Nov. 9 Secret Decision To Shorten Library, City Hall Hours Doesn't Save More Money

We can only guess as to why city officials kept a decision to shorten service hours at City Hall and the library that was made during a Nov. 9 closed session a secret for over a month. But we now know that decision was not made "as a cost saving measure," as originally claimed. According to city spokesperson Andrew Powers, the shorter hours will not save any more money. It is supposed to help city employees give better service. After the millions of dollars worth of cuts the city was unable to provide "consistently efficient service," Powers said. So, more hours meant less service and fewer hours means more service.

Earlier this week Thousand Oaks announced shorter hours for City Hall and the library that were decided without residents' knowledge or input. Hour cuts include City Hall closing every other Friday. The main library will open one hour later and close one hour earlier Monday through Thursday. The city's official response on its Web site was the hours were cut to save money. That turns out to not be exactly true. The reason given for it being decided during a closed session was because it was done as a part of "labor relations exception to the Brown Act."  The Brown Act is to protect the public from elected officials making decisions without the public's knowledge.

Say Good-bye to Chili, Cheese, Hot Dogs, Sausage and Logo With Worried Look

Wienerschnitzel in Thousand Oaks will be demolished if a proposed planning and development project goes forward and gains approval. Then it will be replaced with the construction of a Chick-fil-A restaurant built on the same spot, 3771 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd, next to the Do-it Center.

If the project proposal goes through there will be no more double chili cheeseburgers or kraut dogs served at that location. Forget about a 79 cent corn dog on a stick.

Get ready for whole-breast chicken,  fresh fruits, vegetables and lemonade made from squeezing lemons. Chick-fil-A employees will be chopping cabbage each day for the cole slaw and making carrot and raisin salad. The breaded chicken that goes on buns and the waffle fries are cooked in peanut oil.

At dinnertime, 4:45 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 16, there were no cars in the drive-thru at Wienerschnitzel Thousand Oaks. There were seven cars lined up at the McDonald's drive-thru a few yards away on the other side of the Do-it Center parking lot. Well, if residents want delicious hot dogs, hamburgers, cheeseburgers or fries with or without chili they better get over there before the Thousand Oaks landmark is rubble.

Controversial Library and City Hall Hour Cut Backs Done Secretly Behind Closed Doors

Thousand Oaks just announced shorter hours for City Hall and the library that were decided without residents being able to speak publicly or even listen at the meeting. Hour cuts include City Hall closing every other Friday. The main library will open one hour later and close one hour earlier Monday through Thursday. The city's official response is the hours were cut to save money. The reason given for it being decided during a closed session is because it was done as a part of "labor relations exception to the Brown Act." But, during a public discussion of budget cuts at a City Council meeting earlier this year, the mention of cutting back on library hours was met with public concern. Some Council members expressed agreement there needed to be cuts in other areas in the city before library hours were slashed. Then, someone closed the door and pulled the curtains before the library and City Hall hours were secretly trimmed. There's been no immediate answer from city officials to how much the city saved by making the cuts or in which closed session this matter was decided. (Updates will be made when that information becomes available.) To let the city know how you feel about the cuts being made in the dark, phone 805.449.2100 or e-mail city@toaks.org. Or try and contact your City Council members individually.

Two Ventura County Pick Up Stix Locations Recently Closed

Don't have the specifics, but recently Pick Up Stix locations in Newbury Park (Albertson's Plaza on Reino Road) and Simi Valley (1366 Madera Road) closed.

Not to worry...there are still other locations in Simi Valley, Westlake Village (The Promenade), Oxnard and Calabasas (The Commons).

The former location of Pick Up Stix in Newbury Park, adjacent to Subway.

Brendan's Irish Pub and Restaurant Opening Soon on Daily Drive in Camarillo

For those of you that drive the 101 Freeway west through Camarillo, looking to the right next to Presto Pasta you will see the long-vacant Sizzler building with a new Brendan's Irish Pub and Restaurant sign on it.  Brendan's is opening soon...actually based on its active Facebook page at www.facebook.com/brendansirish apparently it may happen before the New Year's holiday! For more information, visit www.brendans.com and leave your email address.  The address of Brendan's is 1755 E. Daily Drive, Camarillo.

Simply Ceramics at the Janss Marketplace Thousand Oaks Recently Closed

Simply Ceramics at the Janss Marketplace, we will miss you. I was just informed by CVG reader Patricia that Simply Ceramics recently closed. This was confirmed by the brief and to the point message on the Simply Ceramics website "Simply Ceramics has closed." And the phone line is no longer in service.

If you are looking for a paint your own pottery type of place, you'll find them in Camarillo, Simi Valley and Calabasas. CLICK HERE to learn more.

Lowe's Home Improvement Wants to Build in Newbury Park Where Costco Tried to Go

Seems like not long ago Costco wanted to put a warehouse store at 915 Estates Drive/12 Academy Drive in Newbury Park. Now, it's another retailer that wants to construct a big store on the Newbury Park land owned by the Seventh Day Adventist Church. The T.O. Planning Commission will have a public hearing tonight, Monday, Dec. 13, to decide whether or not to allow Lowe's to build a 153,000 square foot home improvement store and garden center. They also want to put a 40,000 square foot commercial building with a restaurant and bank.

The public hearing will take place beginning at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall in the Scherr Auditorium, 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd.

Cronies Sports Grill, 1620 Newbury Road, has also applied to be considered to sell alcoholic beverages. That issue is also on the planning commission agenda for tonight's meeting.

CLU Students Build Solar Fountain

The community is invited to the unveiling of a solar-powered fountain designed and built by California Lutheran University students.

The university’s first water fountain powered solely by solar energy will be dedicated from 3 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 15, south of Memorial Parkway between the Ahmanson Science Center and E Building the Thousand Oaks campus.
 
Students in Robert Rumer’s Introduction to Engineering class designed and constructed the fountain, which features a handcrafted waterwheel that uses hydropower. Camarillo-based SolarWorld USA in Camarillo donated a top-of-the-line 245-watt module for the project.

The landscape fountain is the latest green project undertaken by the CLU community. Faculty, staff and students planted a community garden in November. In October, the university dedicated the Swenson Center for the Social and Behavioral Sciences, which was designed to meet the sustainability criteria in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. In 2009, CLU was named a Climate Action Leader for participating in the country’s most rigorous voluntary greenhouse gas reporting program. Other environmentally friendly projects include student campaigns to encourage classmates to reduce their carbon footprint, student research into sustainable solutions to environmental challenges, and the elimination of food trays and introduction of biodegradable packaging and organically grown food on campus.

For more information, contact Rumer at rrumer@callutheran.edu.