WALK THIS WAY: It may not look...

WALK THIS WAY: It may not look as cool as those gaunt Olympians grabbing cups of water on the fly, but these women power-walking through The Oaks mall (F1A) are burning just as many calories per mile as a runner. . . . Dr. Fred Fauvre, an Ojai cardiologist, says it’s a simple principle of physics: It takes the same amount of energy to hoist a brick up a mountain whether you do it quickly or slowly. . . . So hoist your bricks as slowly as you like.

SMOOTH SEAS: While a trucker strike cripples commercial ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach (B15), the Port of Hueneme bustles merrily along. . . . Hueneme handles mostly car and citrus shipments, not the big metal containers languishing portside down south. . . . Likewise, the port hasn’t seen any extra traffic as ships search for new harbors. “We’ve got a lot of trucks out there, but it’s part of our normal business,” port spokesman Kam Quarles said.

ESPRIT LINGERS: Plans to sell the global operations of Esprit (D2) will probably not spell doom for the clothing outlet in Camarillo, according to corporate spokesman Don LaVigne. . . . However, he added, “to speculate what might happen in the future is difficult.” . . . The store, believe it or not, is one of only 17 outlets that Esprit operates in the country.

COSTCO FRENZY: Sure, the air may have been soupy and the heat almost insulting, but Wednesday was a good day to be a Simi Valleyite: Costco finally opened. . . . “Oh, it’s wonderful,” said Debbie Weiss, pushing a cart full of preschoolers and food. “Now we won’t have to drive out to North Hollywood or Oxnard.” . . . More than 2,000 spenders hit the store in its first half-hour.