Thousand Oaks Named to BICYCLING Magazine List of Top 50 Bike-Friendly Cities

BICYCLING Magazine recently published a list of the top 50 bike-friendly cities in the United States for 2012. The list was completed based on cities with populations of 95,000 or more (roughly 300 U.S. cities are in this category) based on input from various sources, including the League of American Bicyclists. To make the list, BICYCLING indicates the city must also possess a robust cycling infrastructure and vibrant bike culture.

Congratulations goes out to the City of Thousand Oaks for placing 38th on this list! Thousand Oaks was one of only 3 Southern California cities to make the list, which included Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The top 10 cities named on the list were: Portland, Oregon, Minneapolis, Boulder, Colorado, Washington, DC, Chicago, Madison, Wisconsin, New York City, San Francisco, Eugene, Oregon and Seattle.

BICYCLING noted the 2011 addition of the 1.2 mile Conejo Creek Bike Path and the Conejo Valley Cyclists' recruitment of 300 cyclists for the 2011 Ride of Silence as factors in the City's ranking. The Conejo Creek Path connects Gainborough Road to Conejo Creek Park, Thousand Oaks Library and Thousand Oaks Teen Center.

Conejo Creek Bike Path

The City of Thousand Oaks maintains approximately 80 miles of bikeways, including about 3 miles of bike paths, roughly 54 miles of bike lanes and other 20 miles or so of bike routes. The City takes bicycling very seriously...the City Council adopted a comprehensive Bicycle Facilities Master Plan in November 2010 to help prioritize future improvement projects around town.

Conejo Valley Cyclists is a popular local bicycling club offering beginning to advanced recreational rides as well as race paced training rides. The club organizes the extremely popular annual Cruisin' the Conejo bike ride in the spring of each year. Visit www.cvcbike.org to learn more.

Other local cycling clubs/groups in and around Ventura County at THIS LINK.

And of course, since its launch in 2006, the Amgen Tour of California is the biggest bike race in the United States. Learn more at www.amgentourofcalifornia.com. In 2011, the final stage of the tour was right here in Thousand Oaks.

Amgen Tour of California 2011 (Photo Credit: Marcella Ketelhut of Thousand Oaks)

And finally, check out the City of Thousand Oaks "Bikesafe" website at www.toaks.org/government/depts/public_works/streets/bicycle/home.asp for tips and information to ensure safe bicycling around town.

Banana Boat UltraMist Sunscreens Recalled Due to Risk of Product Igniting on Skin

Energizer Holdings, Inc., the makers of products like Schick razors, Playtex feminine products, Wet Ones wipes, Hawaiian Tropic suncare products and, of course, batteries, recently announced a voluntary nationwide market withdrawal nearly two dozen of its continuous spray Banana Boat sun care products. CLICK HERE for a list of the affected products.

The product is being removed because of a concern that the spray valve on the products dispenses too much of the product, resulting in its taking longer to dry on the skin than typical. As a result, if the user comes into contact with a flame or spark before the product is completely dry, the product has the potential to ignite.

Heck, it never even occurred to me that this could happen. Good thing I don't smoke! Energizer indicates that consumers should avoid sources of ignition and smoking when using these products.

Five people weren't so lucky. Energizer received reports of five people suffering burns related to the use of the Banana Boat SPORT Ultramist SPF 30 and 50 products.

Banana Boat has notified retailers to stop selling the product and anticipates it will be offering new continuous spray products soon. The products were distributed to retailers from January 2010 to September 2012.

Consumers are advised not to use the products. Any questions can be directed to Consumer Affairs at 800-SAFESUN (800-723-3786) Monday through Friday, 8am to 7pm Eastern time or by emailing them at SUNCARE@customerfollowup.info.

Sunscreens seem to be in the news a lot these days! Coppertone recently agreed to stop calling its sunscreens "waterproof" and "sweatproof."

California Law AB 1536 Allows Hands-Free Texting in Cars Beginning January 1, 2013

From the One More Reason to Stay Off the Roads Department. In July Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Assemblyman Jeff Miller of Corona's measure AB 1536 he refers to as the "Freedom to Communicate" bill.

AB 1536 states:

Existing law prohibits a person from driving a motor vehicle while using an electronic wireless communications device to write, send, or read a text-based communication, except as specified. This bill would remove that prohibition if the person is using an electronic wireless communications device that is specifically designed and configured to allow voice-operated and hands-free operation to dictate, send, or listen to a text-based communication, and it is used in that manner while driving.

Miller's press release proudly states: "Today marks a huge victory for commuters as AB 1536 will now make it easier to utilize new technology to its full advantage, allowing Californians to communicate safely and responsibly while on the road," and ..."I (Miller) am thrilled to announce that Californians will now be able to communicate with friends, family and business partners while driving because it is currently against the law to operate text based functions while driving."

OK, so how does this work? Well remember, you still can't hold your phone or press any buttons on the phone. It does have to be hands free.

AB 1536 states "write, send, or read a text-based communication" means using an electronic wireless communications device to manually communicate with any person using a text-based communication, including, but not limited to, communications referred to as a text message, instant message, or electronic mail. I suppose "not limited to" would include things like Tweets, Facebook posts, etc.

We've had our "no texting while driving" law in place since January 1, 2009. It was only a matter of time that an exception be made. Allowing hands-free text messaging no doubt is much more important than things like unemployment and education in our state, right?

Ford has a voice-activated system called "Sync" in its cars that, among other things, allows you to listen to incoming texts on your phone and "respond with a set of up to 15 preset outgoing messages such as 'Can't talk right now' or 'Where are you?'"

Yay!! Can't wait to get in the car to text my friends and family!! Yippee!!

November 6, 2012 Presidential General Election Registration and Key Voting Dates

The State of California has made it easier to register to vote by offering online voter registration for this coming November 6, 2012 Presidential General Election.

To register online, visit rtv.sos.ca.gov/elections/register-to-vote to start the online process or learn more at registertovote.ca.gov. The system will search the DMV database for your California driver license or ID card, date of birth and last four digits of your SSN. The Ventura County Clerk and Recorder Elections Division will contact you when the registration is approved or if additional information is needed.

You can also register to vote the old fashioned way by picking up a paper voter registration application at the Ventura County elections office, library, DMV or post office. More info at www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_vr.htm.

To vote for the November 6th election you must register by October 22, 2012!

Beginning October 8th, you may vote at the County of Ventura Elections Division, 800 S. Victoria Avenue, Ventura, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 805.654.2664 or 800.500.3555 for additional information.

If you receive a Vote by Mail ballot, you may mail that in starting October 8th. However, keep in mind that Vote by Mail ballots must be received by the Elections Division office or any Ventura County polling place no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day. Completed Vote By Mail ballots may also be dropped off before Election Day at any of the 10 City Clerk’s offices countywide or in the 24-hour ballot drop off box located in front of the Hall of Administration at the Government Center in Ventura.

I love having the option of voting by mail. For many years I've been on "Permanent Vote by Mail" status and automatically receive my ballot so I can let it sit on my desk as I procrastinate until Election Day. If you want to receive a Vote by Mail ballot, either on a one-time or permanent basis, complete the form on the back page of the Sample Ballot you received in the mail. It must be received by 5 p.m. on October 30th (one day before HALLOWEEN!).

To find out if you are registered to vote, the Ventura County Clerk and Recorder Elections Division website has a handy tool where you type your name and date of birth. If you are registered, they tell you where your polling place is, not to mention the date you registered and what your party affiliation is (hmm, this seems overkill to me...if you know someone's name and birth date, you can find out their party affiliation).

I noticed when using the tool that you have to type the exact name you registered under. Nicknames or shortened names don't work. Visit recorder.countyofventura.org/elections/voter-lookups/am-i-a-registered-voter to check this feature out.

NOW GO ON, GET OUT THERE AND VOTE!