MUD PACT: Homeowners in the Ventura Keys...

MUD PACT: Homeowners in the Ventura Keys are mulling a plan to end their lawsuits against the city and hack $1,275.48 off the nearly $2,000 annual fee they each pay to dredge their back-yard canals, which are continually filling with silt (B1). . . . The Save the Keys Committee is pushing the 302 Keys homeowners to approve the proposed settlement. . . . Says committee chairman Harvey Wilson: “It’s the only deal we can get at this point.”

CRACKDOWN: La Colonia residents complain that Oxnard police are harassing innocents--particularly young Latinos--in the officers’ bid to keep a lid on gang warfare (B1). . . . Little League coach Michael Contreras said of the cops’ approach: “What they are doing is gang tactics, too.” . . . Replied Sgt. John Gomez, head of the La Colonia police substation: “You’ll probably get more complaints, but we’ll still be out there aggressively.”

RUN FOR IT! Over hill, over dale, the extreme sport of ultra-running pits human stamina against heat, rain, ruts and snakes (Ventura County Life, Page 8). . . . Ultra-runners who pound cross-country for up to 100 miles and 30 hellish hours are probably the only ones who truly understand their sport. . . . “People think we’re nuts because we’re going beyond what’s normal,” says ultra-devotee Ruben Alarcon, 50, of Ventura, who once ran a 50-miler in a Colorado blizzard protected only by a light Windbreaker. “The way I see it, they’re missing out.”

ABANDONED SHIP: Twenty-five years ago today, a 467-foot, 12,500-ton luxury liner broke loose from its moorings during a nasty storm, ran aground in Oxnard and stayed for a while. . . . La Jennelle’s owner could not afford to move it, and several divers died exploring the wreck at the south end of Silver Strand Beach. . . . So, the California Senate agreed unanimously to spend $1.4 million to cover the hulk with rocks and concrete, turning it into a park.