To celebrants

With the Fourth of July on Wednesday, please celebrate by flying the Stars and Stripes, and leave the fireworks to the professionals. There are fireworks shows planned all over Ventura County for your enjoyment. In most cities, setting off your own fireworks is both dangerous and illegal.

To Ventura

With the Push-em-Pull-em Parade starting at 10:30 a.m. today followed by the Street Fair, your downtown will be a magnet for fun seekers.

To Fillmore

Your baffling city continues to be the only one in Ventura County where the sale and use of fireworks are legal. Service clubs and charities in other cities manage to raise money without resorting to such pandering.

To book browsers

Wright Library on Day Road is the place to be today, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., for a book sale by Friends of the Ventura Library.

To Ojai

Will Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger become a part-time resident of your charming community? We're told that the governor was house shopping there recently.

To Camarillo

All the critters in the county Animal Shelter at Camarillo Airport must be thankful that this year's fireworks show will take place farther away at Camarillo High School — thanks to city officials.

To the county

In keeping with an annual charade in county government, the Grand Jury chides the chief administrative officer, who responds by chiding the Grand Jury.

To Oxnard

Some folks think that your vibrant community already has more than its share of power plants — and that's a view shared by your Planning Commission, which nixed another plant at Mandalay Beach.

To rock fans

We're not talking about gemologists, but about fans of rock music, who should be flocking to Lake Casitas today, from noon to 10 p.m., when Rock Fest rocks on.

To Steve Bennett

Unlike the politicians now playing coy about running for office, you've already announced that you will be seeking re-election as county supervisor. (We assume that you won't be expecting an endorsement from Supervisor John Flynn.)

To shoppers

It's good news that both sides in the supermarket dispute have gone back to the negotiating table. With 3,000 workers and 45 markets in Ventura County involved, what everyone needs is a settlement, not a strike.

To taxpayers

A Boston trial has dragged on for a year over the question: Should taxpayers pay for a sex-change operation for a prisoner serving life? Some judge should have taken about 10 minutes max to say, "No way."

To cash cravers

You may be interested to know that the ubiquitous ATM is now 40 years old — and there are now 1.5 billion on our planet, with 400,000 in the U.S.