Local Buzz covers new businesses, restaurants, closures, local politics, goings on around town and other buzzworthy items in the Conejo Valley and Greater Ventura County. Have a lead? Contact us. Click here for an archive of Local Buzz postings.
Local Buzz covers new restaurants, closures, local politics, goings on around town and other buzzworthy items in the Conejo Valley and Greater Ventura County. Have a lead? Contact us. Click here for an archive of Local Buzz postings.
Post other items directly to the Community Announcements section of the site.
UPDATE: O’t Bistro opened on Saturday, March 27th.
Ớt Bistro Asian Comfort Food is coming soon to Janss Marketplace in the space formerly occupied by Azi Grill (in between Greco's Pizza and Matcha Boba). Timing and details TBA. They are already looking to hire people.
From the County of Ventura:
State of California Lifts Regional Stay at Home Order for All Regions
Ventura County in the State’s Purple Tier Effective Immediately
The California Department of Public Health has announced that the Regional Stay Home Order has been lifted in Southern California. Four-week ICU capacity projections for the region are above 15%, the threshold that allows regions to exit the order.
The action allows Ventura County to return to the rules and framework for the Blueprint for a Safer Economy and color-coded tiers that indicate which activities and businesses are open based on local case rates and test positivity. Services and activities, such as outdoor dining and personal services, may resume immediately with required modifications. Tier updates will be provided weekly on Tuesdays by the California Department of Public Health
“We ask our residents to continue to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their communities from COVID-19 by limiting gathering with anyone you don’t live with, wearing a face covering whenever you leave home, maintaining at least 6 feet of distance from anyone you don’t live with and washing your hands frequently,” said Rigoberto Vargas, Public Health Director.
In alignment with Purple Tier 1, the following sectors are permitted for OUTDOOR operations only until further notice. These sectors must still maintain mitigation measures (social distancing, face covering, and sanitization):
• Restaurants
• Gyms and Fitness Centers (12 feet social distancing required)
• Places of worship
• Playgrounds and recreational facilities
• Family Entertainment Centers (e.g. bowling alleys, miniature golf, batting cages, kart racing, and arcades)
• Movie theaters
• Museums, zoos, aquariums
• Wineries
• Cardrooms, satellite wagering
Bars, pubs, brewpubs and breweries may operate outdoors if they are offering sit-down, outdoor meals. Outdoor operations may be conducted under a tent, canopy, or other shelter if no more than one side is closed.
Additional information for outdoor dining establishments:
•Sit down dining may only take place with members of the same household, it must be outdoors and must end by 11 pm.
•Maximum time a patron may be on the premises is 1 and ½ hours.
•Restaurants can remain open for takeout or delivery past 11 pm as their permit allows.
In alignment with Purple Tier 1, the following sectors are open for INDOOR operations. These sectors must still maintain mitigation measures (social distancing, face covering, and sanitization) and modifications:
•All retail (maximum 25% capacity)
•Critical infrastructure
•Hair salons and barbershops
•Libraries (maximum 25% capacity)
•Nail salons and electrolysis operations
•Personal care services (e.g. body waxing, estheticians, tattoo, massage)
•Professional sports (without live audiences)
•Shopping centers (e.g. malls, destination centers, swap meets, excluding food courts and common areas) (maximum 25% capacity)
To learn more about the State’s Tier system and specific allowable activities for Ventura County, visit the State of California's COVID-19 Blueprint for a Safer Economy website. More information at www.venturacountyrecovers.org
UPDATE: Bagelicious Cafe is now closed.
The Bagelicious Cafe opened in mid-December at the Whizin Market Square in Agoura Hills, offering coffee, bagels, sandwiches and more for breakfast and lunch. Located inside the building at 28914 Roadside Drive. Currently open 9am to 3pm daily. Learn more at bagelicious.cafe or call 818-851-1460.
Agoura Wine & Beer Co. recently announced it has opened its retail store at the Whizin Market Square, 28851 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills.
The indoor bar and outdoor patio serving areas will open when COVID-19 restrictions are eased.
The store offers craft beer, sparkling wines, domestic wines, imported wines and more.
Learn more and sign up for updates at www.agourawine.com.
UPDATE: Furn Saj opened in last May 2021.
Furn Saj is a Lebanese bakery, with locations in Granada Hills, Glendora, and coming soon, The Summit at Calabasas, 26791 Agoura Road.
Their menu includes a variety of plates served with fresh saj bread, such as shawarma, soujouk, gyro and kebab. They also serve oven-baked mana’ish, a flatbread covered with various toppings. There’s quite a large variety of these on their menu at www.furnsaj.com/menu.
Formerly at this location were the short-lived Village Fish Market & Restaurant and more recently, Chipotle (which closed in 2018). Let’s hope for something more lasting with Furn Saj!
There's another round of "Economic Impact Payments" that many of you may have already received in January via direct deposit. Generally, U.S. citizens and resident aliens who are not eligible to be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s income tax return are eligible.
You'll automatically receive payments of up to $600 for individuals or $1,200 for married couples and up to $600 for each qualifying child.
Generally, if you have adjusted gross income (AGI) on your 2019 federal income tax return up to $75,000 for individuals, $112,500 if filing as head of household and $150,000 for married filing joint returns, you will receive the full amount.
Payments are reduced if your income is more than that, phasing out 5% of the amount your AGI exceeds the amounts shown above. They phase out completely at an AGI of $87,000 for single or married filing separately, $124,500 for head of household and $174,000 for married filing joint taxpayers.
Question: My income precludes me from getting an Economic Impact Payment based on my 2019 tax return but it dropped in 2020. Do I still get a payment?”
Answer: YES! According to the draft IRS Form 1040 Instructions published December 31, 2020, “The recovery rebate credit was paid out to eligible individuals in two rounds of advance payments called economic impact payments. The economic impact payments were based on your 2018 or 2019 tax year information. The recovery rebate credit is figured like the economic impact payments except that the credit eligibility and the credit amount are based on your 2020 tax year information. If you didn’t receive the full amount of the recovery rebate credit as economic impact payments, you may be able to claim the recovery rebate credit on your 2020 Form 1040 or 1040-SR.”
So in other words:
The first two payments in 2020 and 2021 were called Economic Impact Payments
They were based on your 2019 or 2018 tax information.
If you did not receive them or did not receive the full amount, you can recalculate the payments on your 2020 tax return based on your 2020 adjusted gross income.
The refundable credit for this stimulus on your tax return is called “Recovery Rebate Credit.”
If you are indeed eligible for a payment based on your 2020 AGI and did not previously receive a full payment, you will receive a refundable credit on your tax return that you can either apply to any taxes due or, if no taxes are due, receive a refund.
Thousand Oaks Police Department Vulnerable Population Officers continue their efforts to assist our homeless community, collaborating with area social services to arrange placement in assistance programs. The latest success was helping deliver a homeless man to a substance abuse rehabilitation program after months of interaction.
On January 6, 2021, deputies assisted Ventura County Behavioral Health in taking the homeless person to a facility to begin a 7-10 day program for substance abuse rehabilitation. The program includes housing and treatment. The process began after Vulnerable Population Officers assisted Ventura County Behavioral Health with an assessment on the person and space was located for him at the facility. After that, Ventura County Behavioral Health will follow-up to pursue additional placement for housing and further treatment. This opportunity was openly accepted by the homeless person to take the positive steps forward for help. This success is an example of the continuous and dedicated work by collaborators, sometimes over a span of weeks, months, or even years, to maintaining contact with and find placement for homeless persons in need of assistance in our community.
Over the past two years, Vulnerable Population Officers, Senior Deputy Juan Cordova and Deputy Josh Richter, have collaborated with stakeholders to find needed assistance for our homeless population. A local area focus group was established that includes the City of Thousand Oaks, Harbor House, Lutheran Social Services, Ventura County Health Care Agency, Ventura County Continuum of Care, Many Mansions, faith- based organizations, Ventura County Superior Court - Homeless Court, Ventura County Public Defender, and other non-profit organizations.
If you know any homeless person in Thousand Oaks who is willing to take a positive step forward to get help, the Vulnerable Population Officers are interested in contacting those who suffer from mental health, drug addiction, disabilities, or are in need of medical assistance. You can reach out to Sr. Deputy Cordova at juan.cordova@ventura.org, dial 2-1-1 (in Ventura County), or call Ventura County Behavioral Health Homeless Services at (805) 981-4200.
UPDATE: Everbowl opened on June 4th.
Everbowl is coming soon to the North Ranch Mall, 3835 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Unit H, Westlake Village (a few doors down from Trader Joe’s and Petco).
Established in 2016, Everbowl is a quick-serve restaurant that features build-your-own superfood bowls and smoothies featuring acai, acerola, pitaya and graviola as the base ingredient along with unlimited fresh fruit toppings and other healthy add-ins. They also offer Superfuel Coffee with acai and other superfoods blended in. Learn more at www.everbowl.com.
And for your history fans, previously located here was Nekter Juice Bar, which opened in August 2014. Before that it was a Robeks Juice Bar
Conejo Valley Guide covers events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County and surrounding areas.
