As the new de facto leader of the five-person Thousand Oaks City Council, Claudia Bill-de la Peña said last week that her first goal as mayor would be to bring long-term stability to the city manager’s office. “We just finished a somewhat difficult year with the termination of the city manager, but 2017, I know, with this council, will be […]
2016-12-22
Swift reaction in wake of supe’s decision
CVHS to TOHSConejo Valley High senior Christine Salcido was shocked last week to learn that plans to relocate the school to the Waverly campus had been abandoned. “I didn’t know what else to do besides cry,” Salcido, 18, said. “Our struggle was over, and we lost.” Superintendent Ann Bonitatibus’ Dec. 13 decision to temporarily move the continuation high school to the Thousand […]
University delivers goodwill in wake of alleged Simi hate crime
Man was stabbed outside mosque Dec. 10In the wake of what authorities are calling a hate crime, more than a dozen people stood outside a Simi Valley mosque Friday carrying signs reading “You are not alone,” “Stand with humanity” and “Love wins,” among other messages of support. Staff and students from Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks organized the Dec. 16 vigil in an effort to […]
Department seeking new home for Fire Station 34
New site is in residential neighborhoodA plan to place a fire station in a residential neighborhood near Cal Lutheran University has some neighbors a little hot under the collar. At last week’s meeting of the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission, several public speakers voiced their opposition to a proposal by the Ventura County Fire Department to build a new station on a vacant lot VCFD recently […]
P-39 latest big cat to die on freeway
Puma recently birthed three kittensNational Park Service biologists said this week that a mountain lion recently struck by a vehicle earlier this month on the 118 Freeway was P-39, an adult female with three 6-month-old kittens. The death occurred Dec. 3 east of the Rocky Peak exit near the Simi Valley-Chatsworth border. Someone saw the cougar dead on the side of the road and […]
City Hall is taking a vacation
It’s nearly time again for the annual City Hall-iday closure. Offices in the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza will shut down at 5 p.m. Fri., Dec. 23 and remain closed till next year. Normal City Hall business hours—7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.—will resume Tues., Jan. 3. The eight-year tradition of closing its doors the week after Christmas saves the city […]
Trustee questions colleague’s request for more time on vote
Matter concerns change to social science, history guidelinesConejo Valley school board members locked horns Dec. 13 over a vote to revise the district’s social science policy to include the contributions of LGBT and disabled individuals. Fresh off a contentious campaign, trustees Betsy Connolly and Sandee Everett exchanged words over Everett’s request for more time before voting on the new policy, which would adopt state guidelines requiring high […]
The magic of the Christmas tree
Let’s be honest: To someone who isn’t familiar with Christmas, some of its traditions sound, well, for lack of a better word, strange. Take the Christmas tree, for example. It’s a tree we bring into our homes— either from the great outdoors or the great upstairs—and decorate with lights, ornaments, tinsel and the like. We put presents beneath it and […]
CVHS students are kids, not monsters
During last week’s school board meeting, Dr. Bonitatibus announced that plans for the Conejo Valley Learning Center were no longer viable, and that Conejo Valley High School would be temporarily moved to TOHS. I don’t have a horse in this race. My concern is for the CVHS students who have been caught in the middle of this issue. Their character […]
Survey asks for opinions on medicinal pot
After the City Council banned all uses of medical cannabis within the jurisdiction of Thousand Oaks, fellow patients and myself formed the Thousand Oaks Medical Marijuana Outreach on Facebook. We recently created a survey to gauge the public’s opinion of what citizens could see as an allowable use within the city. We’re asking that delivery services be permitted to get […]