REI Grand Opening Event at The Collection at Riverpark in Oxnard on March 22-24

REI invites the public to its grand opening celebration at its new store at The Collection at Riverpark on March 22–24!

REI Oxnard will provide Ventura County area outdoor enthusiasts with top-brand gear and clothing for camping, climbing, cycling, fitness, hiking, paddling and more. The store will also include a bike shop, alone with a full range of services to cyclists. The store will also offer a wide selection of outdoor rental equipment.

The Grand Opening Celebration is set to include the following:

Free Continental Breakfast
Get fueled up before the activities begin! A light breakfast will be available on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, starting one hour before the store opens. (Doors open at 10am Friday and Saturday, and 11am Sunday.)

Shop Early, Get a Gift! The first 200 people (age 12 and older) through the door on Friday, Saturday and Sunday will receive a limited-edition CamelBak water bottle with a $10, $25, $50 or $100 REI gift card inside.

Free Limited-Edition Member T-Shirt
Get a free limited-edition REI Sport Tech T-Shirt when you purchase an REI membership ($20 one-time fee) during Grand Opening Weekend. Offer good while supplies last.

REI Oxnard Sweepstakes* Enter to win great prizes, March 22–24, at the Oxnard store only. One sweepstakes per day. *No purchase necessary to win. See www.rei.com/stores/oxnard.html for details and official rules.

Miller Family YMCA Kicks Off Activate Newbury Park Program on Wed, April 3rd

Activate Newbury Park is a free, 8-week program open to all members of our community. The program involves walking groups on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, with special activities thrown in on some of those dates (see schedule). Every few weeks, we will host a new medical professional from the UCLA health system to do a health lecture on Wednesday nights.

The program will begin on April 3 at our kick off Family Fitness Expo at the Newbury Park High School Gym from 5pm to 8pm. You are encouraged to register online, but you may also register at the Expo on April 3. A number of local vendors will be in attendance from our medical and health community to advertise their businesses and give free screenings. All participants will do their first confidential weigh-in at the kick off event. Weigh-ins will be each Friday at the YMCA anytime between 6am and 8pm.

Visit www.sevymca.org/newburypark/html/activate.html for more information.

Conejo Valley Unified School District Recycling Program Mascot is Selected!

A competition to select a mascot for the Conejo Valley Unified School District’s (CVUSD) recycling program has ended.  “Recyclops,” the recycling Cyclops was chosen to become the new green face of CVUSD recycling.

The competition took place across all middle and high schools in the district. Students were asked to vote for their favorite mascot, either by texting or through the program’s Facebook page. ReCyclops will be featured in an upcoming video to help promote and encourage bottle and can recycling at CVUSD campuses. Hundreds of votes were received over the three-week period the competition ran, and dozens of students won prizes for voting.

“The whole aim of the contest was to get the students engaged with the program,” says CVUSD Recycling Coordinator Joanie Burns. “We not only wanted to give them some ownership, by letting them select their mascot, we also wanted to draw attention to the new www.CVUSDRecycles.org website and Facebook page.

CVUSD Recycles is a joint effort between the Conejo Valley Unified School District and the City of Thousand Oaks. The program is funded through a grant from the State of California and provided recycling containers for all CVUSD campuses, allowing the schools to effectively collect California Redemption Value (CRV) containers. 

Additional information can be found at www.cvusdrecycles.org.

Cal Lutheran to Launch Gallegly Center for Public Service and Civic Engagement

CLU to launch Elton Gallegly center  

Internships, research to be part of new program

California Lutheran University is launching a new center and academic program in collaboration with former Rep. Elton Gallegly.

The Elton and Janice Gallegly Center for Public Service and Civic Engagement at CLU will be dedicated to preparing a new generation of leaders. As part of the university’s Master’s in Public Policy and Administration program, the nonpartisan center will provide students with extensive experiential learning opportunities at the local, state and national levels. The focus will be on developing public servants of character and integrity.

MPPA Director David Powell and faculty members Haco Hoang and Herb Gooch are developing a combined undergraduate and graduate degree program to put students on a fast track to careers in public service. The students who are selected for the program will be Gallegly Center Fellows. They will be able to pursue internships in Washington, D.C., Sacramento and locally. As graduate students, the fellows will complete a research project and field practicum that will prepare them for public service careers. The first two fellows are seniors Nina Kuzniak, a political science and global studies major from Las Vegas, and Zachary Zabo, a political science and criminal justice major from Louisville, Ky.

Gallegly, who just left Congress after completing his 13^th term, is loaning his legislative and personal papers to CLU so that students and faculty can use them for research. He is also donating his desk and other office furniture for display at the university. The Simi Valley resident is the longest serving congressional representative in Ventura County history. He began his public service when he was elected to the Simi Valley City Council in 1979.

Future plans for the center include providing student scholarships and public affairs research grants, bringing in visiting scholars and speakers, and hosting forums on public service highlighting leadership and civic engagement.

CLU and Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Library officials are discussing a partnership that could provide additional opportunities. Possibilities include students interning at the library, scholars conducting research at the library while teaching at CLU under joint appointments, and the library’s distinguished speakers working with students during their visits. Eventually, CLU may help the library develop graduate seminars in crisis decision-making.

With Gallegly’s help, CLU will begin a $3 million fundraising campaign for the center.

New NEOS Ring Electronic Playground at Conejo Community Park in Thousand Oaks

During a recent visit to the Conejo Valley Botanic Garden, I noticed something new in the adjacent children's playground at Conejo Community Park. Upon further inspection, I discovered there is what looks to be a new NEOS Ring electronic playground.

These NEOS playgrounds involve selecting a game involving lights, sounds and music and chasing them down by pressing buttons on the unit. NEOS can be a fun form of exercise for kids and adults alike. While I've never quite been able to understand most of the games (well maybe I should say I haven't taken the time to understand them), all I know is, the kids are entertained by these.

Other local NEOS play areas are at Conejo Creek Park North (though last time we were there it was out of order), Janss Marketplace (adjacent to Gold's Gym) and Peppertree Park in Newbury Park. If you are aware of others in the area, lemme know!

The NEOS at Conejo Community Park is a "ring" style NEOS device that is "designed especially for early childhood and accessible playspaces. One freestanding user control panel gives kids access to six games for one to two players. Then they're off in a mad dash around the 6' (1,83m) ring to hit the six blinking buttons before it's too late" according to NEOS manufacturer Playworld Systems. Playworld indicates the NEOS Ring is geared towards ages 2 to 12. If you're looking to buy one for own backyard...it retails for over $16,000!

The NEOS playgrounds at Janss Marketplace and Conejo Creek Park North are of the "Wall" variety while the Peppertree Park NEOS is circular. Here's the NEOS Wall at Janss Marketplace:

Conejo Community Park is located at Dover and Hendrix Avenues in Thousand Oaks.

Pizzeria 312 Simi Valley Opened February 22

After several months of renovations, Pizzeria 312 opened at at 3921 Cochran Street in Simi Valley on February 22nd in the former location of a Lamppost Pizza.

According to its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Pizzeria312, Pizzeria 312 is a Chicago Style Pizzeria specializing in premium pizza and pasta, using only the freshest and highest quality ingredients.

The restaurant also carries a variety of craft beers, an extensive wine list and 14 big screen TVs.

I like their Meatball Sandwich description on their website at www.pizzeria312.com: Three homemade meatballs jammed into a French roll baked with marinara and melted mozzarella.  (Makes me hungry for one!)

Chicago-style pizza = deep dish pizza. What is the significance of 312? My suspicion is that they selected this name as it just so happens to be the area code for the downtown Chicago area.

Roller Skates to Cheapskates...a New 99¢ Only Store Opens in Thousand Oaks

As previously mentioned last December, there is a new 99¢ Only Store now open at North Oaks Plaza, 950 Avenida De Los Arboles in Thousand Oaks. Looked pretty busy yesterday!

Roller Dome, you are gone (over two years ago in fact), but not forgotten. Perhaps some day we will find a pair of 99¢ roller skates in this store.