Gavin Smith, an executive for 20th Century Fox, disappeared without warning and without a trace on Tuesday night—and he hasn't been heard from since. Smith was last seen leaving his home in Oak Park in Ventura county, but he didn't give anyone a clue about where he might be or what might cause him to disappear. more ›

Akio Takahashi, 69, and his son, Yugo, 25, have been running a family business that the Ventura County Sheriff's Department worked for several months to bring down. The Thousand Oaks father-son duo were arrested this week for allegedly running an illegal marijuana storefront and engaging in money laundering, says the VCSD. more ›

How did two bodies end up in the waters off SoCal's coast within a 24-hour-period? Two separate cases are under investigation in two counties.The first incident involves the body of 32-year-old Sarah Overholser of Oxnard, whose body was removed from the waters at Point Mugu State Park in Ventura County. more ›

Enjoying the hot, dry wind against your face today? Many SoCalians are not. Several brush fires have been reported, and 12,000 Edison customers are without power. High wind advisories were in effect until 3pm today. more ›

Hold on to your hats and fire extinguishers, L.A.! The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory until 3pm this afternoon and a red flag warning until 6pm today. The LAFD has also issued a red flag alert for the City of L.A. more ›

After not seeing her daughter for four years, a Ventura County mom and her child have been reunited. The Ventura County Star reports that Chioma Gray was 15 when Andrew Joshua Tafoya, then 20, pulled up to her high school, gathered her into a car, and took off for Mexico. more ›

CVS Pharmacy got called out, and now they're going to be paying out: The company announced today they will pay $2 million as a result of a consumer protection civil lawsuit filed earlier this month by the District Attorneys of Los Angeles, Riverside and Ventura counties. The suit alleges CVS used false advertising by not providing an immediate discount for some advertised items. more ›

He might be an "Angel forever," but 64-year-old George Christie, Jr. could spend forever in a federal prison. Christie, a former president of the Ventura County Chapter of the Hells Angels outlaw motorcycle gang, is one of four defendants hauled in today on federal charges for plotting to bring down a couple of local tattoo shops. more ›

A manhunt launched five days ago to find two young Ventura County inmates who broke free from their labor crew in the Hollywood Hills has concluded with the pair's apprehension. Pablo Ladislow Ontaneda, 18, and Christopher Ochoa, 19, were located last night to a home in Jurupa, according to NBCLosAngeles. more ›

Carmageddon, pfft! The real threat to our safety and sanity are the rabid bats that are flapping around SoCal, at the ready to bite and infect. If you believe the NY Daily News, who, with (sarcasm) zero scorn for us, warn we're experiencing a bat "take over" in L.A. and Ventura Counties. more ›

The Ventura County Sheriff's Department announced this morning they have busted up a large marijuana growing operation set up in the Los Padres National Forest, north of Ojai. The raid netted 68,488 pot plants, with an estimated street value of $205,464,000, making this the largest single cultivation in Ventura County's history. more ›

Ventura County Sheriff's investigators seized 68,488 marijuana plants at the largest plantation ever discovered in the area, reports KTLA. The plants were uprooted, and were estimated to be worth about $205 million. The growing area was located in the Los Padres National Forest, just north of Ojai. more ›

Seven men and one boy have been arrested on suspicion of gang-raping two girls in Ventura County, one in March and the other in April, according to LA Now. Reportedly the men met the victims on social networking sites and lured them to a home in Santa Paula. Police are seeking possible additional victims. more ›

Breathalyzer machines used to gauge blood alcohol levels by authorities in Ventura County appear to have a defect, which means that hundreds of drunken driving convictions could get thrown out based on inaccurate readings, reports the VC Star. The county owns 128 machines, the Intoximeter Alco-Sensor V, which cost about $4,800 apiece. more ›

It's been a rough year for sardines. In March, 2.5 million perished in Redondo Beach when they ran out of oxygen. Now, the same fate has befallen thousands more in Ventura County, reports the Daily News. The fish passed away yesterday, as officials hurried to scoop them out of the harbor. more ›

Ventura County is under quarantine, according to officials, after an aphid-like citrus pest that can carry an untreatable disease was discovered in Camarillo, reports the Associated Press. This weekend, California's Department of Food and Agriculture is expected to survey the area before beginning two pesticide treatments. more ›

The Ventura County Fire Department has said a camper reported seeing hundreds of gallons of oil seeping onto the beach around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, reports KTLA. Authorities believe the spill is coming from a nearby oil field and were working to identify the exact source. more ›

Jaime Solis Olmos was convicted on charges of "attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder," against his pregnant girlfriend and their unborn child, reports the Daily News. Olmos, of Oxnard, now faces "25 years to life in prison for paying two men $500 to stage a robbery and punch his pregnant girlfriend so she would have a miscarriage." more ›

Last week it was an Orange County golfer who sparked a fire last week when he swung, hitting a rock and sparking a 25-acre blaze. And yesterday it was a bobcat that ignited a five acre fire in the small town of Piru, east of Santa Clarita. “It looked like he was climbing up a pole to chase an owl or another bird,” Capt. Dan Preston told the Ventura County Star. "The animal apparently hit the power wires, caught on fire and fell to the ground, Preston said. That ignited the brush." The bobcat did not survive. more ›

In its 3 p.m. broadcast today, KCAL 9 showed footage of pouring rain and flash flooding in Lake Elsinore. Meteorologist Henry DiCarlo said the storm cell was producing two to four inches per hour. That's quite a difference from the clear blue skies and extreme heat we're feeling here in the immediate Los Angeles area. more ›

A plastic surgeon known for his work on high-profile celeb clients has died in an automobile crash on Pacific Coast Highway, reports KTLA. Dr. Frank Ryan, 50, was in his Jeep Wrangler when the vehicle "went off PCH at Deer Creek Rd. in Ventura County around 4:30 p.m. Monday and landed on a rocky embankment." more ›

Oxnard City Hall was locked down on Friday while investigators from the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office served a search warrant, according to the Ventura County Star. more ›

Three brush fires that broke out in each of three SoCal counties yesterday called for aggressive tactics by responding fire personnel, but are under control today. Here's a look at the latest on the fires: more ›

Police aren't taking a vacation this Fourth of July weekend. In fact, more plan to be on the roads watching out for the overly inebriated. Case in point, the California Highway Patrol this weekend will begin a Maximum Enforcement Period at 6:01 p.m., meaning all available officers will be out on the roads through midnight on Monday. more ›

A man was arrested recently in Ventura for secretly filming up women's skirts right in front of the County's government buildings, according to abc7. more ›

Abby Sunderland's unsuccessful attempt to circumnavigate the globe solo aboard her sailbot, Wild Eyes, and her Indian Ocean rescue have raised criticism among the public that her parents had ulterior motives for their 16-year-old daughter's voyage, and that they were foolishly endangering their child by allowing her to pursue her ambitious goal. more ›

While strawberry farmers in Ventura County and up the coast fight a possible state decision to use a pesticide they think it dangerous, citrus farmers have a problem of their own: Huanglongbing disease caused by the Asian citrus psyllid. "It is the most serious citrus disease in the world. It affects more trees quantitatively than other causes. You can't sell your fruit, and it kills every tree it infects," said John Krist, CEO of the Farm Bureau of Ventura County, according to Scripps. For those who shop at farmers markets, many providers come from the county. In California, the citrus industry is worth $12.2 billion. more ›

Perhaps this is another reason to go organic at the farmers market. Methyl bromide, a popular fumigant used on Strawberry fields from Ventura and up the California coast, is being phased out because it "depletes the earth's protective ozone layer," according to the Associated Press. In its place, the state's Department of Pesticide Regulation is proposing to allow the use of methyl iodide instead, which some fear is worse. more ›

A 200-lb brown bear has been eluding authorities in Oxnard since the wee hours of this morning after he was "first spotted about 2:20 a.m. in the parking lot of a fire station on Vineyard Avenue," reports the Ventura County Star. more ›

Gilroy may have its Garlic Festival and Los Angeles may have lost its Tofu Festival (and let's not forget the upcoming Asparagus Festival in Stockon and Artichoke Festival in Castroville), but out in neighboring Ventura County, the California Strawberry Festival continues to rock on, bringing out hordes of people. This year, the sweet fête will take place on the third weekend of May and will, as always, include strawberry-infused foods of every kind: kabobs, funnel cake, flan, cotton candy, beer, wine and more. Unconfirmed, but we hear this year will include some celebrity chefs and mixologist-inspired drinks. The festival is also host to one massively large arts & crafts section, with around 250 booths. General admission is $12 more ›