Cronies Sports Grill is Coming to Newbury Park Early Next Year!

Cronies Sports Grill will be opening a new location at 1620 Newbury Road, Newbury Park (in the Stagecoach Plaza where the post office and In N Out Burger are) sometime next February or March!

Cronies is celebrating 20 years in Ventura County next month. Its 3 current locations are in Camarillo, Ventura and Simi Valley.

While Cronies is best known for its icy cold 20 oz FROZEN beer schooners, they also have great burgers, sandwiches and salads. I've been to the Camarillo location probably over a hundred times. Always great, always friendly service. The beer here is truly outstanding. Usually a half schooner does it for me being the lightweight that I am.

Visit www.cronies.com for more information.

Planning Commission Approves New 35 Foot Tall Auto Mall Sign for Freeway

The Thousand Oaks Planning Commission approved a 35-foot-tall sign with a LED color screen last night. The vote on the freeway sign was 3-2 with Commissioners Daryl Reynolds, Mark Lunn and Barry Fisher in favor of the sign and Tina Grumney and Al Adam voting against it. All the commissioners approved adding 364 new parking spaces, changes in landscaping and additional direction signs on surface streets.

The existing sign is 20 feet tall by 30 feet wide. The new sign will be 35 feet tall by 40 feet wide. The new sign will remain approximately 40 feet from the freeway, near the existing spot.

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).

City Council Race Voter Update Keeps Gillette in Lead Over Adam

Separated by only 79 votes, Mayor Dennis Gillette is ahead of challenger Al Adam. The Ventura County Clerk's office must continue to count votes for at least another week. So, supporters for both sides will just have to continue to hold their breaths. Earlier the two were 57 votes apart.

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.

Not So Fast! Al Adam and Dennis Gillette Are 57 Votes Apart as Counting Continues

The next time the Ventura County election Web site will be updated will be today at 5 p.m. CVG will keep you updated.

Thousand Oaks City Council election results have not been certified and two of the candidates running for one of the three available seats are currently only about 50 votes apart.  That leaves Mayor Dennis Gillette and challenger Al Adam both wondering which one of them will be serving on the council for the next four years. Council member Claudia Bill-de la Pena got the most votes with Mayor Pro-Tem Andy Fox, who is usually at the top, coming in second. It's her third term and his fifth. Dennis is hoping for his fourth term. There were 13 candidates for City Council on the Nov. 2 ballot.

No one will know who wins for at least another week, Ventura County Clerk and Recorder Mark Lunn said. "It's far from over," he said.

His permanent staff of 15 along with 45 temporary workers still have about 14,000 ballots countywide left to count. These include some 4,100 of which they must either verify the signatures or correct mistakes such as those with lines that were not drawn so the computer would count them. Absentee ballots on which people wrote notes must also be cleaned up so the machines will scan them. Workers are making sure people did not vote more than once. They'll check this by looking at the precinct rosters and comparing them to absentee ballots cast. There are 10,557 provisional ballots that will also be checked carefully to make sure everything is in order such as everyone who voted were registered voters.

"It's too early to know who won. It is what it is. God Bless America," Lunn said.

Homeless May Find Permanent Shelter in Thousand Oaks Near Amgen

In compliance with state law, the Thousand Oaks City Council must zone at least one part of the city for an emergency shelter for homeless people. The council will consider making that permanent shelter inside a 349-acre parcel near Amgen at Rancho Conejo Road and Lawrence Drive in Newbury Park. The council will vote on issues concerning this public hearing and other matters at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 9. The city is required by the state to zone for a homeless shelter that can be built without needing a public hearing or any other conditions other than the ones they set on Tuesday. Some of the conditions the city staff is recommending include no camping outside the homeless shelter, no one can be denied lodging because of their inability to pay, a maximum length of stay for those who are homeless is six months and separate sleeping areas for men, women and children. The city is required to create the zoning, but is not expected by the state to build or operate a shelter. The city plans to offer other sites throughout the city where shelters can also be built, but the one in Newbury Park is the only spot proposed that will not need any special considerations or permits after the zoning change. The public hearing will take place in City Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall, 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd. The public is invited to speak at the hearing or leave written comments.

Camarillo Library Will Become Independent on 1/1/11

On October 13, 2010, the Camarillo City Council voted to withdraw the City from membership in the Ventura County Library System (VCLS) and to operate the Camarillo Library as a municipal public library beginning on January 1, 2011. The decision appeared to be driven by finances...the City is expected to save nearly $700,000/year by running its own library by contracting with a private firm to do so.

The firm selected, Library Systems & Services, LLC (LSSI), has decades of experience in providing contract library support services around the country, and locally administers the entire Riverside County Library System as well as the City of Moorpark’s library. Oversight of the LSSI contract, as well as all strategic planning and policy decisions regarding the Library including personnel policy, will be done by the Camarillo City Council, which will initially serve as the Camarillo Library Board of Trustees. All donations and grant funds received by the Library will remain 100% with the Camarillo Library -- most notably, the generous contributions made by the Friends of the Camarillo Library.

For Ventura County Library patrons with Camarillo as their home library: to keep your Ventura County Library services smooth during this transition, the first step is to change your home location to another Ventura County Library location before 15 December 2010.

Up through 15 December 2010, you may make this change at the Camarillo Library or any other Ventura County Library location (excluding the Museum of Ventura County's Research Library). If you are not able to make the change during this time, on 1 January 2011, your account will be assigned to another library in the VC Library system.

Effective 1/1/11, those seeking to check books out of the Camarillo Library will have to obtain a new library card. Other than the new library card, the transition is expected to transparent.

More info on the City of Camarillo website at www.camarillolibrary.org.

New Auto Mall Sign, Landscaping, Zoning Coming Before Planning Commission

A 35 foot sign with a large color screen promoting the Auto Mall might be built along the 101 Freeway if it is approved. The big sign, angled parking, landscaping and other signage are included in an $8 million plan for the Thousand Oaks Auto Mall that is going before the Planning Commission at 6:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 8., in the City Council Chambers on the second floor at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard.  Planning Commissioners will also be asked to decide if they will allow four oak trees to be removed, 17 to be transplanted and the protected space surrounding 22 to be encroached upon. The Planning Commission will be considering a mitigated negative declaration. For more information, call city planner Claudia Pedroso at (805) 449-2337. Those attending the public hearing are invited to speak or contribute a written comment on the matter.