LIGHT BRIGADE: In an effort to head...

LIGHT BRIGADE: In an effort to head off the sort of deadly accidents that have killed four county residents in the last month, Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol are asking drivers to use their headlights on the California 118 between Oxnard and Moorpark. . . . The California 126 east of Fillmore has also recently been posted with signs asking motorists to turn on their lights. The move is voluntary, but the CHP hope drivers will take their advice. “From a safety standpoint, it makes sense,” CHP officer Dave Cockrill said.

CAUTIOUS CRUISERS: Speaking of safety, Cockrill said the new 65 mph speed limit hasn’t translated to more accidents. As a matter of fact, he said, motorists are driving a little slower than they did before the Dec. 17 speedup. “I don’t know if they’re afraid of getting a ticket or are a little more conscious of their driving,” he said. . . . Cockrill reminds drivers to continue playing it safe on New Year’s Eve. The CHP will be out in force, with two additional cars earmarked to look for drunk drivers.

ROSY TIME: Lauren Elson has spent the last two New Year’s holidays in the Rose Parade’s Honors Band, playing the clarinet. She’ll be back on the job this year, but in a more elite corps--she’s one of 10 dancers who will follow the royal court. . . . In the long run, the 16-year-old Westlake High senior wants to become a doctor specializing in sports medicine. But in the short run, she admits to some nervousness: “In the band, no one knows if you’re messing up on your music.”

STILL SEARCHING: Of the 31 homicides committed in Ventura County this year, six are unsolved (B1), although detectives are still working them. . . . One case from years ago that continues to baffle cops is that of Yasuo Kato, a Camarillo businessman and martial-arts expert who was discovered stabbed in his garage in February, 1992. Theories on a motive in the crime included anti-Japanese racism or an organized crime hit, but no arrests were ever made.