We are watching the conclave of cardinals at the Vatican to see if, on their first ballot, they select a new pope. If that happens, then our attention will immediately focus on the pope, who he is and what changes, if any, he might bring to the Catholic church. We'll also look at his impact on Catholics in Ventura County. But there is to be only one ballot today, so the watch may continue for a few days.

Meanwhile, our coverage of local news continues.

Today, staff writer Stephanie Hoops (shoops@VenturaCountyStar.com) will cover the funeral of Juan Venegas, the 21-year-old Simi Valley soldier killed in Iraq.

Staff writer Charles Levin (clevin@VenturaCountyStar.com) brings some more detail and perspective to the plan by developer Doug Austin to build a couple of high-rise towers (31 and 48 stories) near the Esplanade Shopping Center in Oxnard. Austin says this is a perfect example of smart growth. Others disagree.

We're also watching the stock market today to see how it responds after last week's drop. That story might make it to page one.

And there were a series of Supreme Court actions announced this morning. We're going through those know to determine if we want to bring any of them out to the front page in the morning.