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June 16, 2011 / Front Page

2011 graduates bid farewell

NEW HORIZONS—Above, Thousand Oaks High School seniors see bright days ahead as they receive their diplomas during commencement ceremonies at the school’s football field on June 9. More...

Told it’s time to move

By Michelle Knight
knight@theacorn.com

Residents of Conejo Mobile Home Park must move out of their trailers by the end of the month so the property can be turned into a townhome development. More...

Health & Wellness

Kiwanis rolls out the barbecue for the Cancer Survivors Day picnic

Organization has contributed for past 15 years

Since the Wellness Community Valley/Ventura started 20 years ago, the Kiwanis Club of Thousand Oaks has been one of the organization’s key supporters. More...

T.O.’s Villa Esperanza wins Awesome Provider award

Nonprofit helps those with developmental disabilities

Ventura County Autism Society awarded Villa Esperanza Services with the 2011 Awesome in Autism Adult Provider of the Year award at the third annual Reach for the Stars benefit on May 21 at Las Posas Golf and Country Club. More...

Putting on weight? Blame the environment

Research shows the way comunities are constructed contributes to weight gain in the residents.

Take a look around the city and neighborhood. Are there sidewalks? Where is the closest grocery store? Can a person get there, or anywhere, without a car? More...

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Bulletin Board

Calendar

THURS., JUNE 16 Camarillo Community Gardens More...

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Schools

Student takes top honors at youth awards

Jaclyn Lee, a 16- year- old high school student, took top honors at the recent 2011 Youth Recognition Awards ceremony at the Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks. More...

Founder of teen tea party to speak

The founder of a high school tea party group will speak at 7 p.m. Thurs., June 23 at Calvary Chapel, 2697 Lavery Court, Suite 18, Newbury Park. Caleb Yee founded what he calls the First High School Tea Party. More...

Equipment thefts on the rise

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department West County Headquarters has seen a recent increase in thefts of landscaping equipment. The type of equipment taken ranges from lawn mowers, edgers, chain saws, leaf blowers and even a stump grinder. More...

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Business

Teacher honored with Spirit Award

COMMUNITY HERO— Cynthia Gyure, teacher at Wildwood Elementary, receives the 2011 Conejo Valley Unified School District Teacher of the Year Award at the Spirit of Community Awards presented by t More...

Broker recognized for sales

Carol Knowles, a Thousand Oaks-based broker with California Long Term Care Insurance Services Inc. of Burlingame, has been recognized as a leading long-term care insurance professional in the state. More...

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Police

Sheriff's Blotter

Newbury Park Property worth $13,000 was taken from the 5100 block of Via Rincon between May 24 and June 6. A residential burglary was attempted in the 3400 block of Gloria Drive on May 27. More...

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Faith

Faith author to speak at Westlake store

Local Simi Valley author Dennis Merritt Jones will discuss and sign his new book, “The Art of Uncertainty: How to Live in the Mystery of Life and Love It,” at 2 p.m. Sat., June 18 at the Westlake Promenade Barnes & Noble, 160 S. More...

House of worship

TEMPLE ETZ CHAIM—A conservative synagogue, Temple Etz Chaim is at 1080 E. Janss Road in Thousand Oaks. More...

Living Oaks expands into third building

Expansion includes youth center

Seven years ago, Living Oaks Community Church was a startup church, meeting at the Borchard Community Center in Newbury Park, unpacking and packing up each week for services. More...

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Family

Growing up in the ‘Car’nejo Valley

Commentary

By Dashiell Young-Saver
Special to the Acorn

It’s not easy to take a stroll in the Conejo Valley. Things here are so far apart from each another. More...

Miller Y to host July 4 get-together

The Miller Family YMCA will host a community get-together and 5K run/walk Mon., July 4 at the Y in the Paraiso Center, 320 Via Las Brisas, Newbury Park. The race starts at 7:30 a.m. More...

Teens to collect food as part of gathering

Teens attending the Western States Youth Gathering at California Lutheran University will walk through Thousand Oaks neighborhoods to collect food for those in need from noon to 5 p.m. Sun., July 3. Donations can also be dropped off from 11 a. m. More...

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Columns

THE OTHER Side of 50

The new retirement: working

Hope is not a strategy, or so it’s been said. But hope seems to be the strategy for many American workers when it comes to their retirement plans. More...

Ask the Arborist

Big trees

Q: I have three giant sequoia redwood trees in my backyard and four in my front yard. The tops of the trees in back are dying but the trees in front are not. Also, the sequoias in front have darker needles. More...

On the Trail

Here’s looking at you, kid

The National Park Service once gave me a free cap emblazoned VOLUNTEER above their familiar insignia, I began to take the gig seriously. All this amounted to, actually, was keeping a watchful eye out for suspicious activity. More...

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New owner retools Paraiso shopping center

Trying to avoid mistakes of the past

By Michelle Knight
knight@theacorn.com

The Paraiso Town Center was built for success. By all accounts, the 50,000-square-foot parcel in the Dos Vientos community is beautiful: It sports a lily pond, lush landscaping, fanciful sculpture art and a children’s playground. More...

School district bringing back its counselors

Budget cuts rescinded

By Anna Bitong
annab@theacorn.com

Elementary school counseling in the Conejo Valley Unified School District will continue during 2011-12 school year. More...

Community

CVUSD takes first steps toward building a new community center

Building would house several schools and multipurpose room

By Anna Bitong
annab@theacorn.com

Plans for the Community Learning Center in Thousand Oaks are underway. The Conejo Valley Unified school board voted 4-1 last week to solicit construction bids for the center, which will be located near the district offices on Janss Road. More...

Man guilty in selling technology abroad

An Iranian man from Woodland Hills pleaded guilty May 31 in Illinois federal court to two felony charges stemming from his efforts to illegally export missile components and radio test lists from the United States to Iran. More...

YMCAs offer leadership programs

The Triunfo and Miller Family YMCAs offer leadership programs for teens in grades six through 12. •The Miller Family YMCA of Newbury Park will host a parent information meeting at 6:30 p.m. More...

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Dining & Entertainment

From empty space to arts aplenty

Open Borders event allows creativity to flow

By Michelle Knight
knight@theacorn.com

What would you do with a 40,000-square-foot building with 30-foot-high ceilings that will be vacant for the summer? Throw a party and invite your friends, if you’re Larry Janss. More...

Radio club planning for Field Day

The Conejo Valley Amateur Radio Club will host a meeting at 7:30 p.m. today, June 16, at the East County Sheriff’s Station, 2101 E. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks. More...

Astronomincal Society hosting telescope clinic

Members of the Ventura County Astronomical Society will host the annual Telescope Users Clinic at 7:15 p.m. Fri., June 17 at Mesa Union School multipurpose room, 3901 Mesa Road, Somis. The public can attend at no charge. More...

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Sports

Spring thing: Marmonte honors top performers

The Marmonte League has announced its all-league selections for high school spring sports. Here is a list of studentathletes who were honored: BASEBALL Cody Ramer of Simi Valley High is the Player of the Year in baseball. More...

Punk rock & baseball talk

T.O. resident Radinsky has made his mark in music, sports

By Eliav Appelbaum
eliav@theacorn.com

For Scott Radinsky, life is in perpetual motion. He’s enjoyed one heck of a ride, one that keeps going strong with new adventures and challenges. Radinsky is many things. Major League Baseball coach. Punk rocker. Skater. Family man. Mensch. More...

‘Macho Man’ was great, but he wasn’t the greatest

Commentary

By Josh O’Rourke and Stephen Dorman
sdorman@theacorn.com

The untimely death of Randy “Macho Man” Savage last month got two old friends to texting. More...

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Pets

Out for a leisurely swim

SWAN LAKE—A swan and her chick cruise Westlake Lake as the sun starts to set on May 31. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers More...

Squirrel of the Month

AT EASE—Erika Owens of Oak Park snapped this photo in her backyard. She writes, “This guy would hang by his back paws swinging back and forth. More...

Pet of the Week

‘LET’S PLAY!’—Benny, a 4- year- old boxer mix, is athletic, engaging and alert. He knows basic commands but would benefit from more training. More...

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Obituaries

Thomas Eugene Griffiths

June 25, 1936 – May 29, 2011

Thomas Eugene Griffiths, a popular radio/ TV personality and newspaper executive whose career spanned more than 50 years in east and west-coast media, passed away last week in California of cancer. He was 74. More...

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Letters

Boulevard changes political payback

Did you see the story in last week’s Acorn on the redevelopment of Thousand Oaks Boulevard? It’s one political payback after another by our City Council majority led by Mayor Andy Fox. More...

Redevelopments not a top priority

Contrary to claims made by Rick Principe and Rick Lemmo in their May 28 letter to the Acorn, and a claim attributed to the city in the Acorn’s May 9 front-page article, the residents of Thousand Oaks have not identified redevelopment of Thousan More...