Coaches Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor Opening May 25th at Wendy-Kimber Plaza in Newbury Park

UPDATE: Coaches Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor’s grand opening is Saturday, May 25th at 10:30am.

Coaches Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor is “coming soon” to the Wendy-Kimber Plaza, 3345 Kimber Drive, Newbury Park. It will be located next to Country Harvest, in the space previously occupied by Bushido Martial Arts, which moved a few suites down.

Rumor has it that the owners are the same folks that own Country Harvest. This will undoubtedly be an exciting addition to the neighborhood.

No other specifics yet, but updates at www.facebook.com/CoachesNP.

Simi Valley Police Department Warns of Increase in Wallet Thefts

The Simi Valley Police Department has noted an increase in the theft of wallets taken from woman’s purses while shopping at local grocery stores.

Shoppers are being distracted by a female and/or male suspect. While distracted, the suspects are reaching into women’s purses and removing their wallets. Credit and debit cards are the items needed for a shopping spree on your dime. The usual purchases are gift cards, which are untraceable. Retail businesses do not request IDs to validate credit card ownership due to their corporate policies.

The SVPD would like to remind you STAY ALERT! DON’T BECOME A VICTIM!

• Never leave your purse or backpack unattended in the shopping cart.

• Always zip your purse or backpack closed to prevent any thefts.

• If a fellow shopper interrupts your shopping to ask a question or make small talk, be sure that that your purse is not unattended in the shopping cart.

• Secure your property to the cart’s safety belt or use a caribiner to attach your purse or backpack. (SVPD is giving away FREE keychain caribiners from the front desk, located at 3901 Alamo Street, Simi Valley).

• Report suspicious subjects to the stores management.
  
  Ventura County Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 reward for information, which leads to the arrest and crime complaint against the person(s) responsible for this crime. The caller may remain anonymous. Call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477) or Text “BUSTED” plus your message to CRIMES (274637).

Rubio's Newbury Park Has Served Its Last Fish Taco

Several local residents have reported that the Rubio’s in Newbury Park announced to its employees today that today, Sunday, January 27, 2019 it will be closing its doors. Very sad news. Rubio’s locations nearest to the Conejo Valley are in Oxnard, Ventura and Northridge.

rubios.com

VCCF Update on Conejo Valley Victims Fund, Fires and Scholarships

Some updates from the Ventura County Community Foundation (VCCF):

A good place to start for those seeking aid in recovery from local disasters is Ventura County 2-2-1. Visit THIS LINK for an intake form to start the process (THiS LINK for Spanish).

Note that VCCF continues to raise support for those impacted by the Thomas Fire as well. For those individuals in need of financial assistance in relationship to the Thomas Fire who are not currently working with a case manager, they should reach out to 2-1-1 so they can be assigned to the appropriate organization.

Conejo Valley Victims Fund

The final protocol for financial support for those impacted by the Borderline Bar & Grill shooting has been finalized at THIS LINK.

The deadline for submitting a claim is February 18, 2019. For more information, visit www.ConejoValleyVictimsFund.org.

Hill Fire/Woolsey Fire Sudden and Urgent Needs Effort Update

The VCCF has granted more than $1,125,321 since the start of the Hill and Woolsey fires, including:

• $150,000 to the Pacific Coast and Ventura County Chapter of the American Red Cross (Red Cross) for an Emergency Response Vehicle

• $115,000 to the Red Cross for Ventura County Recovery Coordination

• $146,250 to the Red Cross for General Operations Support

• $1,394 to Ride On Therapeutic Horsemanship for Evacuation expenses for horses, additional staffing, fuel for trailers, stall cleaning   

• $10,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley for expenses related to serving children during school closures, club clean-up, and counseling services              

• $30,000 total to KCLU Public Radio (California Lutheran University) with $20,000 to replace damaged main transmitter and supporting equipment and an additional $10,000 for matching funds for the campaign to replace equipment, which they met.

• $5,000 to 805 Help to support their immediate response to bring online access to our community during the fires

• $15,000 to Senior Concerns for adult daycare, meals and support for our community’s seniors who were evacuated and need care

• $5,350 to Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association to help cover costs associated with evacuations of those on hospice

• $7,000 to the Camarillo Boys & Girls Club to cover costs associated with emergency childcare needs due to school closures

• $9,500 to the Southeast Ventura YMCA to cover costs associated with emergency childcare needs due to school closures

• $1,827 to Mark Watring Stables for the evacuation of 43 horses, hauling of feed and water supplies, and overtime

• $25,000 to the Economic Development Collaborative for General Operations Support as they serve business owners impacted by the fires

• $21,500 to Cal State Channel Islands Foundation to feed and house students evacuated by the fires

• $500 to Cal Lutheran University’s Center for Nonprofit Leadership to sponsor a free webinar entitled “Fundraising in Response to a Community Crisis”

• $445,000 to the Southeast Ventura County YMCA to provide individual assistance to families affected by the fires.

• $6,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Oxnard & Port Hueneme to help cover expenses related to serving children during school closures.

• $5,000 to Fly-Hope Dream to cover flights for fire survivors.

• $10,000 to Little Angels Project to cover costs of veterinary care for injured animals.

• $16,000 to Lockwood Animal Rescue Center to provide lodging and basic needs for people and animals.

• $100,000 to Salvation Army for case management and basic needs assistance.

Nonprofit organizations responding to the needs from the fires should complete and submit their brief application at www.vccf.org.  Organizations can submit more than one time as needs arise. 

VCCF Scholarship Program

The VCCF Annual Scholarship Program is still accepting applications for local students pursuing their career and educational goals. Over $1 million in assistance is available in 2019.  The application deadline is January 30th.  Apply at www.vccf.org. 

Lowe's Hiring for Grand Opening in Newbury Park / Thousand Oaks This Spring

The Newbury Park / Thousand Oaks Lowe’s is hiring for various full/part-time positions, including Customer Service Associate, Load Puller, Receiver/Stocker, Fulfillment Coordinator, Fulfillment Clerk, Cashier, Assembler and more. There are 24 posted jobs at jobs.lowes.com (or more specifically, click THIS LINK for jobs at this store).

So when is Lowe’s Thousand Oaks opening? A Lowe’s Customer Care rep indicated late April 2019.

A little more about Lowe’s. Lowe’s ranked No. 40 on the Fortune 500 in 2017, with $68.6 billion in sales and $3.4 billion in earnings. Lowe’s employs over 310,000 employees in over 2,370 home improvement and hardware stores in North America. The original founder of Lowe’s was Lucius Smith Lowe, who opened Lowe’s North Wilkesboro Hardware in North Carolina in 1921.

Carl Buchan took ownership of the company through the 1940s and 1950s, expanding it to over 20 locations. He died of a heart attack at age 44 in 1961, but his executive team took the company public that same year.

Last year, Lowe’s closed its Orchard Supply Hardware chain, including the local OSH store in Thousand Oaks , which employed 57 staff.

On October 31, 2018, announced it was closing 20 under-performing stores in the U.S. and 31 in Canada. On November 20, 2018, Lowe’s announced plans to exit retail operations in Mexico, which includes 10 stores in total.

Marie Callender's Ventura Closed Its Doors Today

The VC Star Tweeted today was the last day the Marie Callender’s at 1295 Victoria Avenue in Ventura after operating for 40 years.

Yikes! That leaves one remaining Ventura County Marie Callender’s - in Camarillo at 185 E. Daily Drive. Or you can drive to Northridge or Sherman Oaks to get your lemon meringue pie fix. www.mariecallenders.com

Channel Islands National Park Islands Accessible to Public During Government Shutdown

During the shutdown of the federal government due to the lapse of appropriations, national parks will remain as accessible as possible while still following all applicable laws and procedures. At Channel Islands National Park the park islands, with the exception of San Miguel Island, will remain accessible to visitors, but emergency and rescue services will be limited. The park’s mainland visitor center and island visitor contact stations are closed.

There will be no National Park Service (NPS)-provided visitor services at Channel Islands National Park, including public information, and restroom and campground maintenance. Park concessioners will operate as usual.

Park visitors are advised to use extreme caution during their visit as NPS personnel will not be available to provide guidance, assistance, or emergency response. Any entry onto NPS property during this period of federal government shutdown is at the visitor’s sole risk.

All island campgrounds and restrooms are open and accessible to visitors. There will be no campground check-in/check-out services and visitors holding campground reservations should be aware that there is no guarantee their reserved campsite will be ready and available during a government shutdown.

www.nps.gov/chis/learn/news/pr122218.htm

The Royal Egg Cafe is Now Open at the North Ranch Gateway Plaza in Westlake Village

Update: Royal Egg Cafe is now open.

The signs are up and it looks like The Royal Egg Cafe will be opening soon, sometime in early February, at the North Ranch Gateway (aka TJ Maxx) Plaza, 30815 Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Westlake Village.

The Royal Egg Cafe calls itself an “all day breakfast cafe serving gourmet dishes from locally sourced, organic ingredients.” Its menu indicates organic free-range chicken, all natural beef and pork and organic fair trade coffee and tea.

Hours posted on their Instagram page are Mon-Fri 6:30AM-4PM and Sat/Sun 7:30AM-4PM.

Updates at www.facebook.com/The-Royal-Egg-Cafe-2275997695981976/.