WATER SAFETY: As two environmental groups issued...

WATER SAFETY: As two environmental groups issued warnings about water purity (A4), Ventura County water districts assured consumers that their supplies are safe. . . . “If you’re drinking 100% Calleguas water, you have nothing to worry about,” said Don Kendall, general manager of the Calleguas Water District, which delivers water to about 500,000 customers. . . . The Casitas Water District, however, which uses dual chlorination to treat the water it provides to about 55,000 consumers, is building a pressure filtration plant to meet state requirements, said civil engineer Steve Wickstrum.

SHIFTING GEARS: The New York-based College Board is changing the way Scholastic Assessment Tests are scored--but please, don’t call it a dumbing down of the feared college-entrance exam (B1). . . . Board officials choose to call it “recentering.” One reason for the change: The student population taking the test has changed--and grown. . . . About 10% of high school students took the test in 1950, compared to about 50% now.

SCOUT’S HONOR: Pam Moise will receive a Silver Beaver award from the Boy Scouts of America’s Ventura County Council at the group’s annual dinner tonight. . . . Moise, one of five volunteers receiving the council’s highest honor, has three sons in Troop 234, where she devotes up to 40 hours a week as assistant Scoutmaster. “Our lives are Scouting lives,” said Moise, 35, of Oxnard. This summer, she’ll teach crafts at a camp in Frazier Park. . . . Fans scout her out everywhere. “I go to Thousand Oaks and kids will recognize me in the mall,” she said.

QUIET, PLEASE: Silver Strand residents worried about noise pollution aren’t alone (B1).) . . . Ventura County residents are trying to tone down sounds from freeway hum to barking dogs. “People are a lot more sensitive [to noise] than they were 15 years ago,” said Bob Naslund of Phoenix-E Structures of Camarillo. His recommendation to shut out jet noise? Acoustical windows--and special ventilation to let fresh air in.