the discovery of tar balls and clumps of oil on more beaches in southern california is prompting new concerns. beaches in ventura county have reopened after the u.s. coast guard and other agencies collected samples yesterday. officials are trying to figure out if the substance is related to the oil spill in santa barbara earlier this month. officials are also testing sample was nearby beaches that washed ashore this week. joining me now, chris richard, usa today s l.a. bureau chief. with a welcome back to the show what s the latest on the investigation into the accident? well, there s a lot of activity going on. it s a tough slog at this point. they ve recovered quite a number of birds and sea mammals that are under care at this point. and as you pointed out, they re investigating what s going on with these tar balls that are turning up in these beaches in ventura and then down in los angeles county at manhattan beach. they re still trying to discover the source of those. chris