SITTING PRETTY: California Rideshare Week kicks off...

SITTING PRETTY: California Rideshare Week kicks off today, and transit officials are encouraging motorists to use the new “Smart Traveler” program as a way to share their space with fellow commuters. . . . Under the program, kiosks have been set up at 77 sites, including Simi Valley Hospital, The Oaks mall and the Thousand Oaks Library. . . . The touch-screen computerized service helps commuters scope out the best driving routes or get matched up with riders who are going their way.

SERRA SALUTE: Ventura is getting yet another statue of Junipero Serra, the Franciscan priest who founded California’s missions. . . . The life-sized bronze cast is on the campus of Holy Cross School on Main Street. “We think it’s a fitting addition to the downtown area,” said Msgr. Patrick J. O’Brien, who will bless the statue in a ceremony Tuesday, the day of the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. . . . Serra’s a candidate for sainthood, but his work has come under fire for causing the deaths of many Native Americans in the 18th Century.

FORWARD MOVE: It’s an experimental program with a noble aim: crossing cultural lines and saving lives (B4). . . . Adelante ( forward in Spanish) was started by Ventura County sheriff’s officials in Moorpark to explain law enforcement to recent Latino immigrants. Many have negative images of authority--a holdover from their lives in other countries. “The government, to them, is not the good guys,” Deputy Jerry Hernandez said.

POLISH CONNECTION: A delegation of 21 Polish business executives arrives in Simi Valley this week to learn about effective decision-making, U. S.-style . . . Their leader will be John Cullen, a retired Cal Lutheran University business professor. Between daily seminars and speeches from local business leaders, the group will tour the usual Southern California sights: Disneyland, Universal Studios--and a K mart near their hotel. “They love to shop,” Cullen explained.