Metrolink Holiday Toy Express Train to be Suspended in 2013

The Metrolink Board of Directors decided in late September that the 2013 Metrolink Holiday Toy Express will be suspended in order to help close a $10.2 million funding gap for the 2013-14 fiscal year. This would have been the 17th annual event, which the agency indicates costs $269,000 to host.

Last year, the Metrolink Holiday Toy Express, 40+ city tour, passed through six counties as a brightly packaged gift – a 450-ton train decorated with holiday displays, a musical performance and 50,000 twinkling lights and of course, Santa.

The rail agency is considering seeking private funds or corporate sponsors to operate the train in the future. But without significant private sponsorship commitments in place, the Board of Directors felt it would not be prudent to move forward with this year’s Holiday Toy Express.

Funding for the Holiday Toy Express will be reconsidered by the Metrolink Board of Directors for 2014.

ABOUT METROLINK

Metrolink is Southern California’s regional commuter rail service in its 20th year of operation. The Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA), a joint powers authority made up of an 11-member board representing the transportation commissions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, governs the service. Metrolink operates over seven routes through a six-county, 512 route-mile network. Metrolink is the third largest commuter rail agency in the United States based on directional route miles and the eighth largest based on annual ridership. www.metrolinktrains.com

Buenaventura Art Association Seeks Entries for 5th Annual Watercolor Competition

Buenaventura Art Association Announces Call for Entries for 5th Annual Watercolor and Aqua Media Open Competition
Restful Mooring, by Rex Kochel, Best of Show winner 2012

The Buenaventura Art Association, in partnership with the California Gold Coast Watercolor Society, is announcing a call for entries for its 5th annual Watercolor & Aqua Media Open competition. This competition is open to professional and amateur artists from Ventura, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles counties. The exhibition of selected entries will run from October 2 to October 28, 2013 at BAA’s Harbor Village Gallery, 1591 Spinnaker Drive, Ventura.  Entries must be submitted online via the art association's website, www.buenaventuragallery.org, no later than midnight, Monday, September 21.
 
Cash prizes and a one-year, non-volunteering membership will be awarded to one Best of Show and two First Place winners, one in the Watercolor category and one in the Aqua Media category. Two Second Place winners will receive cash prizes and a 6-month membership; two Third Place winners will receive cash prizes and a 3-month membership, and two Honorable Mention winners will receive 3-month memberships. A reception and awards ceremony will be held Saturday, October 5, from 5pm to 8pm at the gallery.

Specifications:

Transparent Watercolor – On a single piece of untreated watercolor paper.
Aqua Media – All paintings must be executed only in water-based media. Water-based media on watercolor canvas, acrylic canvas, paper, illustration board, watercolor board, clayboard, or yupo may be entered. If collage is incorporated, only paper painted in water media will be accepted. No 3-D work, commercially printed material, or gold leaf.
 
Z.L. Feng will be the juror for this competition.  Feng is an artist-signature member of the American Watercolor Society, the National Watercolor Society, and the Pastel Society of America (as master pastelist). His work has been featured in The Artist’s Magazine, American Artist, Watercolor 90, Watercolor Highlight, Omni Magazine, Watercolor Magic, and the Chinese National Magazine, China-Watercolor. Before coming to the U.S. in 1986, Feng received his BFA degree from Shanghai Teacher’s University and taught in its art department for four years. He completed his MFA degree at Radford University in 1989 where he is currently a Professor of Art.
 
More information about the Buenaventura Art Association and its merger with the Gold Coast Watercolor Society, as well as the prospectus for this competition, can be found on the association's website, www.buenaventuragallery.org or by calling 805-648-1235.

Thousand Oaks Transit to Add Saturday Bus Service on August 17th

Effective August 17, 2013, Thousand Oaks Transit (TOT) will begin Saturday bus service from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on the same four routes as weekday service.

Saturday service will be free to all riders though October 12.

The Thousand Oaks Transportation Center at 265 South Rancho Road will be open Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 8:15 p.m. with ticket sales available between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. 

The City was recently awarded a $600,000 Federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Grant which help make the addition of Saturday service possible as part of a three year demonstration project.  Saturday bus service is expected to attract up to 400 riders per day.

TOT is the fourth largest transit system in the County with over 150,000 bus riders per year and TOT provides nearly 90,000 Dial-a-Ride trips to seniors and the disabled annually, more than any service provider in Ventura County.

TOT uses clean-burning compressed natural gas buses that are fully accessible to riders with mobility devices and are equipped with free Wi-Fi and easy to use bike racks. For additional information and schedules, please visit www.TOTransit.org or call the bus information line at 805-375-5473.

Source: City of Thousand Oaks website at toaks.org.

Ventura County Residents Sought for Cancer Prevention Study Starting in September

Image Courtesy of American Cancer SocietyVentura County Supervisor Kathy Long recently announced that beginning this September, Ventura County residents have the chance to participate in research through the American Cancer Society to help identify ways to prevent cancer. This study is called the Cancer Prevention Study-3 (CPS-3) and is for individuals who are between the ages of 30 and 65 years old and have never been diagnosed with cancer.

The American Cancer Society’s goal is to enroll at least 300,000 adults from various racial/ethnic backgrounds from across the U.S. in CPS-3. The purpose of CPS-3 is to better understand the lifestyle, behavioral, environmental and genetic factors that cause or prevent cancer and to ultimately eliminate cancer as a major health problem for this and future generations.

Enrollment will be taking place from September 11th to September 24th at various locations, including Ventura County Government Center, International Brotherhood of Electrical Worker’s Union, St. John’s Regional Medical Center, Ventura County Medical Center and St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital. But first, visit THIS LINK to learn more and schedule your initial appointment. 

For more information about CPS-3, visit www.cancer.org/cps3 or email cps3@cancer.org or call toll-free at 1-888-604-5888.

Join the Conejo Senior Volunteer Program to Stay Active in the Local Community

Studies show that seniors who volunteer live longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives. The Conejo Senior Volunteer Program (CSVP) helps seniors stay active and involved. If you are 55 or over, you can join over 1,000 local men and women who serve as volunteers in our community.

CSVP volunteers do just about everything: They tutor students, plant gardens, serve as volunteer police and program computers. CSVP volunteers meet community needs and make a lasting difference. Your life experience is your best qualification! You’ll receive the support you need to put your know-how to work for others or learn new skills. You become part of a family of caring volunteers supporting our community.

And like most CSVP volunteers, you’ll find that by helping others you help yourself. Conejo Recreation and Park District sponsors the Conejo Senior Volunteer Program. We have been promoting volunteerism in the Conejo Valley since 1972. Call CSVP for a free brochure with exciting volunteer opportunities at (805) 381-2742, visit www.crpd.org/csvp or in person at the Goebel Adult Community Center.

CSVP is located in the Goebel Adult Community Center at 1385 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks. Office Hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 4:00pm.

Chris Harrison Named 2013 Honarary Chair of Thousand Oaks Arts Festival

Television host, Chris Harrison, of ABC's The Bachelor, has been named the 2013 Honorary Chair of the Thousand Oaks Arts Festival.  The two-day Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on September 21 and 22 at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza and The Lakes.

Chris Harrison began his television career by covering local sports in Oklahoma, but a visit to L.A. in 1999 ended in a permanent move and later that year Harrison landed the job as host of HGTV’s "Designer’s Challenge," consistently ranked as one of the network’s highest rated shows. In 2001 he became host of ABC’s hit romance/reality series The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.

Harrison will again co-host ABC’s live coverage of “The Miss America Pageant” in September 2013. Additional hosting credits include “Emmys Red Carpet Live” at the 2012 Primetime Emmys; ABC’s 2011 “American Music Awards Red Carpet”; ABC’s 2008 “American Music Awards Red Carpet Live!,” and “Road to the 60th Primetime Emmy® Awards.” In 2010 he announced the creation of his own production company, Harrison Productions, and that he will continue to host and executive-produce all of TV Guide’s red carpet shows.

The Festival features more than 60 local visual artists as well as a variety of local performing artists on two stages.  An interactive children’s area lets youngsters experience art on a personal level, and wine tasting offers adults a quiet respite during the weekend.  Visitors to the Arts Festival will also have the opportunity to meet Harrison in person.

Thousand Oaks Arts Festival admission and parking are free to the public.  Artist prospectus and application deadline is August 15 and performing artists’ applications are due August 1.  Both applications are available on the website, www.toartsfestival.com or call 818-991-6158.

Thousand Oaks to Moorpark Metrolink Station Shuttle Service Begins July 15

In response to requests for commuter bus service between the City of Thousand Oaks and the Moorpark Metrolink Station, Thousand Oaks Transit (TOT) is partnering with Metrolink to operate weekday commuter shuttle service beginning July 15. Service is free to all riders from July 15 through August 16 from three convenient locations

• Thousand Oaks Transportation Center - 265 South Rancho Road
• Oaks Mall Bus Stop – Adjacent Mall at 350 West Hillcrest Drive
• California Lutheran University Bus Stops - Olsen Road and Mountclef Boulevard

The new service is funded in part by a $20,000 Federal Transit Administration grant. Service will operate between Thousand Oaks and the Moorpark Metrolink Train Station six times daily during peak morning and evening hours. The first shuttle departs at 5:15 a.m. from the Thousand Oaks Transportation Center and the last shuttle departs the Moorpark Metrolink Station at 7:55 p.m. Service is scheduled to connect with most Metrolink trains traveling between Moorpark and the Los Angeles area. 

After August 16th, the fare amount is $2.50 each way but service will remain free to Metrolink pass holders and passengers with a same day single-ride Metrolink ticket. Seniors, disabled persons, and Medicare cardholders ride for half of the fare amount. Transfers between the commuter shuttle and local TOT buses are free. The GoVentura Card is not accepted.

The weekday service will be operated by MV Transportation on 14 passenger vans powered by compressed natural gas. Vans are ADA accessible, equipped with bikes racks, and will have free Wi-Fi.  The Metrolink Commuter Shuttle Program schedule and times are available online at www.TOTransit.org. For the most current train schedule, visit www.metrolinktrains.com.