2024 City of Agoura Hills Beach Bus June 17 to August 16

The City of Agoura Hills Summer Beach Bus is back for 2024. The bus runs June 17 to August 16 (except July 4), Monday through Friday from three designated locations to/from Zuma Beach, Parking Lot #8 - Lindero Canyon Middle School, Agoura High School and Agoura Road at Liberty Canyon. Service is $2 each way. Exact change required. Open to anyone (not just Agoura Hills residents). www.agourahillscity.org/department/community-services-parks-recreation/beach-bus.

Cal Lutheran President Resigns; Interim President Announced

The California Lutheran University Board of Regents announced today that President Lori Varlotta will step down from her role effective May 31, 2024. Dr. John Nunes, most recently pastor at Pilgrim Lutheran Church in Santa Monica, and former president of Concordia College New York, will serve as interim president for a two-year term beginning on June 1, 2024.

Varlotta was appointed president in September 2020 and successfully steered the university through the COVID-19 pandemic, leading efforts to bring Cal Lutheran students back to campus and to face-to-face learning ahead of many other California institutions. She made difficult but necessary changes to mitigate a potential financial crisis; implemented changes to align shared governance structures with university bylaws; and designed a Talent, Culture and Diversity division.

Nunes has served since 2020 on the Academic Leaders Task Force on Campus Free Expression at the Bipartisan Policy Center. The Task Force’s recommendations about how to foster a campus culture of robust intellectual exchange during the current period of national polarization have been adopted by many universities, both public and private.

Nunes is a senior fellow at the Center for Religion, Culture and Democracy and was ordained as a Lutheran minister in 1991. He was also president and CEO of Lutheran World Relief and held an endowed professorship at Valparaiso University. He is the author of five books and numerous articles, and holds degrees from Concordia College, Ann Arbor (BA), Concordia Seminary in St. Catharines, Ontario (MDiv), and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (ThM and PhD). He and his wife, Monique, are the parents of six children and 13 grandchildren.

Dr. Nunes’ appointment comes with the support of the Region 1 bishops and Region 2 bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

California Lutheran University

Founded in 1959 and formally recognized as a Hispanic-Serving Institution since 2016, California Lutheran University is home to 2,377 undergraduate and 1,033 graduate students. Our students come from 59 countries and represent a wide spectrum of faiths and spirituality. Our dedicated, accomplished faculty teach in small classes, guiding our students as they grow into open-minded leaders who are strong in character and judgment, confident in identity and vocation, and committed to service and justice. Everyone at Cal Lutheran is committed to helping each student pursue their passions, discover their purpose and transform their community. Learn more at CalLutheran.edu.

Barone's Pizza Thousand Oaks To Close Its Doors on May 28th

Barone's Pizza announced today in an email that it will be closing its doors in Thousand Oaks at close of business on Tuesday, May 28th. Barone's first came to the Conejo Valley in April 2015 at 30990 Russell Ranch Road in Westlake Village, then opened a 2nd location in the Northstar Plaza at 1321 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks. In February 2020, Barone's consolidated into the Thousand Oaks location. It will continue operating and serving up its unique, rectangular pizzas from its Woodland Hills location. For a compilation of pizza places in and around the Conejo Valley, visit THIS PAGE.

OR Authentic Thai Cuisine at The Oaks Mall Thousand Oaks Has Closed Its Doors (But to Re-Open in Agoura Hills)

UPDATE: O-R Thai plans to re-open soon at 5653 Kanan Road, next to Italia Deli, in the space previously occupied by Cuckoo Rooster. Check for updates at www.facebook.com/orauthenticthaicuisine.

Sad to report that OR Authentic Thai Cuisine at The Oaks mall has closed its doors. OR opened there in November 2019 in the space previously occupied by Deliteful Low Carb Restaurant (May 2016 to July 2017) and before that, Johnny Rockets. OR previously operated as White Elephant Thai Cuisine on Moorpark Road.

La La Land Kind Cafe Coming Soon to The Promenade at Westlake in Thousand Oaks

La La Land Kind Cafe is coming soon to The Promenade at Westlake in Thousand Oaks, between Sprinkles and Fresh Brothers. La La Land Kind Cafe offers signature latte drinks, classic coffee drinks, other drinks, toasts, and more. Its location at The Commons at Calabasas opened in late March 2023.

More information at www.lalalandkindcafe.com. They are currently hiring. 

Decker Kitchen Returning to the Lake Lindero Country Club in Agoura Hills

Decker Kitchen closed its doors in Thousand Oaks in December, but today we learned that it will be returning to the Conejo Valley. Its new location will be at the Lake Lindero Country Club, at the corner of Lake Lindero Drive and Thousand Oaks Boulevard. www.deckerkitchen.com