2015 Pepperdine University Waves of Flags Display in Honor of 9/11 Victims

Once again, Pepperdine University students and volunteers will be staging a display of nearly 2,977 flags in honor of each of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The display will be at Alumni Park, at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Malibu Canyon Road. Each victim is memorialized with a flag reflecting their nationality. Waves of Flags will be open to the public for viewing and visitation through September 24th.

You Never Know What May Slither By You in the Trails of the Conejo Valley

This morning around 7:30am I came across what looked to be a long stick lying on the trail in the Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa area.

But upon closer inspection it looked a bit too curvy to be a stick.

Yes, on my morning run I came across what looked to be a beautiful, three foot long gopher snake slithering across the trail. Of course, one could become anxious upon coming across such a snake out on the trails, but as I kept my distance, I noticed no signs of a rattle. It appeared to be a gopher snake, on the lookout for a morning snack.

Here's a link to some key distinguishing features between a rattlesnake and a harmless gopher snake.

As we finished our mutual admiration, Jake the Snake slithered off into the wild, dry, brown, drought-ridden yonder.

For over 50 area trails and hikes in and around Ventura County, click this link.

Ventura County Sheriff's Office Releases Crime Data For First Half of 2015

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office has released its six-month 2015 Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) statistics for "Part I" Crimes in all Sheriff’s jurisdictions. Overall, Part I Crimes are up 8%, specifically Violent Crime is up 30% and Property Crime is up 6% for the period January through June 2015.

Violent crime was up in all categories in the contract cities of Camarillo, Fillmore, Ojai and unincorporated areas. The city of Moorpark had no increase and Thousand Oaks had a decline.

The cities of Camarillo, Fillmore, and Moorpark saw significant increases in burglaries, both residential and commercial type. Additionally, all jurisdictions saw an increase in stolen vehicles, with the exception of Ojai.

The city of Ojai had significant declines in all property crimes with the exception of residential burglaries. Although the city of Thousand Oaks showed a decline in overall violent crimes, property crimes increased in the areas of grand/petty thefts and stolen vehicles. The unincorporated areas experienced increases in all violent and property crime categories with the exception of Grand Thefts.

The Sheriff’s jurisdictions are experiencing gang “crew” members from outside Ventura County coming in and committing residential burglaries and other thefts. Several of these crews committed “knock knock” burglaries and were apprehended after extensive investigations by investigators. Additionally, one person was arrested for approx. 8 robberies in Camarillo, Thousand Oaks and Los Angeles. Much of the increase in Aggravated Assaults was due to these robberies and Domestic Violence.

As a reminder, in January of 2014, the definition for Rape changed and the UCR Program started collecting uniform information from law enforcement agencies with the new definition which broadened the scope of the previously narrow definition. For more information about this change, visit www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/new-rape-fact-sheet.

This new definition redistributed currently captured crime information from the category Part II “Sex Offenses” to the category Part I “Rape.” As predicted, this category in Part 1 showed a significant increase.

Although the Sheriff’s Office has recorded an increase in Part 1 crimes for the first six months, Ventura County is still a very safe area to live in. From 2010 to 2014, total Part 1 crimes for Sheriff’s jurisdictions have dropped almost 4%, a total of 1,291 less crimes. During the same time period, the crime rate per 1000 population went from 16.61 to 12.56. Listed below are the crime rates per 1000 for each of the Sheriff’s jurisdictions for the past five years:

As to Proposition 47's consequences, both intended and unintended, they are only beginning to be evaluated. Early indications show that it has not reduced jail populations and has put offenders back out on the streets sooner without the requirement of being on probation or attending substance abuse classes. Sheriff Dean is coordinating on a statewide level through the California State Sheriff’s Association on the identification, retention and collection of Proposition 47 related data and the results will be distributed.

The Sheriff's Office encourages people to actively report suspicious and/or criminal activity immediately by calling 9-1-1. Non-emergency reports can be made through the Sheriff’s Communication Center at (805) 654-9511.

Source: local.nixle.com/alert/5484889

A Visit with the Thousand Oaks Cobra at the San Diego Zoo Last Weekend

It was nearly one year ago that Thousand Oaks made headlines for a venomous white monocled cobra caught slithering around local neighborhoods over Labor Day weekend.

After a massive snakehunt, the unusual looking leucistic (mostly white, but not albino) snake was found and brought to the Los Angeles Zoo.

Subsequently the snake was transported to the San Diego Zoo, one of only two zoo facilities in the U.S. with proper anti-venom for the species.

This lovely female Monocellate Cobra was subsequently named Adhira ("lightning") and appears to be doing quite well at her permanent home in the Reptile House at the San Diego Zoo.

We stopped by to visit Adhira last weekend. While admiring her, we bragged to other onlookers that she came from our city, Thousand Oaks. They gave us this, yeah, uh huh, sure, look. "Do you live in Southeast Asia?" to which I replied, "Seriously! This cobra was found in Thousand Oaks and has its own social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook!" They had moved on to the next snake.

Firefighter Cyclists Passing through Malibu Today for Cancer Awareness Ride

Suzy Demeter of Suzy Demeter Photography happened to be on PCH in Malibu today when these firefighters came cycling by from the north. They were escorted by a fire truck from Malibu Fire Station #99, the westernmost fire station in Los Angeles County.

This was a group of firefighter cyclists that are part of the National Fire Velo Cycling Club that were on a one week ride from San Francisco Bay to Los Angeles as part of a "Fire Service Cancer Awareness" ride. Today is the final day of their ride, which ends at the Santa Monica Pier.

Visit their Facebook page to learn more, or visit www.firevelo.com.

"Sitting Pretty: Portrait Photography" Exhibit at Museum of Ventura County Aug 22 to Nov 29

Dr. Manual Antonio Rodriguez de Poli (MVC Collection)

Sitting Pretty: Portrait Photography from the Salon to the Selfie features long-hidden treasures from the Museum of Ventura County’s collection of photographic and painted portraits.  It will open on August 22nd and will be on display through November 29, 2015. 

Formal, framed portraits of well-known city pioneers, such as Dr. Cephas Bard, Dr. Manuel R. de Poli and Mrs. Concepcion Sepulveda de la Guerra, as well as lesser-known names were culled from the Museum’s storied permanent holdings.  The works on view range from elaborately framed formal portraits to light-hearted depictions of children, many of which are from the studio of John Calvin Brewster, a Ventura portraitist who established a studio on Main Street in 1875. The exhibit also offers a chance to see rare daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and tintypes, including one of Jose de la Rosa, the first notable California printer who settled in San Buenaventura in 1880.

The range of photographic processes shown in the more than 30 works spanning 120 years, explores the technical evolution of photography.  The advent of the roll film camera and digital technology have changed the roles of the professional portrait photographer. Also, the relative affordability of the photo gave a broader range of people the opportunity to own an image of themselves and loved ones, a luxury previously reserved for the wealthy who could afford to commission an artist to render a painting.

The current “selfie” craze makes everyone a photographer in the moment, without replacing the need for the trained photographer who has something we could never have—objectivity. 

The Museum of Ventura County is located at 100 E. Main Street, Ventura. Visit www.venturamuseum.org for more information.

Dr. Cephas Bard (MVC Collection)