Reminder About How to Deal with Coyotes in the Conejo Valley and Surrounding Areas

Living in the Conejo Valley, surrounded by thousands of acres of open space, most of us come into contact with coyotes from time to time. Coyotes are a vital component of rural and urban communities, deserving of respect for their adaptability, resilience and intelligence. Below are some tips on coyote awareness, courtesy of Project Coyote.

Facts:

• Coyotes are members of the dog family; they are curious, adaptable, and learn quickly.

• Coyotes often mate for life, are devoted parents, and are highly communicative (barks, yips, howls).

• Coyotes weigh 18-35 pounds in the West.

• Coyotes may be more protective of dens/territories during pup rearing (April-Aug).

• Coyotes eat large numbers of rodents and rabbits, as well as fruit, vegetation, insects and carrion. They help keep ecosystems vital, healthy and clean.

• Coyotes are naturally wary of people but can adapt to our presence and the reliable food sources that we provide.

Safety:

• DON’T FEED COYOTES. Their life and your safety depend on coyotes remaining wild and naturally wary of people.

• Remove attractants; pick up trash, secure garbage, and feed pets inside. Don’t leave food or pets outside at night.

• Walk dogs on leashes, especially during pup rearing season (April-Aug). Pick up your small dog if you see a coyote and don’t let pets roam.

• If approached, don’t run. Wave arms, make noise and walk toward the coyote until he retreats. Be “Big, Bad and Loud.”

• Avoid areas where coyotes may be denning or feeding/hiding pups.

• Appreciate coyotes from a distance. Share this information with family and friends.

California Minimum Wages Increased Today, January 1, 2020 by $1 Per Hour

If you are a minimum wage earner in California, today you received a pay increase of either 9.1% or 8.3%.

Huh? Well it depends on if your employer has 25 or fewer employees or 26 or more employees. If you work for a smaller employer (25 or less employees), the California minimum wage increases from $11 to $12 per hour. If you work for a larger employer (26 or more employees), your wage increases from $12 to $13 per hour.

Hmm, that brings an interesting idea to mind. If you are a minimum wage earner at a smaller company as defined, you could actually receive an 18.2% increase in 2020 simply by finding a larger employer!

In any case, by law, California minimum wage rates for all companies will be raised to $15 per hour with $1 increases on January 1st of each year by 2022 for larger employers and 2023 for smaller employers. See charts below.

The federal minimum wage for 2020 is $7.25, a rate that has stood frozen in time since it became effective on July 24, 2009.

California minimum wage rates apply to Ventura County residents. But City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles minimum wage rates are currently higher than Ventura County/California wage rates. They are currently:

• $13.25 for employers with 25 or less employees until 7/1/20, when the rate increases to $14.25 per hour. The rate subsequently increases to $15 per hour 7/1/21.

• $14.25 for employers with 26 or more employees until 7/1/20, when the rate increases to $15 per hour.

Looking for a higher minimum wage? Move to San Francisco, where the rate is currently $15.59 per hour and will be adjusted for inflation on July 1, 2020.

No Party Preference Voters May Still Participate in Presidential Primary for 3 of 6 Political Parties in 2020

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Postcard received by NPP registered voters.

A record number of California voters are registered as No Party Preference. As of October 1, 2019, 26.7% of all registered voters in California selected No Party Preference (NPP), up from 24% in January 2016 and 16% in 2003.

But in the Presidential Primary on March 3, 2020, if you are NPP, you have no one to vote for. You will receive a primary election ballot without any candidates listed.

However, three parties have notified the Secretary of State that they will allow for “crossover” voting in the primary. What this means is that NPP voters may request a ballot for one of the three parties and vote for a presidential candidate for that party.

The parties that allow NPPers to vote in their primary are the American Independent Party, Democratic Party and Libertarian Party.

The parties that do not allow crossover voting in the primary are the Green, Peace and Freedom and Republican parties.

The Green, Peace and Freedom, and Republican presidential primaries are open only to voters registered with their respective parties.

You can verify your voter registration at VoterStatus.sos.ca.gov. If you’d like to change your political party, you may re-register at RegisterToVote.ca.gov.

NPP voters who vote in person may simply request their desired crossover ballot when checking in at the polls. NPP voters who vote-by-mail will receive a postcard from their county elections official in advance that will allow them to select a crossover ballot. If they don’t respond to the postcard, they may still request a crossover ballot up until election day at their polling place.

As of October 1, 2019, 80.65% of the 25,205,690 eligible voters in California, or 20,328,636, were registered to vote. 44.1% are Democrat, 26.7% are NPP, 23.6% are Republican and 5.6% is the other parties. The number of registered voters in California has increased over 3 million, from 17.3 million in January 2016 to 20.3 million today. www.sos.ca.gov

The Number of Registered Voters in Ventura County Has Increased Nearly 10% Over the Last Seven Years

The Ventura County Registrar of Voters website has up to date counts of the number of registered voters in Ventura County. We like to track the totals from time to time to see the trends.

On May 12, 2012, there were 406,644 registered voters in Ventura County, consisting of:

• 157,539 Democrats

• 150,919 Republicans

• 77,994 Nonpartisans

• 20,192 Other

Approximately seven years later, in May 2019, there are 445,217 registered voters, a 9.5% increase, including:

• 176,712 Democrats, a 12% increase

• 130,228 Republicans, a 14% decrease

• 110,225 Nonpartisans, a whopping 41% increase

• 28,052 Other, also a large 39% increase

Update as of 12/8/19: Total registered voters 454,872, up 2.2% in six months, including 183,994 Democrats (up 4.1%), 132,142 Republicans (up 1.5%), 108,208 Nonpartisan (down 1.8%) and 30,528 Other (up 8.8%).

Can’t remember if you are eligible to vote? Look it up at THIS LINK. What I’ve found with this Voter Eligibility Search function is that, unlike a search engine, your search terms have to be precise. If you are registered as Richard King, if you type Rich King into the search, it will not find you.

Register to vote online at registertovote.ca.gov.

Dedication of 3.4 Mile Stretch of Highway 101 in Memory of Sergeant Ron Helus in Thousand Oaks

On November 6th, a 3.4 mile stretch of Highway 101, between Hampshire Road and Lynn Road, was dedicated to the memory of Ventura County Sheriff’s Sergeant Ronald Lee Helus.

The prominently placed signs will serve as a reminder of the man he was and the sacrifice he made in order to protect those he did not know. at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks on Wednesday, November 7, 2018.

Live broadcast of the sign dedication on November 6, 2019.

The "Maria" Fire Near Santa Paula Burns Over 9,400 Acres Beginning Halloween Night

I was in Newbury Park on Halloween night when I looked up and saw orange flames in the distance. First I mentally freaked out because they looked pretty close by. But after checking out the Ventura County Fire Department (VCFD) “Pulsepoint” page (a web page that shows active and recent incidents in Ventura County), I learned this was most likely a fire on South Mountain, just south of Santa Paula.

Fires definitely can look closer than they actually are at night. Unfortunately, based on a number of recent experiences, I’m getting used to that.

In this case, the fire on South Mountain was clearly seen from the Conejo Valley as the mountain is over 2,300 feet in elevation (which is about 500 feet shorter than Boney Peak here in the Santa Monica Mountains). Although unnerving to see, the flames were easily 10 to 12 miles away from the Conejo Valley, measured point to point.

Randy Latimer shared this of his plane at #SantaPaula airport last night #MariaFire pic.twitter.com/gQNJlTmctU

— TRACY L. LEHR (@KEYTNC3Tracy) November 1, 2019

The fire was called the “Maria” Fire. I’m assuming it was named after something near the scene of the incident. There is a Santa Maria Street in Santa Paula that parallels the north side of South Mountain, so I’m going to assume that was what this wildfire was named after.

South Mountain overlooks the Santa Paula Airport and has the initials “SP” emblazoned on it. There are also oil fields clearly seen on the mountain as well as communications equipment at the top.

What a way to spend Halloween night. Within an hour of its identification, VCFD issued evacuation orders to homes in the perimeter south of the 126, north of Los Angeles Ave, east of Vineyard and west of Balcom Canyon Road.. About 1,800 homes were threatened as the fire crews strategically went into structure protection mode.

The wind driven fire was spreading quickly westbound, while moving slowly in the Santa Paula direction. Somis was also in the path of the fire.

One great thing about social media is that we have much more timely information about local disasters. The VCFD Public Information Officer Twitter account posts frequent updates, available to anyone via web browser at twitter.com/VCFD_PIO. (You don’t need to be a Twitter user to view the Tweets.) I’ve been impressed by the frequency and quality of communications from this VCFD account.

Of course, there are other sources for information, including the vcemergency.com website, which posts incident information, evacuations, emergency shelters and road closures.

As of Saturday, November 2nd at 7 p.m.., the Maria Fire stands at 9,412 acres and is 30% contained. Two structures were destroyed in the fire but at this time, no other structures are threatened. Evacuations orders were lifted at 2 p.m. today. A total of 1,579 total personnel are assigned to the fire, including 262 engines, 7 water tenders, 6 helicopters, 35 hand crews and 10 dozers.

Anticipated full containment is November 8th.