FLYING HIGH: The Channel Islands wing of...

FLYING HIGH: The Channel Islands wing of the California Air National Guard celebrated a quarter-million accident-free miles with a buzz around the county in a C-130 (B1). . . . Maj. Marlene Mahoney says the most challenging period of her reserve service came in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm. “The first night there, we had to sleep with our guns and our gas masks. For me, that was one of the scariest things, because you realized how real the war was.”

MUDDY WATERS: Those storm-churned waves look great, but many surfers have learned that they’re a bacterial minefield because of sewage backups and runoff (E1). . . . Younger surfers seem to feel more immune to the possibility of disease, says Glen Kent of Oxnard, who works with the Ventura County chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. “When I was younger, the best time to surf was in stormy water,” said Kent, who’s 40. “You’d be paddling through debris and solid mud.” Now, when surfers of his generation see the soiled ocean, “they won’t go out.”

PICTURE PERFECT: Even tougher than getting a seat at this year’s Grammy show may be snagging a copy of the official poster. Oxnard’s Custom Printing--which has done posters for ‘60s artist Peter Max, the World Cup Games and the Ventura County Fair--made more than 7,000 of the posters, which quickly became collector’s items. . . . “They did the job right,” says Michael Ammann, whose company handled the graphic design. One copy is hanging in the lobby of Capitol Records in Hollywood, he adds.

COACH-IN-TRAINING: Brian Donahue loves basketball. He stars as a point guard for Moorpark High, while coaching an eighth-grade team and officiating in another youth league (C8). . . . But his current passion for basketball is just a warmup, Donahue hopes. “I want to be a coach,” he says. “Right now, helping them helps my game. Teaching someone else also teaches yourself.”