Cork & Batter Roadhouse Coming Soon to Simi Valley

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Good news for Simi Valley folks. Cork & Batter Roadhouse is coming soon to the former home of Musashi at 1747 Simi Town Center Way in Simi Valley.  Cork & Batter's first location is at Hollywood Park, near SoFi Stadium and the Kia Forum (and directly in front of Intuit Dome, the future home of the Los Angeles Clippers). That said, it appears this one will be different - a Texas BBQ/Sports Bar place. Jeff C, who passed along this photo, says the owners indicate a late summer/early fall anticipated grand opening date. www.corkandbatter.com

Construction to Rebuild Facilities at Paramount Ranch and Rocky Oaks to Begin in June

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The National Park Service has awarded a contract to AMG & Associates, Inc., a company based out of Santa Clarita, California, to rebuild park facilities in Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) that were lost during the 2018 Woolsey Fire.

The project is slated to begin on June 12, 2023, with expected completion by fall 2024. Overall, the project will construct six new buildings to restore visitor services, employee housing, and administrative offices. Both sites will receive upgrades to utilities and the new buildings will meet current design codes and standards for accessibility and fire safety.

At Paramount Ranch, four buildings will be constructed in the footprints of historic Paramount Studios buildings. Three of these will accommodate film operations, but also be available as indoor or covered event spaces. The fourth new building at the Ranch will be a restroom.

At Rocky Oaks, one administrative building and one multi-plex housing unit will be constructed.

“Paramount Ranch is one of the only location film ranches that has been in continuous use since the Golden Age of Hollywood. It welcomed the dawn of television and the streaming era,” said David Szymanski, superintendent for SMMNRA. “It is the National Park Service's only site dedicated to interpreting American film history and we are excited to bring the excitement back.”

Construction will occur five days a week—Monday through Friday between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. No regular work will be performed on weekends or federal holidays unless there’s a weather delay or unforeseen situation. Park officials will monitor fire weather forecasts and take necessary precautions during red flag days.

The Paramount Ranch trail system will remain open to hikers, cyclists, and equestrians during the project, but the construction area itself will be closed to the public and surrounded by fencing. See map here.

Visitors will continue to park on the east side of Medea Creek and will be able to access the restrooms across the street.

Hikers and cyclists will be allowed access over the Medea Creek bridge and guided around construction fencing to access the trail system.

Equestrians will access the trail system via the creek crossing north of the visitor parking area (see map below). The Medea Creek bridge and the construction area are too hazardous for horse riders during the project.

There may be temporary closures of the Medea Creek bridge (up to 20 minutes) if the contractor is moving heavy equipment or supplies.

Rocky Oaks will remain open for recreational use as well. The construction project will take place in the already-closed administrative area to the west of the visitor parking and trailhead. One trail segment will be closed that runs through the construction area, but this closure will not affect public access to the rest of the trail system.

Visit Paramount Ranch: Past, Present, and Future for more information about the history of the Ranch, the Woolsey Fire, and what will be reconstructed. The Environmental Assessment and the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for this project are both available on the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment webpage.

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.   

Cal Lutheran Opens Access to Gallegly Archive at the Pearson Library in Thousand Oaks

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(Photo credit: Karen Quincy)

At California Lutheran University, 356 storage boxes, in view behind glass walls, are filled with the archived papers of Ventura County’s longest-serving congressman, Elton W. Gallegly, a member of the House of Representatives from 1987 to 2013. The Gallegly Center Archive and Collection, housed within Cal Lutheran’s Pearson Library, is now open.

The extensive collection includes correspondence, reports, bills, testimonies, voting records, invoices, photographs, newspaper clippings, constituent requests and more from Gallegly’s long career in public service as congressman for three different congressional districts that cover Ventura and Santa Barbara counties and the San Fernando Valley.

Highlights of the archive, donated in 2017, include records related to his work on immigration, European Union expansion, the 9/11 Commission, the Good Friday Agreement, the Clinton impeachment hearings, the U.S. Patriot Act and the fight against cruelty to animals. Of local interest are materials that address his efforts associated with Ventura County child welfare, agriculture, Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) at Naval Base Ventura County, development of the Port of Hueneme, California redistricting, and cleanup at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory.

The collection is generally divided by Gallegly’s three congressional districts, with subcategories for administrative, legislative, constituent, media and voting record files. Access is available by appointment.

To request an appointment, or to explore the archive’s finding aid, visit www.callutheran.edu/centers/gallegly/archive.html. Appointment requests are also available by sending an email to CLUlibrary@callutheran.edu. Note that the Pearson Library will be closed due to renovations through the summer; access to the archives will begin in the fall.  

Cafe Ficelle Coming Soon to Thousand Oaks (Soft Opening April 10th)

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UPDATE: Cafe Ficelle is “soft opening” 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10th.

Cafe Ficelle Boulangerie & Patisserie is "opening soon" according to the sign at 1710 Thousand Oaks Boulevard, across the way from Denino’s Pizzeria. With locations in Ventura (near the Pacific View Mall) and old town Camarillo, Cafe Ficelle offer freshly baked goods, breakfast and lunch items, coffees, teas and more. Timing TBD. www.cafeficelle.com