'Twas the Night Before Christmas in Conejo Valley - An Ode to 2011

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"A Visit From St. Nicholas," more popularly known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," was first published in 1823. This poem was used as a basis to remind us of many of changes we have seen here in the Conejo Valley and other parts of Ventura County in 2011.

‘Twas the night before Christmas, in Conejo Valley

Not a person was stirring, not one Hooters rally;

Roxy’s and Jack’s Delis closed down this past year,

Yet new restaurants have been quick to appear.


In August Red Robin came to The Oaks Mall,

Two weeks ago Red Lobster opened for all;

Buddha’s Belly Asian food in October,

And Olive Garden next month. Let’s stay sober!

 

But wait, not so fast, have a beer, hold your knees,

There’s Tipsy Goat, Ladyface Ale and Cr

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Historical Conejo Valley Pictures From Ed Lawrence

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(Originally Posted December 2008; Updated December 2011)

Ed Lawrence on December 16, 2011Ed Lawrence chronicled the growth of the Conejo Valley from 1958 to 2003 over a time that the population grew from 2,000 to 130,000.  Ed's work provides an amazing perspective on what this area was like 50 years ago to today. In June 2011, Ed sold his collection to the Thousand Oaks Library and other local community entities to preserve, digitize and make his work available for generations to come.

I was fortunate to chat with Ed in person tonight at a dinner hosted by Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks. He is 87 years old and looks great. He is currently in town working on organizing his photo collection. In his presentation, Ed included his very first photo in the Conejo Valley, a shot of Moorpark Road in 1958. Let's just say it looked nothing like Moorpark Road looks today!

The picture below shows a whole lot of sheep on Moorpark Road near the intersection of Thousand Oaks Boulevard in 1965.  I'm pretty sure what is taking place is that they are flocking to Starbucks.  I could be wrong.

Photo courtesy of Ed Lawrence

Below is another of Ed's most well known shots. A shot of the Albertson

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Local Photographer Takes Photos at Lamppost Pizza Newbury Park on Closing Day

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Lamppost Pizza in Newbury Park closed its doors last Sunday. Was sad to see another Conejo Valley blast go away (Roxy's Deli and Jack's Deli are others that come to mind). Lamppost was a big hit with kids' sports teams and others in the community and will be missed. There's another Lamppost at Kanan and Lindero in Oak Park.

Photographer Scott Harrison took these nostalgic Lamppost photos on his iPhone 4S on December 4th. He and and I both have fond memories of Lamppost - in fact he had lunch there on its last day while I had dinner with my kids that night. See more of Scott's work at www.harrysonpics.com.

Lamppost_Harryson.jpg

Nearly 1,900 are Homeless in Ventura County According to a February 2011 Survey

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The Ventura County Homeless and Housing Coalition (www.vchhc.org) coordinated a count of homeless individuals in Ventura County in February 2011.

A person was considered homeless in the survey if he/she fell within the Department of Housing and Urban Development definition, residing in 1) places not meant for human habitation, such as cars, parks, sidewalks and abandoned buildings, 2) in an emergency shelter or 3) in transitional housing for homeless persons.

In its April 2011 report, the Coalition counted 1,872 homeless individuals, keeping in mind that the count understated the actual number due to the complexities involved. This was 3% higher than the prior year tally of 1,815. In 2009 the count was 2,193. Here are some details from the latest count:

  • 88% were adults and 12% were children
  • 6% of the adults counted were 62 or older
  • 68% of the adults were men and 32% were women
  • 157 families were counted, consisting of 396 people

Of the 1,872 reported homeless, 1427 answered the question of what city they slept in last night; 528 were in Oxnard, 445 were in Ventura, 178 in Simi Valley, 69 in unincorporated areas, 65 in Thousand Oaks, 45 in Santa Paula, 30 in Camarillo, 26 in Ojai, 15 in Port Hueneme, 9 in Fillmore, 6 in Moorpark and 11 in other cities.

The Coalition noted this count does not include people at risk of becoming homeless. In 2000, there were 42,000 households, consisting of about 130,000 people (20% of Ventura County at that time) whose households earned less than $25,000 per year. Additionally, 8%, or close to 64,000 Ventura County residents, were living below the poverty level*.

If you encounter someone in need, refer them to this list of Ventura County homeless shelters and hot meal providers.

* 2011 Poverty Guidelines issued by the Department of Health and Human Services is $10,890 for a 1 person family, $14,710 for 2, $18,530 for 3, $22,350 for 4 and so on.

2010 Ventura County Crime Data and Trends From FBI Crime Reporting Program

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The FBI collects nationwide crime statistics voluntarily reported by over 18,000 law enforcement agencies across the country in its Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. This data can be useful, but the FBI strongly advises against using the data to "rank" cities and counties solely based on this information. Rankinig can be misleading as the data does not factor in things like population density, socioeconomic factors, demographics and other information.

Now that we have that out of the way, we have compiled local crime data in and around Ventura County from these reports from 2006 through 2010.

So that we're all on the same page, Violent Crime includes things like murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Property Crime includes burglary, larceny and vehicle thefts.

In 2010, the FBI reported a Violent Crime rate of 4.0 incidents per 1,

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Outdoor Watering Restrictions in Ventura County

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In February 2009, Governor Schwarzenegger proclaimed a state of emergency and immediate actions to address the current water shortage crisis in California. On March 30, 2011, Governor Brown proclaimed an end to the state's drought, but urges continued conservation.

The City of Los Angeles has mandatory water conservations requirements for all LADWP customers as revised August 2010:

  • Odd numbered street addresses may water on Mon/Wed/Fri
  • Even numbered street addresses may water on Tues/Thurs/Sun
  • Outdoor watering not allowed between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
  • Sprinklers can be used for 8 minutes maximum per station, but if you have water-conserving nozzles, you're allowed 2 15 minute cycles each watering day
  • No watering driveways, sidewalks and other hard surfaces
  • No excessive runoff or leaks
  • No washing vehicles without a hose shutoff valve
  • No serving water in restaurants unless requested

Simi Valley watering restrictions since July 2009 were rescinded on May 9, 2011 (www.simivalley.org/index.aspx?page=500). The previous restrictions in place that are still advised however:

  • Outdoor watering/irrigation between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. prohibited, except you can use buckets and hoses with shut-off valves
  • Cannot water more than 45 minutes per station per week from April 1 to October 31
  • Cannot water more than 30 minutes per station per week from No
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