CSU Channel Islands is Ventura County's Only Four-Year Public University

Aerial view of the campus

California State University Channel Islands (or CSUCI) opened in 2002 as the 23rd campus in the California State University system and is the only four-year public university in Ventura County. It is located in Camarillo at the juncture of the Oxnard Plain and northern edge of the Santa Monica Mountains. The 1,187 acre campus is accessible via Lewis Road in Camarillo and Potrero Road from Newbury Park.

As of Fall 2017, CSUCI had enrollment of 7,053 students. CSUCI offers 26 majors and 26 minors, with a focus on business, sciences, liberal studies and teaching credentials, among others.

Learn more about CSUCI at www.csuci.edu.

CSUCI is located in the former Camarillo State Hospital, which operated from 1936 to 1997. At its peak in the 1950s, the hospital served over 7,000 patients.

On the north side of the campus is the 367 acre University Park, where a dairy farm that served the hospital was disbanded. It has informally been coined the "Scary Dairy."

West of the campus is the prominent, 538 foot elevation Round Mountain.

Aerial of the former Camarillo State Hospital (Photo Courtesy Pleasant Valley Historical Society)

Harold's House of Omelettes Has Served the Conejo Valley Since 1961 (Now Bo's House of Omelettes & Waffles)

UPDATE: Harold’s closed its doors on May 7, 2021, but was subsequently acquired and reopened in February 2022 as Bo’s House of Omelettes & Waffles. Open 7 days a week, 7 am to 3 pm. houseofomelettesto.com

Harold's House of Omelettes opened its doors to the hungry citizens of Thousand Oaks, before Thousand Oaks was even a city of its own, on January 19, 1961. Harold's has the distinction as the oldest restaurant in the Conejo Valley - a distinction previously held by Lupe's Mexican Restaurant, which originated in 1947 and closed in August 2016.

Harold's is located at 2440 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard in the Camelot Plaza, directly across from Thousand Oaks Toyota, and has been there for some time.

The eatery was originated by its namesake, Harold Warner, who was born in Green Bay, moved to the west coast in 1949, where he became a chef at Du-pars restaurant at Hollywood and Vine. He moved to Thousand Oaks to work at the new Du-par's Thousand Oaks. Instead of that, he opened Harold's House of Omelettes and was the chef until the late 1990s.

Here's a photo from the Thousand Oaks Library "Conejo Through the Lens" collection of Harold's at its original location next to the Green Lantern Tavern at 1938 Thousand Oaks Boulevard (now occupied by Enhanced Landscape Management).

Harold's House of Omelettes and the Green Lantern Tavern at 1938 Thousand Oaks Boulevard (just west of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza) in 1962. Photo Credit: Pat Allen via the Conejo Through the Lens collection maintained by the Grans R. Brimhall Library.

Harold's, also known as Herold's Restaurant, serves much more than omelettes (though there are 51 omelette varieties on its menu). Its menu includes hot cakes, crepes, waffles, Mexican breakfast and lunch specialties, breakfast burritos, burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, salads, soups and more.

To learn more, visit www.eatatharolds.com. Open daily from 6am to 3pm.

Today is the 50th Anniverary of The Release of "Hey Jude" by the Beatles

Fifty years ago today, August 26, 1968, the Beatles released the song "Hey Jude."

The song was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon and McCartney.

Originally "Hey Jules" in support of John Lennon's son Julian during his parents' divorce, "Hey Jude" was the first single released by the Beatles' record label, Apple Records.

Seven minutes, 11 seconds in length, Hey Jude was one of the longest singles ever released at that time. It spent 9 weeks at number 1 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the longest of any Beatles song.

The single has sold over 8 million copies in the U.S. placing it in the top 50 selling songs of all time, topped by just one other Beatles song, "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

The Adamson House in Malibu is Listed on the National Register of Historic Places

The Adamson House at 23200 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu is a National Historic Site and a registered California landmark. The house and grounds share one of the most beautiful beach locations in Southern California, with a view of the Malibu Lagoon, Malibu Beach and the Malibu Pier. In addition to its world-famous Malibu Tile, the house contains hand-carved teak wood doors, hand-painted murals, molded ceilings, hand-wrought ironwork and lead-framed bottle glass windows.

The house was built in 1930 for Rhoda Rindge Adamson and Merritt Huntley Adamson, originally as a summer cottage and in 1936 as the family's primary residence. It is located on the 13,315 acre Malibu Rancho that was purchased by Rhoda's parents, Frederick and May K. Rindge, in 1892.  Mr. Rindge passed away in 1905 and left the ranch to his wife, who later gave the parcel to the Adamsons.

USC graduate Merritt Adamson met Rhoda Rindge while he was employed as foreman of the Rindge Ranch. The couple married in 1915 and in 1916 Merritt founded Adohr Farms in the San Fernando Valley, named after his wife's first name spelled backwards.

Rhoda inherited the property after Merritt's death in 1949 and she lived there until her passing in 1962. The land was later purchased by the State of California under eminent domain laws to create beach parking, but local groups and preservationists fought to preserve the property and succeeded. The house was restored and the garage was converted into the Malibu Lagoon Museum and they opened to the public in 1983.

Flooring in the backside of the house

The Adamson House Tour is a guided tour through the house which contains its original furnishings and is decorated with the renowned Malibu Potteries tile. Trained volunteer docents relate the history of the house, details of its architecture and furnishings, and the history of the family that lived in and created this distinctive home. Admission (as of July 2018) is $7 for ages 17 and up, $2 ages 6 to 16 and free for under 6. Cash only. Open for guided tours 11am to 2pm Wed to Sat. More information at www.adamsonhouse.org or call 310.456.8432.

Historic Carousel at Chase Palm Park in Santa Barbara Closed First Week of December 2017

The historic 1916 Allan Herschell Carousel has operated at Chase Palm Park in Santa Barbara since 1999. Nearing the end of its 20 year lease with the City of Santa Barbara, the owner of the Carousel opted to relocate it Hood River, Oregon, for installation in a dedicated museum of historically significant carousels.

The Carousel is one of three machines produced by the Allan Herschell Factory in the 1915-1917 time frame. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on April 13, 2000. It is 40 feet in diameter, with a 19 foot wooden pole in its center, supporting 35 jumping, hand-carved wooden horses plus two hand carved art deco style wooden chariots.

This carousel originally operated outdoors on the east coast, where it was used for decades without adequate maintenance. It was purchased in 1970 by Seaport Village in San Diego, where after 10 years in storage it was sold again to its current owners. 

While this is sad news for local residents, the good news is that this historical carousel will be preserved in its new location in Hood River. 

Photos From Janss Conejo Ranch in 1960-1961 in What is Now Wildwood Park

In the 1930s to 1960s, a number of TV shows and movies were filmed in what is now Wildwood Park, like Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, Spartacus and Wuthering Heights. Steve Dibblee of Ventura Views has provided these shots taken by his father, Walt Dibblee, of a western ranch town in Wildwood Park in 1960-1961.

You can see the same, familiar Mountclef Ridge in Wildwood Park today

Steve indicated the above photo shows The Rifleman's house and barn. It may also have been used in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."

And here is a bit of a depressing scene at the ranch on September 28, 1960.

View more of Walt's Ventura County area photography, including an extensive collection of aerials from the mid 1950s to the late 1960s, at VenturaViews.com.

How Are Tropical Storms Named?

With all of the terrible news stemming from tropical storm Harvey in Texas and now Irma in Florida, there's been banter in my household regarding where these names came from, who names them, why we name storms, and so on.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) maintains lists of names used for each of ten different tropical cyclone basins around the world. There is an international committee that maintains lists of names in each basin. Each region has its own set of naming rules. 

When are names assigned to storms? Once the storm produces sustained wind speeds of over 33 knots, or 38 miles per hour.

The storms impacting Texas and Florida are in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and North Atlantic basin. The naming convention in this basin has six lists of names that are used in rotation. As such, the 2017 list of names, which started with Arlene and ends with Whitney, will be used again in 2023.

When a storm is particularly deadly or costly, the name is retired. In addition to Katrina in 2005, Sandy in 2012 and Harvey in 2017, a whole host of other names have been "retired" since 1954. Carol, Janet, Audrey, Donna, Agnes, Gloria, Hugo, Keith, Wilma, Felix, Ingrid, Matthew and dozens more names will no longer be used to name a tropical storm. See www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames_history.shtml for more retired names.

The names are alphabetized in the Atlantic basin but do not include names beginning with Q, U, X, Y and Z. Xavier, you're off the hook.

Atlantic tropical storms were originated by the National Hurricane Center starting in 1953. This was subsequently transitioned to the WMO.

From 1953 to 1978, only women's names were used. Men's names were introduced in 1979 and are alternated with women's names (but what about gender-neutral names like Pat - I dunno).

Why are names used? Because it makes it easier to get the word out to the public when a name is used.

How do they come up with the names? It is up to each committee but names are selected that are familiar to those who live in each region.

The 2018 list of cyclone names in the Atlantic region are: Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby, Ernesto, Florence, Gordon, Helene, Isaac, Joyce, Kirk, Leslie, Michael, Nadine, Oscar, Patty, Rafael, Sara, Tony, Valerie and William.

Let's look at the Western North Pacific and South China Sea basin naming convention. There, each country contributes names, like Damrey (Cambodia), Fenshen (China), Meari (DPR Korea), Usagi (Japan) and so on.