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.
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Regency Theatres is opening soon at the former Regal Edwards Grand Palace Stadium 6 theater at The Commons at Calabasas that closed three months ago, almost to the day. Other local area Regency Theatres are located in Agoura Hills, Ventura and Santa Paula. regencymovies.com
For a list of local area movie theaters in Ventura County and directly adjacent areas, visit THIS PAGE.
UPDATE: Now open. www.philzcoffee.com/locations-la
Philz Coffee Thousand Oaks opened on November 10th. Another local Philz Coffee is opening soon at The Summit at Calabasas, 26787 Agoura Road (at Lost Hills Road).
UPDATE: Well that was quick! Crossroads Kitchen is now open for limited reservations as of Saturday, October 15th. www.crossroadscalabasas.com
Vegan eatery Crossroads Kitchen at The Commons at Calabasas is working hard to open soon...no promises but I've heard it could be as soon as in a couple weeks. The signs are up and they are currently hiring. You'll find things like Philly Cheesesteak, Sicilian Supreme Pizza and Italian Sausage Sandwich on their menu, none of which contain animal products. Learn more at crossroadskitchen.com.
The Regal Edwards Grand Palace movie theater at The Commons at Calabasas has closed it doors effective today, September 15th. No explanation was given. But on September 7th, Regal’s parent company, Cineworld announced it had filed for bankruptcy protection.
Movie theaters throughout Ventura County and adjacent areas.
Press release from the National Park Service is below. The groundbreaking event at 10am on Friday can be viewed via livestream at savelacougars.org/groundbreaking as well as at King Gillette Ranch. 26800 Mulholland Highway, Calabasas. Additionally, a Crossing Celebration will take place after the livestream from 11:30 a.m. to 2: 30 p.m. at King Gillette Ranch, including food and carnival games.
Twenty-five years of research by National Park Service (NPS) biologists and collaborators have documented the effects of habitat fragmentation and pointed to the importance of connectivity in the region, culminating in the wildlife overpass that is breaking ground this week in Liberty Canyon. Mountain lion study photo and video album here.
Groundbreaking is scheduled for Friday, April 22. The new crossing will re-connect an entire ecosystem that has long been fragmented by an almost impenetrable barrier for wildlife – the 101 Freeway's 10 lanes and more than 300,000 vehicles a day.
Organizations and institutions like the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), Caltrans, Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA), the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, among many others, were instrumental in discovering a solution to remedy this conservation crisis.
"Our partners have taken our science and worked to change this corner of the world," said David Szymanski, superintendent of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA), a unit of the NPS. "They have bought critical lands, designed and built public works, raised funds, and developed the protections that give wildlife a chance of surviving into the future."
Since 1996, NPS biologists have researched carnivores and other local wildlife in the Santa Monica Mountains and the surrounding region. The project began right in the Liberty Canyon area, with the tracking of bobcats and coyotes, and it expanded to include mountain lions in 2002.Overall, the research has focused on urbanization and habitat fragmentation in wildlife communities.
"It's super exciting to see the science that we've worked so hard on for many years result in concrete action to benefit wildlife," said Seth Riley, wildlife branch chief for SMMNRA. "This is a pivotal moment for conservation and for our park."
From the beginning, it was clear that the 101 Freeway was a major barrier to movement, even for wide-ranging species like carnivores. Later, National Park Service and UCLA studies found that the barrier effect extended to gene flow. They found genetic differentiation because of urban development and roads for bobcats and coyotes, smaller, more abundant species such as western fence lizards, and even for a bird, the wrentit.
Thus far, the most significant genetic effects have been seen in mountain lions.
The population in the Santa Monica Mountains has one of the lowest levels of genetic diversity in the state or across the west. More recently, biologists have begun to see the physical effects of that low genetic diversity, specifically kinks at the end of tails, a male with only one descended testicle, and poor sperm quality, documented through research conducted by scientists at UCLA. These were all common characteristics linked with inbreeding depression in mountain lions in Florida that nearly went extinct in the early 1990s.
"This crossing is timely, considering our recent discovery of the first physical signs of inbreeding depression occurring in our isolated mountain lion population in the Santa Monica Mountains," said Jeff Sikich, the lead field researcher on the mountain lion study. "Habitat fragmentation is the key challenge wildlife is facing here."
Sikich added that mountain lions may be the first affected and most at risk of being lost, "but the wildlife crossing will also benefit other species whose movements are blocked by this massive freeway."
This crossing will increase connectivity over the most significant barrier to connecting the Santa Monica Mountains to other large natural areas. Still, it is crucial to better understand and ultimately improve connectivity in other areas.
For instance, the 118 Freeway separates the Simi Hills, north of the 101 Freeway, from the Santa Susana Mountains. A recently initiated study by NPS and Caltrans is evaluating wildlife movement, survival, and potential road-crossing there.
Other critical locations include the Conejo Grade in the western Santa Monica Mountains, also along the 101 Freeway, and along the 5 Freeway in the Santa Clarita area where the freeway separates natural areas to the east and west.
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is the largest urban national park in the country, encompassing more than 150,000 acres of mountains and coastline in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. A unit of the National Park Service, it comprises a seamless network of local, state and federal parks interwoven with private lands and communities. As one of only five Mediterranean ecosystems in the world, SMMNRA preserves the rich biological diversity of more than 450 animal species and 26 distinct plant communities. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/samo.
The mayor of Calabasas recently announced that upscale vegan eatery Crossroads Kitchen will be taking over the space recently vacated by The Corner Bakery at The Commons at Calabasas. Corner Bakery had operated there for 25 years.
Crossroads Kitchen opened in March 2013 at the corner of Melrose and Sweetzer in Los Angeles, serving "mouthwatering Mediterranean meals in a refined environment." Timing TBA. It will be located next to the new Barney's Gourmet Hamburgers and across from King's Fish House.
Corner Bakery, after a long run at The Commons at Calabasas, has closed its doors. The Thousand Oaks location at 111 S. Westlake Boulevard is still open. cornerbakerycafe.com
UPDATE: Rose’s Garden Bar opened in November 2022. Their menu includes salads, pizzas made with homemade dough (gluten-free is available), pastas, entrees such as Pan Roasted Salmon, Truffle Wagyu Burger and Braised Beef Short Rib, desserts and more. They also have a dog menu. www.rosesgardenbar.com
Rose's Garden Bar is opening in January 2022 (according to a post on their Instagram page) at The Summit at Calabasas, 26787 Agoura Road (at Lost Hills Road).
Updates at rosesgardenbar.com
1/2/24: Final update: Sweet Lady Jane announced that it permanently closed its doors at all locations on 12/31/23.
UPDATE: Not long after this post, Sweet Lady Jane Calabasas opened its doors on November 11th.
Sweet Lady Jane is coming in early fall 2021 to 23653 Calabasas Road in Calabasas, across the street from The Commons at Calabasas. This location was previously SusieCakes. The original Sweet Lady Jane bakery opened in West Hollywood in 1988. Check out their beautiful offerings at www.sweetladyjane.com.
Conejo Valley Guide covers events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County and surrounding areas.
