Green As We've Ever Seen After Recent Rainstorms in the Conejo Valley

The hills are alive with green throughout the Conejo Valley after all of the recent rainstorms. The photos below are just one small glimpse at one can be seen out there. For a compilation of local area trails, visit THIS LINK.

Mountclef Ridge at Wildwood Park

Rancho Potrero overlooking the old Olympia Farms property in Newbury Park

Trail off of Lindero Road in Westlake Village

Cheeseboro Canyon in Agoura Hills

Rancho Sierra Vista / Satwiwa in Newbury Park

Hillcrest Open Space in Thousand Oaks

Views of Newbury Park from Angel Vista Peak

Los Robles Trail East in Thousand Oaks

Deer enjoying the green in Hidden Valley

The Smallest Post Office in the United States Used to Be in Wheeler Springs, Near Ojai

We were in Ojai for some activities and decided to drive up Maricopa Highway to check out the Wheeler Gorge Visitor Center for the first time. It is a cute little building that provides information about the Los Padres National Forest staffed with volunteers who sell maps, trail guides, Adventure Passes and other items. Located at 17017 Maricopa Highway, about eight miles from the "Y" intersection where if you continue right you are headed into Ojai. The Wheeler Gorge Campground is nearby.

More on local campgrounds in and around Ventura County at THIS LINK.

About a mile and a half before reaching the Visitor Center, at 16850 Maricopa Highway, we stopped at a small structure, shown above, that says "U.S.A.'s Smallest Post Office - Wheeler Springs, California."

There's quite a bit of history behind that structure and others in the area. According to OjaiHistory.com, the Wheeler Springs Post Office was installed by Webb Wilcox next to his Webb Wilcox Cafe in the mid-1930s after the Maricopa Highway was built, connecting Ojai to Kern County. The "glorified shack" was was designated by Ripley's Believe it or Not as the smallest Post Office in the U.S.A. until Wilcox died in 1962 and Wheeler Springs lost its status as a U.S. Post Office.

Webb Wilcox was the son-in-law of Wheeler Blumberg, who founded Wheeler's Hot Springs in 1891. Wheeler's Hot Spring Springs for awhile was a successful resort, with 14 guest cabins, swimming pool, fishing, camping, hot springs-fed swimming pool and more.

Blumberg went a bit crazy in May 1907, locking himself in a room and shooting holes through the walls. A posse was able to capture Blumberg, sedate him and place him in a straitjacket in a padded cell in Ventura. He continued screaming and straining until he died "from utter exhaustion" the next day at age 43. Wilcox, who previously married Blumberg's daughter, Etta, took control over the resort and renamed it Wheeler Hot Springs.

Wheeler Hot Springs went through a number of ownership changes over the years, including radio/TV personality Art Linkletter at one point, who opened a "Kiddie Land" attraction, who did not do well financially there. Over the decades, the resort survived and was rebuilt after multiple fires, and the "great flood of '69" but finally was completely closed down in 1999.

Visit THIS LINK on the OjaiHistory.com website for a much more detailed, fascinating account of Wheeler Hot Springs' ownership challenges over the years..

The Wheeler Hot Springs property is located at 16825 Maricopa Highway and according to Zillow.com was most recently sold in October 2016. It is privately owned and not open to the public but you will get a small glimpse of it as you drive by. According to the Zillow listing, Wheeler Hot Springs is 84.5 acres and has five known natural hot and cold mineral springs and a year-round creek. There is a large farmhouse occupying the center of the property.

Overall Crime Rate in Thousand Oaks Up 8% in 2016 Compared to 2015

Excerpt from Ventura County Sheriff's Office 2016 Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) for Part 1 Crimes, 2014-2016 January-December Comparison (released February 2017)

The Ventura County Sheriff's Office has released its 2016 Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) crime statistics for Part 1 Crimes in 2016 compared to prior years. Part 1 Crimes include violent crimes of homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assaulted and property crimes consisting of burglary, theft and arson.

The data was provided by the Sheriff's Office for contract cities of Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Moorpark, Fillmore and Ojai, as well as unincorporated areas of the county.

The good news is that the overall number of reported crimes in all jurisdictions was down 1% in 2016 as compared to 2015, although the violent crime rate increased by 1% (representing six crimes), offset by a 1% drop in overall property crimes.

However, the news for Thousand Oaks was not as positive in 2016 compared to 2015; the overall crime rate was up 8%, violent crimes increased by 21% (from 136 crimes in 2015 to 164 in 2016) and property crimes increased by 7%. 

Let's take a look at what drove the 21% increase in violent crime. About a third of the increase was a result of a 43% increase in robberies in 2016, from 23 in 2015 to 33 in 2016. Also, while the number of assaults using firearms and knives dropped by 50%, other assaults, including the use of "Hands/Fist/Feet" and "Other" (whatever that might be) increased by 36% in 2016. There were no homicides reported in 2016 or 2015.

Reported property crimes increased by 7%, including a 20% increase in residential burglaries, 17% increase in grand thefts (generally thefts with a value of over $950) and 14% increase in other burglaries.

While the residential burglary rate did increase in 2016 vs 2015, it is still dramatically lower - 34% - than it was in 2014.

Let's look back a bit farther, to 2010. That year, there were 139 reported violent crimes and 2,036 reported property crimes in Thousand Oaks, for a total of 2,175 total reported crimes at a population of 124,000. That equates to 17.53 crimes per 1,000 residents. In 2016, there were 14.05 total reported Part I crimes per 1,000 residents. That is quite an improvement.

Getting back to 2016, the City of Moorpark crime rate among those served by the Ventura County Sheriff, at 9.26 Part I crimes per 1,000 residents. down from 10.31 in 2015.

More information at local.nixle.com/alert/5857520.

Ventura County Comprehensive Smoke-Free Ordinance Passed in January 2017

At its January 10, 2017 meeting, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors passed the Ventura County Comprehensive Smoke-Free Ordinance

The ordinance prohibits smoking in the unincorporated areas of the county and at nearly all County-owned and operated buildings, campuses and properties.

In addition to the ban at County properties, the ordinance prohibits smoking in dining areas, entryways, recreation areas (except golf courses), service areas, public events and outdoor worksites.

The definition of smoking includes tobacco products, e-cigarettes and marijuana.

The Board passed the item on a 4-1 vote with Supervisor Parks casting the dissenting vote. The reason she did not vote for the ordinance is for two reasons. The ordinance allows for an exception on golf courses; and the ordinance negatively impacts psychiatric patients addicted to nicotine that are confined to a inpatient psychiatric unit.

The ordinance will become operative 180 days after its effective date.

I always am amused by the specific signage requirements for ordinances.

Section 6711 of the Ordinance specifies the posting of signs by those that have control of an area in which smoking or use of tobacco products is prohibited. The sign should indicate "No Smoking and No Vaping" or "Smoke-Free" at each entry point to the area and at least one other conspicuous sign within the area. 

"The signs will have letters of no less than one inch in height and shall include the international "No Smoking and No Vaping" symbol (consisting of a pictorial representation of a burning cigarette, marijuana leaf and e-cigarette enclosed in a red circle with a red bar across it."

The penalties for violations of this ordinance are as follows: Infraction for first offense; $50 fine for second offense within one year; $100 for third violation within one year; $200 for fourth or subsequent violation within one year. In other words, you are given one free violation per year.

Ordinance at THIS LINK.

Water Flows at Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa in Newbury Park After 6-8 Inches of Rain

The river is back again near the Wendy and Potrero trailhead to the Wendy Trail in Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa. It was here a month ago, dried up quickly, and of course now is back. This and other water flows near the Satwiwa Center, "Lake Satwiwa" near the parking lot and more captured here. Best to stay off the trails until they dry up a bit though I did tiptoe down the side of the Wendy Trail to capture the water flow. 

More on local hikes and trails around Ventura County at THIS LINK.

Seasonal pond next to main parking lot at Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa. I like to call this "Lake Satwiwa" though there is no official name for it to my knowledge.

Bacon, Avocado and Grilled Onions Top List of Conejo Valley Guide Facebook Followers' Favorite Hamburger Toppings

The burger from Bandits' Grill and Bar Thousand Oaks that inspired the drawing.

Yes, this is breaking news. Very important stuff. To celebrate reaching 12,000 followers on the Conejo Valley Guide Facebook Page, we teamed up with Bandits' Grill and Bar Thousand Oaks for a gift card drawing. To enter the six-hour drawing, we asked folks to name a favorite burger topping.

The drawing ended at 11PM and as always, when CVG Facebook followers are offered the chance to win free food, they do not hesitate to participate.

After selecting the winner, I decided to tabulate the responses to see if there was a clear-cut favorite topping.  It was not particularly surprising that bacon received 19% of total votes, making it the #1 choice.

But avocado gave bacon a clear run for its money, with 16% of the vote. As I was tabulating, midway through the count I thought avocado was actually going to pull out an upset win. But in the end, "bad fat" prevailed over "good fat," though not by much!

In a tie for third place were grilled onions and cheese, with 12% of the vote each. Rounding out the next four spots were blue cheese (this one surprised me a bit), mushrooms, onion strings/rings and BBQ sauce. Pickles, jalapenos, fresh tomato were noted several times.

Speaking of burgers and restaurants, visit THIS LINK for a rundown on local area eateries that are newly opened or soon to be opening.

The Murals of Santa Paula Provide a Pictorial History of the City

The City of Santa Paula is the geographical center of Ventura County, located in the rich agricultural Santa Clara River Valley. The city is surrounded by rolling hills and rugged mountain peaks in addition to orange, lemon and avocado groves. Santa Paula is often referred to as the "Citrus Capital of the World."

Santa Paula covers an area of 4.7 square miles and at the date of the 2010 U.S. census had a population of 29,321. It is the 7th largest (and inversely 4th smallest) city in Ventura County in terms of population. The city was incorporated on April 22, 1902.

Something unique to see while in Santa Paula is a series of nine murals that depict various historical aspects of the city, including its first inhabitants, the Chumash, the discovery of oil, its Latino culture, founding of the Santa Paula Airport, local farming and more. Learn more at this link and by visiting www.santapaulamurals.org.

Click this link for other things to do in Santa Paula!