City of Agoura Hills Appoints New Art Council

The City of Agoura Hills announced it has selected and approved five members to serve on the new Cultural Arts Council (CAC). The selected members, all Agoura Hills residents, were recommended for the council at the November 30, 2010 Agoura Hills City Council meeting. They are: Edward Ball, a professional in the arts and the Creative Director for a local marketing consultant company, Red; Steven Bavin, a writer, director and talent manager for Agoura-based Shalee Productions; Cim Castellon, a 17-year Los Angeles County Museum of Art staff member coordinating commercial activities in support of exhibitions; Priscilla Kromnick, a fiber artist with a background in art gallery administration and an active member in the local schools’ art programs; and Craig Morton, a digital artist and photographer who owns MNM Art Studio in Agoura Hills and former officer for the Westlake Village Art Guild.

Agoura Hills Community Service Director Amy Brink who made the recommendations stated that the selected individuals demonstrated the leadership that the community needs to fulfill a vision for the arts. “We received many extremely qualified applicants who verbalized a real desire to be involved with this cultural arts movement,” said Brink. “We selected the top candidates who can help us create a cultural identity for the community and showcase the abundance of talent within our borders.”

The CAC recommendation and approval took place at the City of Agoura Hills Reorganization meeting. Mayor Koehler presided over the approval of the arts council before stepping down as mayor. In December 2009 the mayor identified the Cultural Arts Initiative as one of his goals, which was approved at the September 22, 2010 council meeting. At the November 30 meeting he stated, “When I brought this up at the reorganization meeting a year ago I thought it would take a couple of years to envision. Needless to say I am thrilled to approve the appointment of the new council.”

The CAC will be a working committee that advises the Agoura Hills City Council on issues relating to arts and culture. The formation of a council is one of the first steps outlined on the Cultural Arts Initiative to develop a comprehensive cultural arts program within the community. The Agoura Hills Department of Community Services has worked with creative consultant Creative Hub to formulate the blueprint for the Initiative, which also outlines the formation of a Cultural Artists Society to help raise funds for the new arts program and serve as a vehicle for obtaining future grants. 

For more information on the Cultural Arts Initiative, contact Agoura Hills Community Service Director Amy Brink at (818) 597-7353 or by email ajbrink@ci.agoura-hills.ca.us.

New Oxnard Police Chief, Jeri Williams, Announced on November 30th

Oxnard City Manager Ed Sotelo announced yesterday morning that he has selected Jeri Williams for the job of Oxnard Police Chief. It is expected that Ms. Williams will assume her duties as Police Chief sometime after January 1st.

“I know that Jeri Williams is exceptionally qualified for the position and is the best fit for our City”, said Mr. Sotelo. “Jeri brings with her extensive community policing experience which will serve to complement and enhance our City’s efforts in that area dating back to 1990.” Sotelo continued.

Jeri Williams has 22 years of experience in the City of Phoenix Police Department where, in her current role as the Assistant Chief of the Southern Division, she is responsible for 1000 sworn and civilian personnel and over half of the city’s 500 plus square miles. Phoenix Assistant Chief Williams has oversight of seven police precincts, the Special Assignments Unit (SAU), the Air Unit, the Canine Unit, the Training Bureau and the Community Relations Bureau. In addition, Jeri serves as the Co-Chair of the City Manager’s Community Outreach and Engagement Task Force established in March of 2010 to increase communication with, access to and confidence in the Phoenix Police Department.

Through the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Jeri has completed the Leadership in Police Organizations (LPO) Program and has been trained as an instructor in LPO. Jeri has been a certified Arizona Police Officers Standards and Training (AZPOST) instructor for 15-years and has taught classes at the Training Academy for newly promoted supervisors.

Jeri’s professional operational experience includes acting as the Phoenix Area Commander for Super Bowl XLII (2008), Operations Section Chief for the NBA All-Star Game (2009), and the Senior Advisor for the City of Phoenix Protest of SB 1070 (2010). Jeri is certified to act as an Incident Commander and Deputy Incident Commander through the All Hazards Incident Management program offered by FEMA.

Contributing to Jeri’s strong leadership and organizational management style is a broad educational background. She holds a BS Degree from Arizona State University, a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University and has completed her Comprehensive Examinations in pursuit of her Doctorate in Educational Leadership also from Northern Arizona University.

Jeri has been an adjunct instructor at two community colleges and is an experienced public speaker, skilled in dealing with diverse groups. She has the proven ability to calm community and employee groups in times of crisis with her transparent and open communication/leadership style. Jeri is approachable, sincere, and has a natural command presence that the members of her community and department rely on to “get the job done” with integrity, hard work and dedication.

On a personal note, Jeri has been married to her husband, Judge Cody Williams (South Phoenix Justice of the Peace) for nearly 21 years and has two sons Alan (17 years old) a Senior at North High School and Cody (16 years old) a Junior at North High School.

www.ci.oxnard.ca.us

The Norwegian Grade Reopens at 5 p.m. Today Just in Time for Holiday Traffic

Photo taken by Engineering Manager Tom Pizza. From Left: Construction Manager Chris Gabriel, Project Manager Dan Lazo, Inspector Fernado Perez, Design Engineer Tristan Santos

The main link between Thousand Oaks and Moorpark will reopen today after closing Sept. 20 for much needed repairs and safety improvements. The Norwegian Grade improvements, that cost just over $1.5 million, include a much longer guard rail, new signs and a slightly wider roadway. Before it was repaired there was only a small guardrail around the sharp curve. Now there's about 1/2 mile of guard rail. Before the blind curve, going each way, there are now flashing beacons warning of the sharp turn. There are also flashing markers on the pavement letting drivers know they should slow down. In some places the roadway had lanes that were only 10 feet wide. Now each lane of the two lane Moorpark Road, from Calle Contento to Santa Rosa Road, is 11 feet widefrom line to line. The pavement has been compacted underneath, covered with asphalt twice making it smooth and filled the entire length of the grade.

Best of all it's open again. Smoother and Safer. And OPEN!

Stuft Pizza Becomes Draughts Restaurant & Bar in Thousand Oaks

Popular restaurant Stuft Pizza was recently renamed after operating in Thousand Oaks for over 10 years. It is now called Draughts Restaurant & Bar. Draught is an English term that means "serving of a drink (usually alcoholic) drawn from a keg, as in "they served beer on draft."  I was erroneously pronouncing it is "draft" when in reality it sounds more like "drot." 

Otherwise the place is the same! 20 HDTVs, fresh pizzas, pastas, salads and a full bar featuring dozens of beers.

Visit their website at www.draughtsrestaurant.com or call call 805.777.7883. Draughts is located at 398 N. Moorpark Road, in the Best Buy Shopping Center next to Ross (and across the parking lot from Mimi's Cafe).

Firefighters to Run in Memory of Young Fire Crew Member Bryan Banister

Firefighters will be taking to the streets tomorrow for the Bryan Banister Marathon in memory of one of their own who died last year after being struck by an SUV. Those participating will be running 26 miles or a half marathon of 13 miles beginning at the top of Wendy Park at the Sycamore Canyon Trail head. Or some will just come to the barbecue at noon at the finish line at Russell Park in Westlake Village where Bryan Banister's Memorial Tree is planted near Fire Station 31.

Bryan was 23 when he was killed while putting fuel in his pick-up truck on the shoulder of the I-5 Freeway on Nov. 10, 2009. He and a good Samaritan who was helping him died instantly when they both were struck by the SUV.