne Inc. will pay $5.56 million to resolve allegations that the company’s Newbury Park electronics division falsified aircraft systems tests (B4). Stephen Reddy, who sued under the False Claims Act, gets $869,000. . . . In a similar case several years ago, Glenn A. Woodbury--now a Simi Valley school board candidate--lost his job at another firm after blowing the whistle there. He also sued. Even with the law, Reddy said, “it is real difficult to . . . stick your neck out.”

PAYING THE PIPER: The hoopla officially starts today as the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza celebrates its gala opening. . . . But the city has raided some of its reserves to help cover land and construction costs for the $86-million complex (B5). Meantime, the plaza will be dedicated tonight and host its inaugural performance.

FROM ITALY, WITH GOLD: A Port Hueneme woman has roller-skated her way to a gold medal at the World Rollerskating Championships in Italy. . . . Dezera Salas, 22, captured first place in the women’s freestyle event over 38 women from 22 countries--and not with newfangled in-line skates, thank you very much. She practices--and teaches--at the Skate Palace in Oxnard. In the town of Salsomaggiore, where the contest was held, she became a bit of a celebrity after nightly TV broadcasts. “Roller-skating is huge in Italy,” she said.

New Schools

Here are some of Ventura County’s newest campuses and their opening dates:

Oxnard High School: 1995

Tierra Linda Elementary, Camarillo: 1994

Mesa Verde Middle, Moorpark: 1994

Red Oak Elementary, Oak Park: 1993

Medea Creek Middle, Oak Park: 1992

Source: Ventura County schools