New Eateries That Opened in 2022 and Coming Soon to the Conejo Valley and Greater Ventura County as We Enter 2023

/

We’re at the end of 2022, just a week away from 2023. Here’s a compilation of the some of new local eateries that opened in the Conejo Valley and surrounding areas in 2022 and eateries anticipated to be opening soon in the new year.

New Eateries That Opened in 2022

Eateries That Are Anticipated to Open in 2023

Special Olympics Ventura County Enriches the Lives of Local Athletes

/

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of President John F. Kennedy and Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy, started the concept of Special Olympics in 1963 as a day camp for people with intellectual disabilities to provide them with the therapeutic effects of physical fitness and sports.

In 1968, she organized the first International Special Olympics Games, where 1,000 athletes from the United States, Canada and France competed. That year, Special Olympics was founded as a nonprofit organization.

Special Olympics Ventura County is a grassroots organization whose funding comes from and remains in Ventura County. Donations are used to support over 700 Ventura County athletes, ages 8 and up (there is no maximum age), in 10 different year-round sports programs at over 20 different training sites, county-wide.

Spring/summer programs offered in the February to June time frame includes athletics, aquatics, basketball, bocce and golf. Fall/winter programs offered from August to mid-December include bowling, soccer, softball, volleyball and tennis.

Special Olympics Ventura County has two full-time staff assisted by hundreds of volunteers to provide free-of-charge programs to individuals with intellectual disabili

Read More

A Murder of Crows Above Thousand Oaks Boulevard

/

On a recent Sunday afternoon, we witnessed this large congregation of crows flying this way and that above Thousand Oaks Boulevard. Yes, this is next to the Thousand Oaks Auto Mall. We believe they were plotting an air bombardment over the new cars on display.

The Thousand Oaks Auto Mall consists of Rusnak BMW, Rusnak Westlake Audi, Rusnak Westlake Porche, Anderson Autos Acura of Thousand Oaks, DCH Ford of Thousand Oaks, DCH Suburu of Thousand Oaks, Anderson Autos Honda of Thousand Oaks, Infiniti of Thousand Oaks, Anderson Autos Jaguar of Thousand Oaks, Anderson Autos Land Rover of Thousand Oaks, Anderson Autos Lexus of Thousand Oaks, Neftin Westlake Mazda, Neftin Westlake Volkswagen, Alfa Romeo of Westlake, Bentley Westlake, Genesis of Westlake, Westlake Hyundai, Lamborghini Westlake, Maserati Westlake Village, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Westlake, Shaver Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram, Anderson Autos Mercedes-Benz Thousand Oaks, Anderson Autos Buick GMC Thousand Oaks, Anderson Autos Cadillac of Thousand Oaks and Anderson Autos Chevrolet of Thousand Oaks.

Dramatic Sunset Ends a Perfect Thanksgiving 2022 Weekend in Ventura County

/

Beautiful skies tonight, Sunday, November 27, 2022, at the end of the first weekend of holiday season shopping in Ventura County. Though it was such a beautiful weekend, many of us spent time outdoors, away from the hustle and bustle.

View from the camarillo Premium Outlets

View from near Thornhill Broome Beach in Point Mugu State Park (Photo Credit @bradli.mp3 Instagram)

Jared Goff Pranks Ventura College Football Team as a Walk-On Quarterback

/

This Red Bull produced video from 2018 shows Los Angeles Rams quarterback (at the time) Jared Goff, pranking the Ventura College Pirates team as a walk-on. Fun to watch the reactions when Goff removes his disguise. This little prank must have been motivational to the team. It finished its greatest season in school history that year, making it to the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) championship game, where it narrowly lost to Laney College.

More on Ventura College football at www.vcweplayhard.com/sports/fball/2022-23/teams/ventura.

Goff of course played with the Rams through the 2020 season. He was traded to the Detroit Lions, along with several future draft picks, for Matthew Stafford.

While we’re at it, enjoy this more recent video of Eli Manning pranking the Penn State football team as a walk-on candidate. Quite amusing.

Registered Voters in Ventura County in October 2022 vs May 2022

/

The Ventura County Registrar of Voters website has up to date counts showing the number of registered voters in Ventura County. From time to time we like to take a look at that data and compare it to prior years.

On October 29, 2022, there were 504,897 registered voters in Ventura County, a slight drop of 1,131 registered voters as of May 11, 2022. Here is the breakdown by affiliation:

  • 220,697 Democrats (a 741 voter increase in 5 months) (43.7% of all registered voters)

  • 141,852 Republicans (a 1,375 voter decrease) (28.1% of all registered voters)

  • 104,542 Nonpartisans (a 1,419 voter decrease) (20.7% of all registered voters)

  • 37,806 Other (a 922 voter decrease) (7.5% of all registered voters)

In May 2019, there were 445,217 registered voters, including:

  • 176,712 Democrats

  • 130,228 Republicans

  • 110,225 Nonpartisans

  • 28,052 Other

On May 12, 2012, there were 406,644 registered voters in Ventura County, consisting of:

  • 157,539 Democrats

  • 150,919 Republicans

  • 77,994 Nonpartisans

  • 20,192 Other

Can’t remember if you are eligible to vote? Look it up at THIS LINK. What I’ve found with this Voter Eligibility Search function is that, unlike a search engine, your search terms have to be precise. If you are registered as Richard King, if you type Rich King into the search, it will not find you.

Register to vote online at registertovote.ca.gov.

Squawkless in Summerland? No! Check Out the Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary

/

It was not a planned visit.

My son and I were cycling from Carpinteria to Santa Barbara for the first time, enjoying a relaxing ride on Via Real/Lillie Ave, paralleling the 101 on the north side.

We passed a sign that said "McLeod Parrot Menagerie" and I heard birds, squawking birds. I said, let's check this out! 

Little did I know that co-located at the Menagerie is the Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary.

Squawkless in Summerland!? Heck no! Lots of squawking and talking going on at this place!

The Sanctuary is a non-profit organization founded by Jamie McLeod that rescues and rehabilitates parrots that are unwanted, abused and orphaned. The organization also finds homes for these beautiful animals. 

The Sanctuary is home to over 60 of birds, some of which are ready for adoption; others may have conditions that prevent adoption.

We got the chance to chat with Jamie, who is 1984 graduate from the America's Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College. She showed us the Skylar Learning Center, where children can learn more about these interesting, long-lived, intelligent creatures.

And of course we visited with the birds and had meaningful conversations with many of them. We heard words and phrases like "hello," "knock knock," "how's it going," "I love you," and so on. Quite entertaining. And we caught a few cool head bobs too!

We also learned that the McLeod Parrot Menagerie provides grooming and boarding, toys and other parrot-related products and services.

The Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary is a must see and less than an hour from central Thousand Oaks. Walk-in visits are available 10 am to 3:30 pm Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Fees for non-docent tours are $10 for adults and $5 for 12 and under and 65+ seniors. Donations are welcomed (and tax deductible) as they help towards caring for and feeding the parrots. Docent-led personalized tours are also available with at least one week’s advance notice. You may observe the birds, but do not touch or feed them or their cages.

These fellows were quite entertaining.

These fellows were quite entertaining.

To learn more, visit www.sbbird.org or visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sbbsbirds or call 805.565.1807. The street address is 2340 Lillie Avenue, Summerland.