Eggs "N" Things is Landslide Winner in Recent Breakfast Eatery Poll

We frequently run drawings on the Conejo Valley Guide Facebook page where folks are asked to comment to enter. In one such recent drawing, we asked the question, what is your favorite local breakfast eatery. Within the 9 hour comment deadline prior to the drawing, 140 people responded to the open ended question.

Eggs "N" Things is located in Camarillo (pictured here), Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and VenturaTo me it wasn't a surprise that Eggs "N" Things was the top vote getter. My family has enjoyed Eggs "N" Things for years.  With locations in Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Ventura and Simi Valley this local eatery  that has served our community since 1974 received an amazing 25% of all votes! A landslide! Learn more about Eggs "N' Things at www.eggsnthings.net.

The next three top vote-getters were Side Street Cafe in Newbury Park (www.sidestreetcafenp.com), Jinky's Cafe in Agoura Hills and Thousand Oaks (www.jinkys.com) and Stella's Restaurant in Newbury Park (www.stellasgourmetrestaurant.net). These eateries each received 5 to 8% of the vote.

Closely following, with 4% of the vote, were Country Harvest in Newbury Park (www.countryharvestrestaurant.net) and Breakfast Cafe, with locations in Oak Park and Camarillo (www.facebook.com/pages/The-Breakfast-Cafe/294939383897705).

Honorable mentions go out to the following eateries that were mentioned at least several times: Denny's, Pickles Deli, Brent's Deli, Marmalade Cafe, P&L Burger, Cronies, Harold's House of Omelettes, Mimi's Cafe and Waypoint Cafe.

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOOP ON NEW RESTAURANTS IN AND AROUND VENTURA COUNTY

AND HERE FOR RESTAURANTS THAT HAVE CLOSED THEIR DOORS IN RECENT YEARS

Denny's

Pickles

Harold's

Mimi's

Cronies

Waypoint

P&L

Brent's

Marmalade

Debunking the Blog Post That Says Thousand Oaks is the 2nd Snobbiest City

Over the last few days I've noticed quite a bit of buzz about a recent blog post on a real estate website called "These Are The 10 Snobbiest Mid-Sized Cities in America." The reason people have been sharing the post is that Thousand Oaks is ranked #2 on the list.

Huh? Snobby? I feel compelled to respond.

How do they define snobby? According to Merriam Webster online, a snob "is someone who tends to criticize, reject, or ignore people who come from a lower social class, have less education, etc."

But how do you actually measure this in order to to determine which cities are the "snobbiest?" The blogger chooses eight "sorts of things snobs would like." She decides that a city is snobbier if residents have higher incomes, higher home prices, more education, private schools, art galleries, performing arts and country clubs and less fast food eateries per capita.

Talk about arbitrary.

She looks at these factors only "for 100 mid-sized cities." Why just 100 cities? What is mid-sized? 50,000 people? 100,000? She doesn't say. Given there are well over 9,000 cities in the U.S., limiting yourself to just 100 is also arbitrary. From what I could gather, the 100 cities are roughly in the range of 125,000 to 210,000 residents. That leaves out cities like Beverly Hills, Calabasas and Santa Barbara. And well over 9,000 other cities.

If I were measuring snobbyness, a survey of residents would be in order. This blogger did no such thing. Fast food restaurants? Somehow out of the 100 cities on the list, Thousand Oaks ranked 16th lowest in terms of fast food eateries per capita. But the underlying data from "the 2010 Census" is not provided. I can count at least 50 fast food places in the Conejo Valley. I'd love to see her underlying data. Heck, we've got 3 McDonald's,10 Subways, 2 Chick-fil-A's. How is that snobby?

How could a city with a Chuck E. Cheese's be called the 2nd snobbiest "mid-size" city!!??And how could a city with both a Chuck E Cheese's and a Hooters be the 2nd snobbiest city?

Each of the eight factors are equally ranked. Thousand Oaks ranked 3rd out of 100 in median home price and household income. Yes, it costs a lot to live here in paradise, which means we need to earn more to pay for it. Does that make us snobbier? Fully 25% of the ranking is based on these two factors. Six of the "top 10" cities on this "snobbiest" list are in California...largely because, yes, it costs more to live here. Does that make us snobby?

One of the 8 factors is "country clubs per capita." Sheesh, most people I know have never been to the Sherwood Country Club or North Ranch Country Club. Yet we are called snobby because they are situated here.

And of course we are ranked 8th lowest in terms of percentage of residents with college degrees. Obviously more education equals snobby, right? Most college graduates I know show no signs of snobbyness. Heck, I don't think I became a snob, or snobbier, when I received my master's degree. Or maybe I did!? Hmm, I'll have to ponder that as I look for my Grey Poupon.

Movoto is a real estate website that generates traffic with nonsense posts like this one. The fact that I'm writing about it means they are doing a great job at attracting attention.

COMPILATION OF FUN LOCAL TRAILS AND HIKES IN VENTURA COUNTY

Ventura Beach This Past Father's Day

Local realtor Jeffrey Diamond shared these great images at Ventura Beach from this past Father's Day weekend. Great colors!

For more on beaches within close range of Ventura County, check out these highlights of beaches in Ventura Harbor to Carpinteria, Oxnard to Malibu and the Santa Barbara area.

Casa Pacifica "Building New Foundations of Hope" $21 Million Capital Campaign

Headquartered on a rural 24-acre campus in Camarillo, Casa Pacifica serves abused and neglected children and adolescents, and those with severe emotional, social, behavioral, and mental health challenges. The non-profit was established in 1994 with the support of the County of Ventura and has served over 18,000 children and youth and their families.

In October 2013, Casa Pacifica launched a $21 million capital campaign to add new cottages, housing for transition-age foster youth, a therapeutic activities building, vocational education and training space, classrooms, and a suitable site for clinical services. Temporary structures will be replaced with state-of-the-art treatment facilities and administrative functions will be consolidated in one new building. Additional space will be added to Casa Pacifica's health clinic to address the growing number of children with unmet medical needs in the foster care population.

Since 1994, local community needs have grown; as a result, one-fifth of Casa Pacifica's services are now housed in temporary buildings or offsite. The capital campaign will enable the organization to respond to growing community needs and increase by at least 50% the number of children and youth served annually. Funds raised will also help replace 12,000 sq ft of temporary structures and add 46,000 sq ft of state-of-art buildings.

To learn more, visit www.casapacifica.org/about/capital_campaign.

California Minimum Wage Earners to Receive 12.5% Raise on July 1, 2014

Since January 1, 2008, the minimum wage in California has been $8 per hour. Effective July 1, 2014, the minimum wage will be $9 per hour, increasing to $10 per hour on January 1, 2016.

The coming increase on July 1st represents a 12.5% increase. Wow, sounds pretty good, doesn't it!? But wait. If the minimum wage was tied to inflation, $8 in 2008 equates to $8.81 in 2014, which is pretty darn close to where it will be next month.1

If you are a California sheepherder, however, since January 1, 2008, your minimum monthly salary has been $1,422.52. This will be raised on July 1, 2014 to $1600.34 also a 12.5% increase) and to $1777.98 effective January 1, 2016. Based on a standard 2080 work year, sheepherders' miniumum wage will be $9.23 on July 1st, or 23 cents more than non-sheepherding professions. Gotta love our California laws.

The Federal minimum wage has stood at $7.25 since July 24, 2009. $7.25 in 2014 dollars equates to about $6.56 in 2009 dollars.

To learn more about California minimum wages, visit www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_minimumwage.htm. Federal minimum wage laws are at www.dol.gov/dol/topic/wages/minimumwage.htm.

Looking for a job that perhaps earns more than the minimum wage? Check out THIS LIST of nearly 300 employers in Ventura County and surrounding areas.

1. Calculated using Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator at www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm.

Impressions of the Conejo Valley Presentation by Photographer Ed Lawrence

The Thousand Oaks Library Special Collections contain some amazing items, including one of the largest American Radio Archives in the world, a Local History Collection containing thousands of books, pamphlets, maps, photos and other items, and a 300 volume Book Arts Collection. Learn more about the Special Collections at www.tol.lib.ca.us/Specoll/index.html.

The Local History Collection contains well over 100,000 photographs from Ed Lawrence, The News Chronicle and professional photographers Frank Knight, Herb Noseworthy and Scott Harrison.

The Ed Lawrence Collection chronicles the growth of Thousand Oaks with over 15,000 images of the Conejo Valley through more recent times. Through a partnership between the Thousand Oaks Library Foundation, the City of Thousand Oaks, Conejo Recreation and Park District, and California Lutheran University, the Lawrence Collection is now permanently part of the Thousand Oaks Library archives.

In the 50 minute video below, Lawrence takes us through a journey of the history of Thousand Oaks in "Impressions of the Conejo Valley."

To see more of Ed Lawrence's photos, visit edlawrencephoto.com. You can actually purchase high quality prints of some of his best photos there.

Help Your Kids Swim Safely This Summer: Drowning Prevention Tips

Every day, about ten people die from unintentional drowning. Of these, two are children aged 14 or younger. Drowning ranks fifth among the leading causes of unintentional injury death in the United States. Let's put a stop to this, courtesy of these reminders from the CDC.

Tips to help you stay safe in the water

• Supervise When in or Around Water. Designate a responsible adult to watch young children while in the bath and all children swimming or playing in or around water. Supervisors of preschool children should provide “touch supervision”, be close enough to reach the child at all times. Because drowning occurs quickly and quietly, adults should not be involved in any other distracting activity (such as reading, playing cards, talking on the phone, or mowing the lawn) while supervising children, even if lifeguards are present.
• Use the Buddy System. Always swim with a buddy. Select swimming sites that have lifeguards when possible.
• Seizure Disorder Safety. If you or a family member has a seizure disorder, provide one-on-one supervision around water, including swimming pools. Consider taking showers rather than using a bath tub for bathing. Wear life jackets when boating.

• Learn to Swim. Formal swimming lessons can protect young children from drowning. However, even when children have had formal swimming lessons, constant, careful supervision when children are in the water, and barriers, such as pool fencing to prevent unsupervised access, are still important.
• Learn Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). In the time it takes for paramedics to arrive, your CPR skills could save someone’s life. HANDS-ONLY CPR INSTRUCTION VIDEO
• Air-Filled or Foam Toys are not safety devices. Don’t use air-filled or foam toys, such as "water wings", "noodles", or inner-tubes, instead of life jackets. These toys are not life jackets and are not designed to keep swimmers safe.
• Avoid Alcohol. Avoid drinking alcohol before or during swimming, boating, or water skiing. Do not drink alcohol while supervising children.
• Don’t let swimmers hyperventilate before swimming underwater or try to hold their breath for long periods of time. This can cause them to pass out (sometimes called “shallow water blackout”) and drown.

If you have a swimming pool at home:

• Install Four-Sided Fencing. Install a four-sided pool fence that completely separates the pool area from the house and yard. The fence should be at least 4 feet high. Use self-closing and self-latching gates that open outward with latches that are out of reach of children. Also, consider additional barriers such as automatic door locks and alarms to prevent access or alert you if someone enters the pool area.
• Clear the Pool and Deck of Toys. Remove floats, balls and other toys from the pool and surrounding area immediately after use so children are not tempted to enter the pool area unsupervised.

Information courtesy of the CDC at www.cdc.gov/safechild.

COMPILATION OF LOCAL VENTURA COUNTY AREA SUMMER SWIMMING OPTIONS