As a breaking news reporter, I spend some of my time each day scanning the California Highway Patrol's Web site.

The public CHP site lists calls as they are dispatched, and when I log on, I'm primarily looking for major traffic crashes, fatalities and lane closures.

But often enough, there's another kind of call that catches my eye: "Animal on Road."

That frequently means there's a dog on the road, but I've also seen reports of cows, bears, mountain lions, deer and, once, a hawk.

I wouldn't have thought before I became a reporter that Highway Patrol officers spend significant amounts of time dealing with animals, but Officer Brandon Mumme of the Moorpark CHP said it's not uncommon for officers to handle creature calls.

"It's a part of the job like anything else," Mumme said.

Mumme's list of animal encounters tops my tally, not surprisingly.

He's dealt with the animals I listed, plus horses, sheep, and a startling amount of goats.

One time about three years ago, Mumme had to deal with a flock of at least 40 goats on Balcom Canyon Road, which runs from unincorporated area outside Camarillo all the way to a spot outside Santa Paula.

In that episode, officers parked a patrol car in the roadway, contacted the owner of the goats and did their best to herd them to the side of the road, Mumme said.

CHP officers are trained to deal with traffic hazards, and when an animal shows up in the road, their principle aim is to avoid accidents, Mumme said.

If they're on a rural road, they'll sometimes park in lanes and on a highway they might slow traffic to keep an animal from causing a crash.

They call animal control for help, then sometimes try to catch the animal to keep it from running into traffic.

Dogs are the hardest to deal with, Mumme said. Larger animals are usually less mobile.

Here's a selection of the recent animal calls I've noticed:

Incident:     0067    Type:    Animal on Road    Location:    BALCOM CANYON RD AT SOUTH MOUNTAIN RD    ThomasBrothers:    465 5C    info as of:    8/14/2008 6:52:04 AM
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
6:14AM    COW BECOMING AGITATED
6:13AM    LOOSE COW STANDING IN RDWY
RESPONDING OFFICERS STATUS
6:42AM    CHP Unit Enroute

Incident:     0059    Type:    Animal on Road    Location:    WB SR126 ON VICTORIA AV OFR    ThomasBrothers:    492 3C    info as of:    8/25/2008 7:13:04 AM
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
7:04AM    MEDIUM SIZED PITBULL MIX DOG
7:04AM    DOG WALKING ON THE OFR TOWARDS THE FRWY
RESPONDING OFFICERS STATUS
7:04AM    CHP Unit Enroute

Incident:

0296

Type:

Animal on Road

Location:

SB US101 JSO GAVIOTA STATE BEACH

ThomasBrothers:

365 7J

info as of:

8/29/2008 3:57:27 PM

ADDITIONAL DETAILS
3:17PM	INJURED OWL IN CD FLOPPING IN AND OUT OF #1 LANE
3:17PM	APPROX 1-2 MILES SO ROAD CONST AREA
RESPONDING OFFICERS STATUS
3:26PM	CHP Unit Assigned

Incident:     0081    Type:    Animal on Road    Location:    SR126 AT FISH HATCHERY    ThomasBrothers:    456 6D    info as of:    8/27/2008 8:38:57 AM
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
8:41AM    NEG 1125 SITTING IN CD
8:41AM    40 HAD EARLIER VISUAL, ROLL ANIMAL CONTROL
8:39AM    HAWK SITTING IN CD
RESPONDING OFFICERS STATUS
8:40AM    CHP Unit Assigned

Incident:     0104    Type:    Animal on Road    Location:    W POTRERO RD AT LONG GRADE    ThomasBrothers:    554 4H    info as of:    8/18/2008 9:48:06 AM
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
9:47AM    1144 DOG IN LANES


*(1144 means dead)

Some suggestions from Officer Mumme for avoiding animals on the road:

-    Drive at safe speeds and watch for unexpected creatures around corners, especially in rural areas.
-    If you seen an animal run into the road, slow down but stay in your lane. Dogs frequently cause accidents when people swerve to avoid them. If you swerve "you're endangering human life instead of an animal," Mumme said.

Here's the link to the CHP Web site:

http://cad.chp.ca.gov/

The tragic death of Karey Marsh on Tuesday brings up a topic that is very old news, but which unfortunately still appears frequently on the pages of our paper:

Fatal accidents linked to drunken driving.

Marsh, 46, was jogging in the bike lane of Lindero Canyon Road on the border between Thousand Oaks and Oak Park early Tuesday morning when a car hit and killed her.

The driver, Nicholas Lagrotta, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and vehicular manslaughter, police said.

There's nothing new about links between preventable death and drunken driving. But despite all the programs and public relations campaigns, people still kill themselves and others at an alarming rate when they get hammered and get behind the wheel.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

"In 2006, 13,470 people were killed in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes. These
alcohol-impaired-driving fatalities accounted for 32 percent of the total motor
vehicle traffic fatalities in the United States."

A quick skim of our local headlines makes it clear Ventura County is not exempt.

In the past year alone, we've reported about numerous people who died as a result of inebriated driving.

Take a look at some of our recent stories:

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/aug/26/no-headline---nxxfcfatal27/

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/jul/03/injured-chp-officer-home-after-6-months-of/

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/apr/14/man-killed-vehicle-wreck-identified/

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/apr/02/forensic-experts-say-drugs-found-in-drivers/

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2007/aug/28/teenager-is-killed-two-are-injured-in-car-crash/

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/jan/14/oscar-winning-screenwriter-arrested-in-fatal-in/

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/apr/11/accident-victim-in-critical-condition/

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/may/15/teen-killed-in-crash-had-been-drinking/

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/jul/21/boy-dies-car-crash-driver-held/

In the journalism business, we have to choose our words very carefully, because words that may seem like synonyms can be very different.

That's why when a person is killed by another, we write that police are investigating a homicide, rather than a murder.

Merriam Webster's online dictionary defines "homicide" as the killing of one human being by another.

Meanwhile, the dictionary defines "murder" as the verb meaning "to kill (a human being) unlawfully and with premeditated malice."

Therefore police won't use the word murder until they have determined a killing was criminal, said Det. Eric Buschow of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department's Thousand Oaks office.

Police will generally be investigating a "homicide," but they may use the word murder once a suspect is identified or arrested. A suspect would generally be wanted on suspicion of murder or arrested on suspicion of murder.

Homicide can be deemed murder, or it can be deemed justified, manslaughter, etc. (Manslaughter is defined by Merriam Webster's as "the unlawful killing of a human being without express or implied malice.")

As a reporter, there's an additional level of complication I have to be aware of in cases like these: Even though the manner in which a crime might be described to me by law enforcement or other sources might vary, I have to make sure that I write things in a consistent way.

 For that reason, newspapers and other media outlets have defined "styles" for how they write certain things.

The main standard we use is a guide called the Associated Press Stylebook. It has entries on everything from academic titles to zero-base budgeting.

The entry for homicide reads like this:

"homicide, murder, manslaughter
Homicide is a legal term for slaying or killing.
Murder is malicious, premeditated homicide. Some states define certain homicides as murder if the killing occurs in the course of armed robbery, rape, etc.
Manslaughter is homicide without malice or premeditation.
A person should not be described as a murderer until convicted of the charge.
Unless authorities say premeditation was obvious, do not say that a victim was murdered until someone has been convicted in court. Instead, say that a victim was killed or slain."

I've highlighted the second to last sentence of the entry because it shows that AP style is actually more restrictive than the dictionary definition. Even if authorities are ready to call a killing a murder, we might not use that word if they have not made it clear that the act was premeditated.

We've had comments on several recent stories relating to booking photos, so I thought this would be an opportune moment to explain how we get them.

When someone is arrested in Ventura County, they are booked into county jail, which is under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff's Department.

When we want a booking photo, we have to contact the Sheriff's Department. They release the photo if they get permission from the arresting agency.

The story is different, however, if the person is not booked into Ventura County Jail.

For example, people commenting on our site wondered why we didn't have a booking photo of James Fayed, the Moorpark man facing trial on a charge of operating a money transmitting business without a license. He is also a suspect in the stabbing death of his estranged wife, Pamela Fayed, of Camarillo, according to the LAPD.

The simple answer there is that Fayed is in federal custody, and the feds do not release booking photos, they told my colleague who is covering the case.

Since we're on the subject of booking photos, there are two thoughts I'd like to share.

Thought #1: Booking photos are interesting because they put a face with a name, but they do little to remind us that the people arrested are innocent until proven guilty.

I'm not making any judgment about the merits of running booking photos.

Let's be honest though: Who is going to look innocent when they've just been arrested and are looking right into a camera?

These photos are taken when people are under great stress, and they're not particularly flattering.

I don't remember ever seeing anyone smile in a booking photo, and if someone did, people would likely think it is because he or she is crazy or guilty. And if they're not smiling, then people in booking photos likely look intense, resigned, menacing, frightened, or something along those lines.

As I write this, I'm asking myself, is there anything that could be in a booking photo that would make someone look innocent?

Thought #2: Booking photos are one of the many many things that remind me about the importance of vocabulary.

In the journalism business, we often refer to small photos of people's faces as "mug shots," a phrase that also seems to be associated with booking photos.

I had one particularly embarrassing moment last year when I was talking to a police officer -- from Texas, I believe -- for a story I was writing about his chief, who was speaking in our area.

In a bit of a dumb moment, I asked the officer if they had a mug shot of the chief they could share with us.  Of course, I meant to ask if they had some sort of a photo of the chief they could share. He immediately gave me a resounding no, saying there were no mug shots of the chief.

For him, a mug shot meant a booking photo, so I had inadvertently asked if there was a photo of his boss being booked into jail. Oops. After a few moments of confusion, I understood my mistake and we got a photo.

But man, was my face red after that one.

When Simi Valley police in February released a sketch of a cape wearing suspect in an attempted kidnapping, they didn't have any luck, so this week they released the sketch again in hopes that it will jog memories and help them make progress in the six month old cold case.

You'd think this guy would be hard to miss. On February 21, two teenaged girls in Simi Valley reported seeing the skinny, approximately 30-year-old man naked with a cape tied around his neck. He is described as about 5-feet 8-inches tall. One of the girls reported that he had a high-pitched voice and a small mole on his cheek.

Here's the police sketch:


capeman.pdf

A 14-year-old girl who was walking in the area of First Street and Bennett Drive about 3:40 p.m. told police that she saw this man (naked except for a cape) masturbating as he watched her. She said she saw him as she walked past a green or teal mid 90s sedan.

A short time later, a 16-year-old girl was sitting on the corner of Royal Avenue and Crocker Street when a man matching the same description (read: naked and caped) approached her and told her to get into his car.

She ran away and notified police.

Anyone with information about this individual can call the Simi Police Department's tip line at 583-6984.

If police catch this guy, I know they will have a lot of questions for him. After the serious questions about what he was doing allegedly exposing himself to teens and trying to kidnap at least one of them, I hope they would ask: "What's with the cape?"

Usually I don't describe suffering several broken bones in a car crash as getting lucky, but look at this picture of a car after a crash with a big rig this week, and you'll know why it seems the driver had fortune on his side.



Here's the story of what happened:

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/aug/14/motorist-seriously-hurt-in-crash-with-big-rig/

As you can see from the story, this may have been a case of the driver falling asleep and drifting into the path of oncoming traffic.

Accidents due to drowsiness are not all that uncommon.

Here's a brief I wrote last year about a man who wasn't so lucky when he apparently fell asleep at the wheel.

December 29, 2007

SIMI VALLEY

Man dies following Madera Road car wreck

A 22-year-old Simi Valley man died Friday about an hour after he was critically injured in a traffic accident, authorities said.

Evan Salgado was driving north on Madera Road near Vista Lago Drive in Simi Valley about 7:30 a.m. when his vehicle drifted off the road and hit a traffic signal pole, according to Simi Valley police.

Salgado suffered major injuries to his head and chest and was pronounced dead at Simi Valley Hospital at 8:24 a.m., said Senior Deputy Medical Examiner Craig Stevens.

Evidence at the scene suggested Salgado might have fallen asleep while driving home from his overnight job, police said. Relatives told investigators he was coming home from his first night on a graveyard shift .

There were no tire marks at the crash site, said police Sgt. John Parks. It appears Salgado came to a curve in the road and kept driving straight, which can be an indication of someone who has fallen asleep, Parks said.

Police asked anyone who witnessed the accident to call traffic investigators at 583-6921.

Here are a few more stories about the dangers of drowsy driving:

http://www.knbc.com/news/1991417/detail.html

http://www.thestar.com/article/303731

Full disclosure: One of the two fender benders I've ever been involved in happened when I was a teenager because I was overtired, trying to help out and drive my cousin to my grandparents' house when I should have been napping.

Thankfully, it was a slow speed collision and no one was hurt. It scared the pants off me and taught me a lesson.

Drive alert and stay safe out there.

I was relieved when I arrived at the office early this morning and did not hear about any crime or accident related deaths yesterday, partly because there have been five homicides in the last month.

Last Wednesday, Albino Ramirez, 26, of Casitas Springs was shot dead in Camarillo. His wife and young son were in the car, as was the suspected killer, who they knew. Investigators believe drugs played a role in the motive.

Last Monday, Tina Fuller, 39, of Oxnard was stabbed to death in Oxnard. Police arrested another woman, who was later released because a lack of sufficient evidence, authorities said.

On July 31, Jesus Elery Shinn, 29, of Port Hueneme was shot to death. His case remains unsolved.

On July 26, Linda Price, 67, of Thousand Oaks was found strangled at the apartments where she lived and worked. Police later arrested her 39 year old son, who they described as a transient.
 
On July 19, David Rodriguez Ruelas, 29, of Oxnard was stabbed to death in a crime police believe was gang-related.

Last year, the Ventura County Medical Examiners office tallied 19 homicides, the lowest number since the office began keeping track in 1974.

So far this year, 17 people were killed by others in the county's boarders.

That doesn't include local residents killed elsewhere, such as Pamela Fayed of Camarillo, who was stabbed to death in Century City.

Authorities have not made any connections between any of the cases.

As of today, arrests have been made in nine of the killings. In at least six of those, the victim knew the suspect. Four suspects are relatives of the victim.

The fact that many of the homicide suspects knew their victims is no surprise to police.

Here's a fact from the FBI's 2006 uniform crime report, which includes data from agencies throughout the country:

"In incidents of murder where the relationships of murder victims and offenders were known, 21.6 percent of victims were slain by family members, 23.1 percent were murdered by strangers, and 55.3 percent were killed by someone with whom they were acquainted."

Here's that page if you are interested in more facts:

http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/offenses/expanded_information/homicide.html
 

It's big, it's hungry and it craves information.

It's always out there, and no matter what you feed it today, it's going to be hungry again tomorrow.

It's the news hole, the seemingly infinite public desire for information.

In journalism circles, it's known as the Beast, because every day we have to make sure we have information to feed it. If we don't, we might cease to exist.

And nowhere is the beast more ravenous than in the world of breaking news.

(Well, at least from my perspective as a breaking news reporter ... but really, I'm pretty sure it's not more ravenous anywhere else ... Anyway ...)

In times past, reporters rushed to get the story for the next day's paper, or maybe the evening edition. If you were a radio reporter you might break into a broadcast. A television reporter would hustle to make deadline before a newscast.

But that was before 24 hour T.V. Way before the Internet.

In the digital age, we don't feed the Beast once a day, we feed it constantly.

I was thinking about this on Wednesday after a long day of covering a homicide in Camarillo.

(Here's the final story: http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/aug/07/passenger-fatally-shoots-man-in-vehicle/)

I started covering the story shortly after 6 a.m. when I heard from the Sheriff's watch commander that deputies were investigating a possible homicide.

After putting a brief on the web, I hurried to the scene, called back to the officer to report the little I could find out, talked to the Sheriff's spokesman, and shot some video.

Then I went back to the office and put an updated story on the web.

A short time later, I called the medical examiner's office, added the shooting victim's name to the web story.

Then I set to work on a short video about the homicide.

Now, all this time, I wasn't working in a vacuum.

The local radio station, KVTA, was putting up updates, too (there were probably other news outlets involved too. That was the only one I was watching, though). And if they had something we didn't, people commenting on our web site let us know lickety-split.

When the radio reported first that the Sheriff's department had named a suspect, for example, I heard about it from colleagues and hurried to add that to my web story.

All this while, I'm trying to get in touch with family members of the victim. They are grieving, of course, and understandably busy, so I'm trying to conform to their schedule. I'm happy they want to talk to me at all.

Still, I have to drop what I'm doing to update the web story when we learn that the suspect in the homicide has been arrested.

(At some point during the tumult, I finish the video so we can put it on the web, and I speak to the shooting victim's brother.)

Later we find out that there's a press conference near the crime scene, and my breaking news partner, John Scheibe, rushes out to cover that.

With the information he gets and an additional interview with the Sheriff's spokesman I rewrite the story for publication.

Just as I finish, coworkers stop by to ask if I have anything new.

Readers are already clamoring for more.

For reporters, public records are like buried treasure.

In my job in particular -- reporting on crime and breaking news -- incident reports, arrest reports and court records can be incredibly important.

For example:

When we were reporting on the Pamela Fayed homicide case last week, we found a vast amount of information by looking up documents relating to her divorce case, which were filed in Ventura County Superior Court.

Such documents can be extremely useful because they are detail mines.

Police frequently decline to release details of cases, saying that doing so could compromise their investigations. The California Public Records Act gives them broad leverage in this realm.

Especially when a cops reporter can't get details from the police, finding a public document is one of his or her best options.

Documents have mountains of detail laid out in black and white.

Details that can be reviewed, details that can be photocopied and analyzed.

When we were reporting on the Fayed case, I went to court not knowing exactly what I would find. I returned with a pile of papers.

Later that day, one of our business reporters, Stephanie Hoops, and I discovered that Pamela Fayed had accused her husband during their divorce of violating money transfer laws, something that was the focus of a recent federal crackdown, as Stephanie had recently learned.

That became our lead-in, and it became even more relevant in the coming days when we learned Pamela's husband, James Fayed, was arrested by the FBI on suspicion of running a money transfer business without the proper license.

That's just one example of the wondrous world of public records.