Thousand Oaks 2013 Community Attitude Survey Report Issued March 18th

Since 1969, the City of Thousand Oaks has conducted a communitywide attitude survey every 5 years to sample city residents' views on planning and other issues. Beginning in 2013, the survey will be performed every two years.

The 2013 survey was conducted once again by True North Research of Escondido.  They phone surveyed a "statistically representative" sample of 400 Thousand Oaks residents out of 96,607 adult residents (there are about 128,000 total residents). True North is 95% confident that survey results are within a +/- 4.89% margin of error, consistent with the 2009 survey.

True North is also doing a supplemental web survey, sending postcards to residents this past week to complete the survey at www.toaks.org/survey/default.asp. But this survey is not considered "valid" because people are self-selected, not randomized.

Thousand Oaks residents by a landslide continue to be happy living here. 97% of residents are happy with the quality of life, with 61% (66% in 2009) rating it excellent and 36% (31% in 2009) rating it good.  This is consistent with previous surveys, where this has ranged from 96% to 98% of residents. This is a fantastic statistic.

There is lot of other information in the 69 page survey report accessible at www.toaks.org/survey/ but here are some things I found of particular interest:

Commuting

56% (52% in 2009) of Thousand Oaks residents commute outside of the Conejo Valley for their jobs, and 48% (35% in 2009) of those commute over 60 minutes round trip. Ouch. This statistic infers that roughly 27% of city residents spends over an hour in the car each day, up from 18% in 2009. Ouch, ouch, ouch.

What We Want More Of

Half of the survey takers said they'd like to see additional retail establishments in Thousand Oaks. Of these people, 21% want more family restaurants like TGI Fridays and Black Angus (which is ironic because the city used to have both of these). It is interesting to note that the top two mentions in the 2009 survey, Olive Garden and Red Lobster, are both now in operation here. 19% of these people would like to see large discount stores like Costco or Big Lots and 16% would like another Targe or Wal-Mart uggh (up from 11% in 2009).

Information Sources for News, Events, Programs

Now, for the most telling statistic in our humble opinion here at Conejo Valley Guide! True North asked people to list their top 3 information sources used for learning about City news, services, programs and events.

Conejo Valley Guide (CVG) has plugged away for years, attracts well over one million annual page views and is active in Twitter and Facebook. CVG highlights thousands of events, activities and things to do in the Conejo Valley, Greater Ventura County and surrounding areas. Yet CVG was not listed among the two dozen survey answer options. Gosh darn it!

YET...the top vote getter in the survey was...<drum roll>..."Internet (general)" with 40% of responses, up from 26% in 2009. One could venture to guess that, ahem, Conejo Valley Guide was the primary driver behind this spectacular 50% increase, eh? Perhaps :)

Following CVG, er, I mean "Internet (general)" the most mentioned information choices were The Acorn (36.5% vs 41% in 2009), VC Star (24% vs 29% in 2009), City website (19.3% vs 22% in 2009) and City mailings (7.8% vs 8% in 2009).

For a wealth of information about City of Thousand Oaks, visit www.toaks.org.

Sunset at the base of Tarantula Hill in Thousand Oaks

British Retailer Tesco Indicates it Will Be Selling Its Fresh & Easy Stores

On January 31, 2013, Fresh & Easy parent company Tesco said it was looking at "strategic options" for its money-losing U.S. based Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market stores.

We all pretty much knew where that was going...when you have a business segment that is losing $250 million a year, there was little doubt that Tesco would be leaving the U.S. market.

But that does not mean...yet, at least...that Tesco is shutting down Fresh & Easy. In a posting on the Fresh & Easy website today, the store indicated "As many of you have heard or read today, our parent company Tesco updated on the future of Fresh & Easy.  While we don’t yet know who our new owner will ultimately be, Tesco has already received interest from a number of parties including groups looking to purchase Fresh & Easy as an operating business.  We appreciate all the support and love we’ve received from our loyal customers and even though our parent company plans to leave the US, we’re pleased to confirm there are no plans to close any portion of Fresh & Easy."

So what Tesco and Fresh & Easy indicated today is that 1) Tesco is indeed exiting the U.S. market; 2) there are a number of potentially interest parties who may acquire the Fresh & Easy chain; and 3) there are no current plans to "close any portion of Fresh & Easy."

As part of today's announcement, Tesco said it is treating Fresh & Easy as a "discontinued operation" and as such, has written down the value of Fresh & Easy assets and future anticipated liabilities on its books...to the tune of £1.2 billion...which is approximately $1.8 billion in U.S. dollars. OUCH. The $1.8 billion loss includes roughly $257 million in operating losses, with the remainder the write-down in assets and estimate future lease costs.

That's gotta hurt a bit. Tesco is a British company but its stock also trades on Nasdaq under symbol TESO, which was down 3.3% today, over double what the S&P 500 was down today.

In any case, best of luck to the Fresh & Easy chain in finding a buyer and figuring out a way to generate a profit. There are 10 Fresh & Easy stores in Ventura County and directly adjacent areas.

Lastly, I heard what I found to be quite an odd Fresh & Easy commercial on the radio this morning that is posted below. Very unusual, kind of surprising use of the shortened "f&easy" - a bit risque if ya ask me :)

POWERBALL® Lottery Coming to California Beginning April 8, 2013

The California Lottery Commission voted on November 29, 2012 to adopt the multi-state mega-jackpot lottery game, POWERBALL. POWERBALL sales will begin in California on April 8, 2013 and the first draw will take place on April 10th.

This vote came the day after POWERBALL's largest jackpot ever, $587.5 million, won by two players (one from Missouri and the other in Arizona).

POWERBALL is expected to add anywhere between $50 to $100 million in additional dollars to supplement public education funding in California.

The $2 POWERBALL game is played much like the $1 MEGA Millions®. Players choose five numbers from 1 to 59 and one red POWERBALL number from 1 to 35. Players can choose their own numbers or opt for a Quick Pick. Draws are held every Wednesday and Saturday at 7:59 p.m. PST.

Unlike MEGA Millions and SuperLotto Plus®, POWERBALL’s pool closure occurs promptly at 7 p.m. PST each draw day. Besides the jackpot, there are eight additional ways to win prizes. The amounts vary due to the State’s pari-mutuel rules. The POWERBALL draws take place in Tallahassee, Florida.

The POWERBALL jackpot begins at $40 million and increases by at least $10 million every roll. In comparision, the MEGA Millions jackpot starts at $12 million.

The odds of winning the POWERBALL jackpot are 1 in 176 million and about 1 in 32 of winning any prize. In comparison, the odds of winning the MEGA Millions jackpot is also 1 in 176 million and about 1 in 40 of winning any prize in the semi-weekly drawing.  So basically the odds are very similar. The main difference is the price of the tickets; $1 for MEGA Millions vs $2 for POWERBALL.

CLICK HERE for information about other CA Lottery games.

The mission of the California Lottery is to provide supplemental funding to California schools while simultaneously supporting local communities. More than 94 cents of every dollar spent by our players goes back to local communities in the form of contributions to public schools and colleges, prizes and retail compensation. Since 2000, Lottery players have contributed $1 billion to public schools each year, and, since we began in 1985, Lottery players have contributed a total of more than $24 billion to education. The California Lottery urges its customers to play responsibly and within their budgets. If you feel you have a gambling problem, or know someone who does, you can get help at 1-800-GAMBLER.

Visit www.calottery.com for more information.

Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Seeks Input on its 20th Anniversary Season!

October 2014 will mark the 20th Anniversary of the grand opening of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. This special Anniversary season will be comprised of command performances by artists who have appeared on the Civic Arts Plaza stages over the last 20 years and we need your help.

Visit www.surveymonkey.com/s/tocap_20 and select the artists that you would most like to see return to the Civic Arts Plaza during its 20th Anniversary Season by choosing up to 5 favorites in each category.

Do check out this survey! You will be amazed at how many popular performers have appeared here in the Conejo Valley! Some of the names you'll see include comedians like Bill Cosby, Don Rickles, John Cleese, Bob Newhart, Howie Mandel and musicians such as Kenny Loggins, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Chris Botti, Cheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, and over 100 others.

If an artist you select is added to the 20th Anniversary schedule, you will be eligible to win two front row seats and an opportunity to go backstage to meet the artist.* All entries are due by Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 4:00 PM.

*Winner will be chosen at random among all eligible entries. One entry per person.

To learn more about the Civic Arts Plaza or perhaps buy tickets to an upcoming show, visit www.CivicArtsPlaza.com or visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/civicartsplaza.

Exclusive Breaking News in the Conejo Valley Effective This April 2013

We are excited to announce a partnership with the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.  In exchange for placement of the iconic Conejo Valley Guide bunny on the south side of the Plaza, Conejo Valley Guide will provide free carrot cake to all Civic Plaza attendees at shows during the month of March 2014.

Mock-up of iconic Conejo Valley Guide bunny as it will be seen from 101 Freeway

Jacque Rabitt of the City's Cultural Affairs department stated "We are thrilled that Conejo Valley Guide has offered us an image that brightens up the building" while Conejo Joe of CVG indicated "We are proud to be offering carrot cake at the plaza to those who believe that carrot cake is actually good for them!"

The Conejo Valley Guide bunny image will cover virtually the entire wall of the Plaza that will be in full view of both directions of Highway 101. Additionally, the bunny will be lighted with solar LED lights between the hours of 8 pm and midnight each night.

In other news, the National Park Service announced its first sponsorship agreement in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area with the renaming of Boney Peak as Milk Boney Peak. Similar to branding of NCAA Bowl Games, the Milk Bone logo will be prominently displayed on the shield face of the mountain directly below the peak, as shown below.

Mock up of Milk Bone Dog Treat logo displayed on face of peak looking towards Newbury Park.

NPS official Louda Barker notes that "while dogs are currently not allowed in the Boney Mountain Wilderness, hikers tend to be dog lovers, dog lovers love giving out dog treats and, well, we've been looking to monetize these mountains for awhile, no bones about it."

And finally, a Hidden Valley resident has successfully petitioned the City of Thousand Oaks Planning Commission to change zoning of a horse property to a retail clothing store. A mockup of the new Trashy Lingerie store is shown below, reflecting an earnest effort to blend the store into the surroundings.

The Hidden Valley location will be Trashy Lingerie's second retail store; the other one is located on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles. City spokeswoman I. C. Undrewair notes that this could be a tremendous draw for city tax revenues, particularly with Britney Spears living in the nearby Sherwood Country Club.

APRIL FOOLS'!

Just having some fun!

April Fools' fun in prior years