PUMPED UP: Ventura County is the fourth...

PUMPED UP: Ventura County is the fourth leading oil producer in the state, thanks to independent oil companies that have been snatching up wells from major companies and squeezing black gold from the ground. . . . But representatives of some major oil companies warn not to discount them entirely. Even though Mobil Oil has announced that it is closing oil wells north of Ventura, it still has interest in the county. “We are always looking for new opportunities,” Mobil spokeswoman Dolores Taylor said.

PEACE OFFICERS: The Oxnard Peace Officers Assn. will give proceeds from its annual Christmas tree sale to victims of a Dec. 2 shooting rampage where four people died, including Police Detective Jim O’Brien. . . . The tree stand was being set up at the Centerpoint Mall when the shooting occurred. “It just seemed like the thing to do,” said Officer Scott Hebert, noting that fewer than 200 trees remain. “The response has been great.”

TAX BREAK: Ventura County officials will draw up new rules aimed at purging unqualified landowners from a farmland conservation program (B1). . . . The program gives farmers and ranchers tax breaks for agreeing to keep their land in agriculture for at least 10 more years, but some unqualified landowners have been taking advantage of the program.

MICHAEL MANIA: With the entertainment world aflutter over Michael Jackson’s legal troubles, law enforcement officials are recalling perhaps the pop icon’s most memorable visit to Ventura County. Jackson, wearing a fake mustache and a cheap wig, was browsing through a Simi Valley jewelry store in 1989 accompanied by an adolescent boy. The disguise triggered the suspicions of store employees who called police. . . . “He wasn’t there to rob the store; it was simply his way to go undetected,” said Sgt. Ken Tacke, who responded to the call. “Even though it was a cheap disguise, you would not have recognized it was Michael Jackson.”

Still Pumping

Oil production in top California counties in 1991, in thousands of barrels: Kern: 231,247 Los Angeles: 39,296 Fresno: 13,728 Ventura: 12,998 Orange: 9,454 Santa Barbara: 7,561 Source: California Statistical Abstract, 1992