The Old "Agoura" Sign on Agoura Road

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I was running (literally running) around Agoura Hills, in the vicinity of Agoura Road west of Chesebro Road, when I looked up and saw this distinctly vintage "Agoura" sign displayed at the corner of Agoura and Lewis Roads. While I've driven that stretch of Agoura Road hundreds of times over the years, for whatever reason I never really noticed this interesting sign.

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I wondered how long this sign has been there. City of Agoura Historian Cim Castellon was able to help put some of the puzzle together by contacting Brian Rooney of R7 Media, who provided the image below.

This photo shows two women posing for the camera with the Agoura sign and Agoura Market and Gas Station, owned by Harold Neale, in the background.

Photo Credit: R7 Media (www.r7media.com)

Photo Credit: R7 Media (www.r7media.com)

On the east side of Lewis Road road is the old Agoura Post Office at 28249 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills. Brian thinks the Agoura sign was put up about the time the post office opened.

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The sign is located adjacent to what used to be Center Stage Music, in a building that originally was Fitzgerald's Market in the 1920s and later Agoura Market in the 1940s.

For more local history, be sure to stop by the Reyes Adobe Historical Site, the first home built in Agoura Hills back in 1850.

Street Number Painting on Your Curb in Thousand Oaks

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Did you ever wonder about those notices taped to your mailbox asking for $20 to paint a new curb address at your house? I think I paid $10 one time years ago and they did do a good job (and it saved me the time and effort of attempting to do it myself).

But these notices never seem to have a name or phone number on them. Just mysteriously taped to my mailbox.

According to the Thousand Oaks Public Works Department at 805.449.2400, this practice requires an encroachment permit and to date no one has filed for one.  The permit costs $320 (in 2022 - it was $126 in 2017) for an entrepreneur, or no cost for non-profit organizations and fundraisers (booster clubs, etc.).  The permit is good for a year.

Public Works requires that the provider's name and number be indicated on the notice.

More information at www.toaks.org/home/showdocument?id=692.

Anyone can paint their own curb address.  The numbers must be at least 3 inches high (preferably 4 inches), stenciled in black on white background.  It must cover up the previous numbers but if there weren't any, they must be within 3 feet of the driveway on the same side as the house.

The recent notice offered an American flag in full color painted along with the address for an extra $5.  This is very patriotic and if everyone did it would be quite cool, but technically the City only allows numbers on the curb, no images.  So fly the flag high but don't be painting it on the curb.

You are now educated on the topic of curb address painting in Thousand Oaks.

Originally posted in January 2009. Updated August 2017. and 2022.

The Largest Mega Millions Jackpots to Date and Other Mega Millions Information

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Tomorrow (July 29, 2022) night’s Mega Millions drawing is estimated at $1.1 billion (update: $1.28 billion), making it the 2nd largest Mega Millions jackpot of all time. The Top 10 Mega Millions jackpots to date are as follows:

  • $1.537 billion - 10/23/18 - Winning ticket in South Carolina. (5, 28, 62, 65, 70 and 05)

  • $1.28 billion - 7/29/22 - And if no one wins it, it will be even higher on 8/2/22.

  • $1.050 billion - 1/22/21 - Winning ticket in Michigan (4, 26, 42, 50, 60 and 24)

  • $656 million - 3/30/12 - Winning tickets in Illinois, Kansas, Maryland (2, 4, 23, 38, 46 and 23)

  • $648 million - 12/17/13 - Winning tickets in California, Georgia (8, 14, 17, 20, 39 and 7)

  • $543 million - 7/24/18 - Winning ticket in California (1, 2, 4, 19, 29 and 20)

  • $536 million - 7/8/16 - Winning ticket in Indiana (8, 19, 20, 55, 73 and 5)

  • $533 million - 3/30/18 - Winning ticket in New Jersey (11, 28, 31, 46, 59 and 1)

  • $522 million - 6/7/19 - Winning ticket in California (17, 19, 27, 40, 68 and 2)

  • $516 million - 5/21/21 - Winning ticket in Pennsylvania (6, 9, 17, 18, 48 and 8)

Mega Millions is sold in 45 states, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The five states that do not participate are Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah.

Locally, Kristine Wellerstein won a $426 million ($292.9 million cash) Mega Millions drawing with a ticket purchased in Woodland Hills on 1/28/22.

On 7/16/10, Zahra Vasseghi of Agoura Hills split a $64 million Mega Millions jackpot with a co-worker. Read about her story at nspyr.com/thevasseghifamilystory/index.html (you won’t regret it).

In Mega Millions, you pick five different numbers ranging from 1 to 70 and one number (the gold Mega Ball) from 1 to 25. The jackpot is hitting all 6 numbers, which is a 1 in 302,575,350 chance. You have a 1 in 37 chance of hitting just the Mega Ball, worth a $2 return of your money.

If you win the Mega Millions jackpot, you can either take one up-front payment that is equal to all the cash in the jackpot price pool (which in tomorrow’s case is $648.2 million vs the estimated $1.1 billion full jackpot) or you can take the annuity option.

The annuity option is not the entire amount divided by 30 years. It starts out at about 1.5% of the total jackpot and increases each year by 5%. So for example, if you win the $1.1 billion jackpot, in the annuity option, you would receive about $16.5 million immediately, followed by $17.3 million in year 2, $18.2 million in year 3, $19.1 million in year 4, and so on.

Good luck! www.megamillions.com

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Case Tallies and Deaths in Ventura County, California and the World (2022)

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This page will be updated periodically with information on Ventura County area cases from www.venturacountyrecovers.org, U.S. cases from the CDC and global cases from the World Health Organization (WHO).

This post covers statistics in 2022. 2020 case tallies are at THIS LINK and 2021 are at THIS LINK.

Note that previously reported case counts are subject to changes and updates. We report initial case counts reported on these sites that in particular in the global stats change over time. For more accurate up to date counts at the global level, visit the WHO website at who.sprinklr.com.

A Compilation of Automotive Relics in the Open Space of the Conejo Valley

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As a resident of the Conejo Valley for over 20 years, a long distance runner and a father with active kids, I've run, walked, hiked and rolled over thousands of miles of trails within and surrounding the Conejo Valley.

Over the years I've noticed interesting, old items on the sides of the trails. These relics from the past always make me wonder how they got there and why they remain. I've attempted here to document these automotive blasts to the past on the trails of the Conejo Valley.

Read More

VCTC Intercity Provides Bus Service Throughout Ventura County and Adjacent Areas

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The Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) operates VCTC Intercity (formerly called VISTA) bus service throughout Ventura County as well as to Santa Barbara and Warner Center.

Routes and links to associated schedules:

  • Highway 101/Conejo (Routes 50-52) - Covers Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks.

  • Highway 126 (Routes 60-62) - Covers Fillmore, Santa Paula, Saticoy, Ventura.

  • East County (Routes 70-73) - Covers Simi Valley, Moorpark, Thousand Oaks.

  • Cross County Limited (Route 77 - Mon-Fri Only) - Covers Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Somis, Moorpark, Simi Valley

  • Coastal Express (Routes 80-89) - Covers Camarillo, Oxnard, Ventura, Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, Goleta and UCSB.

  • Channel Islands (Routes 90-99) - Covers Oxnard, CSU Channel Islands, Camarillo

Service hours vary by route, but overall VCTC Intercity operates between 4:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. on weekdays, 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturdays/Sundays, depending on the route. VCTC Intercity does not operate on the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

As of July 2022 one way fares are as follows:

  • Zone 1 - In Ventura County (Highway 101, Highway 126, East County, Channel Islands, Cross County Limited Routes) - $1.75 per fare

  • Zone 2 - Out of Ventura County (Coastal Express Route) - $4 per fare.

  • Children under 5 are free with a paying customer.

More fare information at www.goventura.org/vctc-transit/fares-passes.

Visit www.goventura.org to learn more and to map out your route.

Rod Stewart's "Forever Young" Music Video is Unmistakably Filmed in Hidden Valley

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After posting a photo of crows flying over the Hidden Valley “straightaway” on Potrero Road in Hidden Valley, Mario M. pointed out that the the song “Forever Young” started playing on his radio as he was driving on Potrero Road. He then pointed out that Rod Stewart’s Forever Young video was filmed on that straightway. And he certainly was right.

I’m certainly familiar with this popular song, which reached number 12 on the 1988 Billboard Hot 100 after its release on July 3, 1988. But I was not aware of this particular video.


Here’s the photo of crows flying across the north end of the Potrero Road straightaway in Hidden Valley.

Here’s the photo of crows flying across the north end of the Potrero Road straightaway in Hidden Valley.

Here’s Rod Stewart singing to a child in the video, played by Alex Zuckerman.

Here’s Rod Stewart singing to a child in the video, played by Alex Zuckerman.

And another shot from the video, showing a car full of female teenagers not wearing seatbelts. For shame! :) We can see that the speed limit of 25 MPH has not changed since 1988.

And another shot from the video, showing a car full of female teenagers not wearing seatbelts. For shame! :) We can see that the speed limit of 25 MPH has not changed since 1988.

And….one more scene from the video.

And….one more scene from the video.

Hidden Valley is an unincorporated community in Ventura County, bordered by Newbury Park to the west and north, the Santa Monica Mountains on the south and Lake Sherwood to the east. It is not considered part of the Conejo Valley.

A key scene from the 1981 horror film, “The Hand,” starring Michael Caine, was filmed on this Potrero Road straightaway. It was THE scene of the movie, where Caine’s character’s (Jon Landsdale) hand went missing after a vehicular mishap on Potrero Road.