Custom Melt in Moorpark Closed Its Doors in Late August
/Custom Melt, which opened its doors in May 2012, announced on August 31st that it has closed. The owners continue to operate Custom Pie next door at 6593 Collins Drive in Moorpark.
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Cal Lutheran University Ranked 16th in U.S. News List of Top Regional Universities
/U.S. News & World Report ranked California Lutheran University among the top regional universities in the West for the 21st consecutive year.
Cal Lutheran is ranked 16th in the top tier of 87 regional universities in 15 Western states. The field included universities that provide a full range of undergraduate majors and master’s degrees but few doctoral programs. The rankings were released today in U.S. News’ 2016 Best Colleges report.
The Thousand Oaks-based university, which provides many opportunities for students to work closely with professors inside and outside the classroom, had a student-faculty ratio of 16-to-1, and the proportion of its classes that had fewer than 20 students increased to 59 percent. The proportion of classes with 50 or more students held steady at 1 percent.
Students working with assistant professor of biology Kristopher Karsten on lizard research (Photo credit: Brian Stethem)
The report also considered the freshman retention rate, graduation rate, the university’s assessment by peers at other colleges, and the alumni giving rate. It looked at the academic qualifications of freshmen by factoring in the acceptance rate, the standardized test scores of freshmen and the proportion of freshmen in the top 25 percent of their high school class.
Cal Lutheran ranked 14th among regional universities in the West in the U.S. News Best Colleges for Veterans list. The university has appeared in this ranking every year in this list's three-year history.
The university made the U.S. News list of A-Plus Schools for B Students for the sixth year in a row, showing that admissions policies are flexible enough to allow some students who aren’t at the top of their classes to get in and that students can then go on to thrive during their undergraduate years.
The latest rankings are posted at usnews.com and will be featured in the “Best Colleges 2016” guidebook that is available online and will hit newsstands Sept. 29.
Cal Lutheran also made this year’s lists of Forbes’ America’s Top Colleges, Money’s Best Colleges, Washington Monthly’s Master’s Universities and PayScale’s College Salary Report.
With an enrollment of about 4,200 students, Cal Lutheran offers undergraduate and graduate programs through its College of Arts and Sciences, School of Management, Graduate School of Education, Graduate School of Psychology and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. It has additional locations in Woodland Hills, Westlake Village, Oxnard, Santa Maria and Berkeley.
County of Ventura Food Facility Closures Mid-May 2015 through August 2015
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The County of Ventura Environmental Health Division (EHD) protects public health and the environment by ensuring conformance with State laws and County ordinances pertaining to food protection, hazardous materials, hazardous waste, individual sewage disposal systems, land use, medical waste, ocean water quality monitoring, recreational health, solid waste, underground fuel tanks and vector control.
The EHD publishes food facility closures at www.ventura.org/rma/envhealth/community-services/consumer-food/closures.html.
The following closures were noted from mid-May 2015 through August 2015. Keep in mind when reviewing this that there are many possible reasons for the closures, most of which are very temporary issues.
August 2015
Island Squeeze Cafe, 3301 E. Main Street, Unit 1072, Ventura;
Cockroach infestation, unsanitary conditions;
Date closed - 08/31/15; Date reopened - 09/02/15
Sam's Club, 2401 N. Rose Ave., Oxnard;
Inoperable plumbing, no water for hand washing or utensil washing;
Date closed - 08/30/15; Date reopened - 09/01/15
TR Oil, 3050 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks;
Rodent infestation, unsanitary conditions;
Date closed - 08/26/15; Date reopened - 08/27/15
Ojai Ranch House, 102 Besant Rd. Ojai;
Unapproved remodeling of the facility;
Date closed - 08/24/15; Date reopened - 08/31/15
Rice Thai, 387 E. Main Street, Ventura;
Cockroach infestation, unsanitary conditions;
Date closed - 08/24/15; Date reopened - 08/31/15
Jack in the Box #3237, 2580 Vineyard Avenue, Oxnard;
Cockroach infestation, unsanitary conditions;
Date closed - 08/19/15; Date reopened - 08/20/15
Gandolfo's NY Deli, 2790 Seaglass Way, Oxnard;
Rodent infestation, unsanitary conditions;
Date closed - 08/18/15; Date reopened - 08/20/15
Hook, Line & Sinker Seafood #2, 2950 Johnson Drive, Ventura;
Inoperable plumbing resulting in inability to properly wash utensils;
Date closed - 08/18/15; Date reopened - 08/18/15
Erringer USA, (food sales only), 1356 Erringer Road, Simi Valley;
Rodent infestation, unsanitary conditions;
Date closed - 08/17/15; Date reopened - 08/18/15
Manny's El Taco De Mexico, 1038 Avenida de los Arboles, Thousand Oaks;
No warm water available for handwashing, unsanitary conditions;
Date closed - 08/17/15; Date reopened - 08/18/15
Carla's Bakery, 319 W. Los Angeles Avenue, Moorpark;
Cockroach and rodent infestation, unsanitary conditions;
Date closed - 08/11/15; Date reopened - 08/12/15
Panaderia Gaby, 419 Moorpark Road, Moorpark;
Rodent infestation, unsanitary conditions;
Date closed - 08/05/15; Date reopened - 08/07/15
Healthy and Active Life, 315 S. Borchard Drive, Ventura;
No hot water available for utensil washing or hand washing;
Date closed - 08/03/15; Date reopened - 08/12/15
July 2015
El Taco De Guadalajara, Lic.#4KV2550, 2557 Cortez Street, Oxnard;
Inoperable refrigeration units, insanitary conditions, unpermitted remodel;
Date closed - 7/30/15; Date reopened - 08/03/15
Dairy Queen, 1368 Madera Road, Simi Valley
Cockroach infestation, unsanitary conditions;
Date closed - 7/30/15; Date reopened - 7/31/15
Asian Fusion Garden, 842 E. Ojai Avenue, Ojai;
Cockroach infestation, unsanitary conditions;
Date closed - 7/27/15; Date reopened - 7/30/15
Rice by Mama at 419 E. Main Street, Ventura
Cockroach infestation and unsanitary conditions
Date closed - 7/26/15; Date reopened - 7/30/15
El Matador Meat Market #1, 3801 Saviers Road, Oxnard
Inoperable refrigeration units;
Date closed - 07/21/15; Date reopened - 07/22/15
Sushi Ichiban, 207 E. Channel Island Blvd., Port Hueneme
Cockroach infestation, unsanitary conditions;
Date closed - 07/21/15; Date reopened - 08/07/15
Lupita’s Restaurant, 616 Cooper Road, Oxnard
Rodent infestation and unsanitary conditions;
Date closed - 07/20/15; Date reopened - 07/21/15
Subway, 2887 Agoura Road, Thousand Oaks;
Inoperable plumbing to only hand wash sink in food preparation area;
Date closed - 07/16/15; Date reopened - 07/16/15
Tacos El Monoraca, Lic.#4LN2781, 2557 Cortez St., Oxnard:
Inoperable refrigeration;
Date closed - 07/09/15; Date reopened - 07/10/15
It's Healthy Oak Park Nutrition, 658 Lindero Canyon Road, Oak Park;
Cochroach infestation, unsanitary conditions;
Date closed - 07/09/15; Date reopened - 07/11/15
Olivios Trattoria Italian Cuisine, 585 E. Los Angeles Avenue, #C, Simi Valley;
Rodent infestation, unsanitary conditions;
Date closed - 07/09/15; Date reopened - 07/11/15
Arco AM/PM, 3907 E. Telegraph Road, Piru;
Inoperable toilets, sewage backing up inside the facility, unsanitary conditions;
Date closed - 07/08/15; Date reopened - 07/08/15
June 2015
Marisco El Campeon, 1175 E. Harvard Blvd., Santa Paula;
Rodent infestation; unsanitary conditions;
Date closed - 06/30/15; Date reopened - 07/02/15
Mi Pueblito Meat Market, 148 S. Ojai Street, Santa Paula;
Rodent & fly infestation inside the facility; unsanitary conditions; failure to adhere to a compliance agreement;
Date closed- 06/29/15; Date reopened - 06/30/15
Montezuma Restaurant, 112 Stroube Street, Oxnard;
Serious and repeated violations; unsanitary conditions;
Date closed - 06/25/15; Date reopened - 06/27/15
Round Table Pizza, 239 W. Los Angeles Avenue, Moorpark;
Warewashing sink unavailable for utensil washing;
Date closed - 06/16/15; Date reopened - 06/17/15
El Pollo Loco, 571 New Los Angeles Avenue, Moorpark;
Warewashing sink unavailable for utensil washing;
Date closed - 06/15/15; Date reopened - 06/15/15
Corrigan's Steak House, 556 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks;
Rodent infestation, cockroach infestation, unsanitary conditions;
Date closed - 06/15/15; Date reopened - 06/17/15
May 2015
Las Sirenas Bar & Grill, 2091 N. Oxnard Blvd, Oxnard;
Serious and repeated violations; failure to adhere to a compliance agreement; no hot water at bar or at women's restroom; unsanitary conditions;
Date closed - 05/20/15; Date reopened - 05/22/15
Tresierras Supermarket, 280 E. Harvard Blvd., Santa Paula;
Serious and repeated violations, failure to adhere to a compliance agreement;
Date closed - 05/19/15; Date reopened - 05/20/15
Saloon BBQ Co., 456 E. Main Street, Ventura;
Rodent infestation; unsanitary conditions; failure to adhere to a compliance agreement;
Date closed - 05/18/15; Date reopened - 05/19/15
ZARA Anticipated to Open This Fall at The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks
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ZARA is a Spanish clothing and accessories retailer based in Arteixo, Galicia, and founded in 1975 by Amancio Ortega and Rosalía Mera. There are over 2,000 ZARA stores around the world, including 54 in the United States. ZARA carries women's, men's, and children's clothing, shoes, fragrances and accessories.
ZARA is the flagship chain store of the Inditex (Industria de Diseño Textil, S.A.) group, the world's largest apparel retailer, operating over 6,600 stores worldwide. The fashion group also owns brands such as Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear, Uterqüe, Stradivarius, Oysho and Bershka.
ZARA is anticipated to be opening this fall at The Oaks Mall on the first floor, north side, directly across from Nordstrom and below The Cheesecake Factory.
They are currently looking to hire staff! Visit www.joinfashioninditex.com for more information about applying. More on ZARA at www.zara.com.
Commemorative Air Force SoCal Wing Constructing New Hangar Complex as Part of Expansion
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Existing CAF Hangar at Camarillo Airport
Construction is underway on a new, 32,800 sq. ft. hangar complex, part of a multimillion dollar plan by the Commemorative Air Force Wing to develop a modern WWII aviation museum that will attract more U.S. and world visitors to Ventura County wanting to see its historical archives and flying fighter, bomber, training, and other aircraft on display.
The Wing has run out of space in the current CAF complex, built 14 years ago, consisting ofa maintenance/restoration hangar, and adjoining museum/and event hangar.
Concrete has been poured around the exterior perimeter of the new hangar building including the big foundation pads where the main steel beam framework will be bolted into place. Once all the foundation cement and flooring is poured and cures, then attaching the steel sections begins.
The new hangar was engineered, manufactured and specifically designed by Butler Buildings to fit adjacent to the present western side of the CAF property.
One key element of the expansion plan is a CAF wing 30-year leasing agreement with the Department of Airports. It insures the aviation museum complex will remain at Camarillo Airport for years to come.
The agreement also involves a lease-land swap with Camarillo Chapter 723 of the Experimental Aircraft Association. It wanted to give up its land, old office building and hangars next door to the CAF. In the exchange, the E.A.A. gets new offices, a new hangar and is leasing facilities in the new CAF Complex. The old E.A.A. buildings were torn down and foundations removed.
The new Hangar complex provides the Wing with much needed space for parking and displaying aircraft and museum historical artifacts.
Ultimately this will be a new state-of-the-art, temperature-controlled indoor two-story aviation museum with all new exhibits, a theater, digital video areas, a restaurant with an outdoor viewing area of the museum and hangar complex and a new gift shop.
More information at www.cafsocal.com.
Former Leila's Location in Oak Park Has Sign Indicating "On The Thirty" May Be Coming
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Twitter follower Andrew Chane took note recently that a liquor license sign is displayed in the window of the former Leila's Restaurant at 706 Lindero Canyon Road in Oak Park.
Update: On 11/7/15, On The Thirty noted its Oak Park location will be open very soon.
The sign indicates the applicant is "On The Thirty "2" Inc." which would seem to indicate that popular restaurant/wine bar On The Thirty based in Sherman Oaks may be in process of opening a second location right here! Stay tuned...
On The Thirty "home of the best pizza you've ever had" describes itself as having "30 Boutique California wines by the glass. 30 California craft beers on draft and by the bottle. Award winning Mixology menu. Gourmet pizza. Artisan Sandwiches. Rockin' salads. Charcuterie. Small bites. Awesome atmosphere. Local, organic produce and hormone-free, grass-fed meat."
Learn more about On The Thirty at www.onthethirty.com.
DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse Opening at the Janss Marketplace on September 10th
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DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse is opening at the Janss Marketplace in Thousand Oaks on Thursday, September 10th. It is located on the Hillcrest Drive side of the mall near the Nordstrom Rack store that is slated to open on October 1, 2015. DSW is currently hiring for this new store.
Westlake Village Community Park, Skate Park and Triunfo YMCA Facility
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Westlake Village Community Park construction well underway
Westlake Village Community Park is located on a hilltop at 31107 Thousand Oaks Blvd (just west of Lindero Canyon Road). There is a one-way entrance and a one-way exit off of Thousand Oaks Blvd that can be accessed by vehicle, bicycle, or sidewalk during park hours.
This is a 19 acre site that includes the park as well as the 55,000 sq ft Triunfo YMCA facility slated to open in early 2016.
View of the Triunfo Y facility under construction
Once completed, Westlake Village Community Park will contain eight acres of lighted synthetic turf athletic fields for soccer, baseball, softball, and other sports, a walking/jogging trail, skate park, picnic areas, outdoor volleyball and basketball courts, fitness equipment, restroom/concession facilities, and children’s play areas.
Ball fields 1 and 2 as well as the skate park are currently open to the public.
Skate park at Westlake Village Community Park is open to the public
Luna Grill and General Chow Eateries to Open at The Collection at RiverPark in 2016
/Update Oct 2019: General Chow is now closed. Ouch, that didn’t last long.
Update Mar 2018: General Chow is now open.
Update Mar 2017: Luna Grill is now open.
Update Dec 2016: No updates, other than both eateries are still listed as "coming soon."
The Collection at RiverPark recently announced that Luna Grill and General Chow will be coming to the retail center next year.
Luna Grill offers Near East and Mediterranean cuisine, including juicy and tender kabobs served with fluffy Basmati rice and grilled tomato, gyros and falafel wraps and more. Luna Grill is scheduled to open in the summer of 2016.
General Chow is a modern Chinese restaurant with full bar and a menu that includes dumplings, soup, noodles, fresh seafood, and Szechwan spicy food. General Chow is the newest concept by restauranteur, Michael Kwan, who currently owns and operates 21 restaurants with eight different concepts in the Southern California area. General Chow is scheduled to open in the fall of 2016.
