Evolution of Bench at Upper Sycamore Canyon Overlook at Rancho Sierra Vista

The Springs Fire started the morning of May 2nd along the 101 freeway on the Conejo Grade and burned over 28,000 acres through portions of Camarillo, Newbury Park and the Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Aea until it was fully contained the following week.

Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa and other trails in Pt Mugu State Park were re-opened in mid to late May. It will take time for the vegetation to grow back and for structures that were burned to be rebuilt. One such structure is the bench overlooking Upper Sycamore Canyon. The bench was burnt severely and was rendered unusable. However, lo and behold, the bench has been replaced! Happy trails!

The healthy, new bench overlooking Upper Sycamore Canyon in September 2013

Bench overlooking Upper Sycamore Canyon in August of 2013.

The not-so-healthy looking bench overlooking Upper Sycamore Canyon after the fire.View from the new and improved bench at Upper Sycamore Canyon Overlook in Sept 2013

Bench at Upper Sycamore Canyon Overlook on May 14, 2013Bench at Upper Sycamore Canyon Overlook prior to Springs Fire on February 10, 2013

All sorts of benches in and around the Conejo Valley

Footage of the 2013 Ride to the Flags in Newbury Park Today, September 14th

Since 1998, the annual Ride to the Flags event has taken hundreds of motorcyclists on a well organized ride to the Pepperdine University 9/11 Waves of Flags Memorial Display.  This is a charity event that raises funds and donates to persons and organizations affected by the tragedy of 9/11.

Between soccer games and errands, I was able to catch the 2013 Ride to the Flags the well organized calvacade at the corner of Lynn and Reino Roads in Newbury Park on its way to Potrero Road. Quite an impressive, patriotic sight!  For more information about the event and to make donations, visit www.ridetotheflags.com.

And speaking of the Pepperdine University 9/11 flag display, if you haven't seen it, you have to! It is on display this year until September 23rd.

Tesco Announces Sale of Fresh & Easy Stores to Yucaipa Today

After signaling it was looking at "strategic options" for its money-losing Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market chain early this year, Tesco today announced that it is selling a substantial part of its Fresh & Easy operations, including its Riverside distribution and production facilities, to private equity holding company, Yucaipa Companies LLC.

Tesco indicated the sale is expected to be completed within three months. Yucaipa is purchasing over 150 of Fresh & Easy's 200 stores and is anticipated to retain over 4,000 employees. Currently Fresh & Easy employs over 5,000 people, including 1,300 at its Riverside facility.

On a positive note, this means that they are retaining over 75% of the stores...on a negative note, 25% Fresh & Easy's stores will be closed and 20% of its labor base will be on the job market soon.

WHICH STORES!!?? Yes, this is what everyone wants to know right now, as evidenced on Fresh & Easy's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/freshandeasy. Tesco and Fresh & Easy have not announced which stores will be closed yet but indicated that "those stores not included in the transaction wil be closed over the coming weeks."

So stay tuned, Fresh & Easy fans. There are 10 Fresh & Easy stores in Ventura County and directly adjacent areas.

Yucaipa has quite a track record in the grocery store chain arena, having acquired and/or sold Food 4 Less, Boys Markets, Alpha Beta, Smitty's, Ralphs and Dominick's grocery store chains in the past.

Thousand Oaks Police Department Reminds Drivers to Slow Down

According to the Thousand Oaks Police Department, in the past 12 months there have been seven fatal traffic collisions in the City of Thousand Oaks. Four of these fatalities have occurred on Westlake Boulevard. Three of the fatalities were motorcycle riders and the one this week was a solo vehicle into a power pole. Speeding was a factor in all of the accidents. The victims were boys 21 years of age and younger.

As a result of the latest traffic collision, a 17-year-old passenger is still in critical, but stable condition. Both boys in the last accident were scheduled to start their senior year at Thousand Oaks High School this week.

The Thousand Oaks Traffic Division would like to put an end to these tragedies. Therefore, the traffic division will be increasing enforcement in this area and other areas prone to speeding in an effort to make the roadway safer.

Please take the time drive safely. Most importantly, reduce your speed and obey all traffic laws.

Source: Thousand Oaks Police Department

Speaking of speeding teens, less than two weeks ago my wife and kids were driving on Lynn Road near the 101 in the late afternoon when another local teen managed to lose control of the car he was driving and barrel across the median into oncoming traffic, totaling both cars. SLOW DOWN indeed and don't even think about texting while driving!

Ventura County Agricultural Production Grew to a Record High in 2012

Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner Harry S. Gonzales gave a Ventura County Crop and Livestock Report to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, July 30th, in Ventura. According to the summary available on the County of Ventura website, 2012 was a record year in terms of harvested production, with a total value of $1,963,798,000. The report indicated a 1.6% increase over 2011, although based on 2011 production of $1,844,260,000, it looks to be an even greater 6.5% increase.

No surprise that once again in 2012, strawberries are by far the largest crop produced in Ventura County. There was nearly $691 million worth of hand-plucked strawberries in 2012, up from $625.5 million in 2011. According to the California Strawberry Commission, roughly 30% of California's strawberries are grown in Oxnard, 85% of U.S. strawberries are produced in California and 25% of the world's strawberries are produced in the U.S. That would infer that roughly 6% of global strawberry production takes place right here in Ventura County!

Strawberries represented 35% of total agricultural production in Ventura County last year, compared to 34% in 2011, 24% in 2006 and 26% back in 2002,  largely due to the doubling of strawberry production since 2006. At the same time, other crops have grown at more moderate rates or have even decreased in value. For example, nursery stock, #4 on the 2012 list with $186 million, was #2 on the 2006 list with a value of $264 million. Start working on those gardens, everyone!

Lemons, raspberries and nursery stock battled it out for the next three spots on the 2012 list but lemons, with 15% year over year growth, handily finsihed 2nd. Nursery stock grew by a solid 14% last year but raspberries, with only 1% growth, barely held on to 3rd place. Two things should be noted regarding raspberries. Ventura County raspberry production has grown by over 800% since 2002; and...I had to look up how to spell raspberry...why is there a "p" in there? Beats me.

My final observation is that cilantro made the top 10 list in Ventura County for what may be the first time ever, knocking out "greens," which was 10th on last year's list. I'm not a big cilantro fan but somebody must enjoy it!

To learn more about agricultural production and sorts of other great stuff about Ventura County, visit www.ventura.org. For local farmers' markets and other farm fresh produce in and around Ventura County click THIS LINK.