California State Lottery History, Game Information and Other Tidbits

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As I sit here tonight tossing out yet another Mega Millions ticket with losing numbers, my mind wanders and I start thinking about just what this California State Lottery is, its history, who benefits and more. So for those of you looking for information about the Lottery, read on!

Background

The Lottery was created by a 1984 California ballot initiative approved by 58% of the voters. Ticket sales began on October 3, 1985, with the first Scratchers® ticket game “California Jackpot.”

Draw Game sales began on October 14, 1986, with Lotto 6/49®. Daily draw games were introduced in March 1990. The Lottery currently offers seven draw games. Players have 180 days from the date of the drawing to claim prizes, except for the Mega Millions jackpot prize which is one year. Retailers pay prizes up to $599 while prizes over $599 are paid directly by the Lottery.

By law, the Lottery is required to return not less than 87% of revenues to the public in the form of prizes and education contributions, and must spend no more than 13% of revenues on operating expenses.

The Games

Scratchers® - Instant ticket games that are played by scratching the latex covering off a play area and learning “instantly” whether the ticket is a winner. (My kids love these.)

SuperLOTTO Plus® – Players select five numbers from 1 to 47 and one mega number from 1 to 27. There are nine prize categories. To win the jackpot, players must match all five lotto numbers plus the mega number. Jackpot prizes start at $7 million and have reached more than $190 million. Winning numbers are drawn every Wednesday and Saturday at 7:57 p.m. PST.

MEGA Millions® – Players select five lotto numbers from 1 to 56 and one mega number from 1 to 46. There are nine prize categories. To win the jackpot, match all five lotto numbers plus the mega number. Jackpot prizes start at $12 million and have reached as high as $390 million. Winning numbers are drawn in Atlanta, Georgia every Tuesday and Friday at 8:00 p.m. PST (you can buy tickets until 7:45 p.m.). MEGA Millions is one of the largest multi-state lottery games in North America, currently played in 42 states and the District of Columbia.

Hot Spot® – Players select numbers from 1 to 80 and have a choice of playing ten different “spots” ranging from 1 to 10. There are 58 prize categories in this game. Draws are conducted daily every four minutes with the first draw at 6:04 a.m. and last draw at 2:00 a.m. Twenty winning numbers are selected for each draw.

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Horace Bristol 1930s Photos at Santa Paula Agriculture Museum March 3 to May 20

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Horace Bristol’s Compelling 1930s Photographs On Exhibition At Agriculture Museum

More than two dozen images by famed LIFE Magazine photojournalist Horace Bristol are on exhibition March 3 through May 20 at the Museum of Ventura County Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula. Horace Bristol Photographs: Selections From the 1930s features not only work from his best known Grapes of Wrath series, but other selections from the 1930s period, including such diverse images as a never before exhibited aerial photograph of a Santa Paula orange orchard, and a migrant child pitting apricots. The exhibition is in the Agriculture Museum’s Reiter Affiliated Companies Visitors Center and Calavo Hall.

 

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Incredible Color Photos from 1939 to 1943 From the Library of Congress

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Bound for Glory: America in Color was a 2006 exhibit of little known color images taken by photographers of the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information. The exhibit included 70 prints made from color transparencies taken from 1939 to 1943, capturing post-Depresssion and pre-World War II America. These are downright incredible shots. I've selected 3 of my favorites from the bunch below. View them all at myloc.gov/Exhibitions/boundforglory. Thanks to the Library of Congress for making these available.

Russell Lee Shepherd with his horse and dog on Gravelly Range Madison County, Montana, August 1942. Reproduction from color slide. LC-USW36-847B. LC-DIG-fsac-1a35022. FSA/OWI Collection. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (2)

John Vachon. Grand Grocery Company. Lincoln, Nebraska, 1942. Reproduction from color slide. LC-USF351-268. LC-DIG-fsac-1a34273. FSA/OWI Collection. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (5)Jack Delano. Connecticut town on the sea. Stonington, Connecticut, November 1940. Reproduction from color slide. LC-USF351-31. LC-DIG-fsac-1a33831. FSA/OWI Collection. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (40)

Historical Conejo Valley Pictures From Ed Lawrence

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(Originally Posted December 2008; Updated December 2011)

Ed Lawrence on December 16, 2011Ed Lawrence chronicled the growth of the Conejo Valley from 1958 to 2003 over a time that the population grew from 2,000 to 130,000.  Ed's work provides an amazing perspective on what this area was like 50 years ago to today. In June 2011, Ed sold his collection to the Thousand Oaks Library and other local community entities to preserve, digitize and make his work available for generations to come.

I was fortunate to chat with Ed in person tonight at a dinner hosted by Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks. He is 87 years old and looks great. He is currently in town working on organizing his photo collection. In his presentation, Ed included his very first photo in the Conejo Valley, a shot of Moorpark Road in 1958. Let's just say it looked nothing like Moorpark Road looks today!

The picture below shows a whole lot of sheep on Moorpark Road near the intersection of Thousand Oaks Boulevard in 1965.  I'm pretty sure what is taking place is that they are flocking to Starbucks.  I could be wrong.

Photo courtesy of Ed Lawrence

Below is another of Ed's most well known shots. A shot of the Albertson

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'Tis The Season for Santa Barbara Filmmaker's "Roadside Santa" Documentary

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My kids and I always wave at Santa Claus facing the 101 freeway as we drive north through Camarillo and Oxnard. Since 2003 this 20 foot Santa has resided in the unincorporated area of Nyeland Acres, bringing smiles to the faces of passersby.

SantaPresentsNyeland.JPG

Constructed in 1947, near the community of Carpinteria, Santa Claus was part of a roadside attraction known as Santa Claus Lane, a two-lane roadway that paralleled the south side of U.S. Highway 101, just west of the City of Carpinteria.  Between the late 1940s and the mid-1960s, Santa Claus Lane featured a thriving array of stores restaurants, motels, and a post office, as well as attractions, including a child’s train, small zoo, and pony rides, that catered both to travelers and nearby communities.

For over six years, Santa Barbara filmmaker Jody Nelson has chronicled the history of this popular Santa that will be made into a full-length film, "Roadside Santa." Through melding stories of community residents, interviews with scholars and activists, archival footage and stills, the documentary explores themes of cultural transition in California as experienced in the disparate communities that Santa has called home. “Roadside Santa” illuminates how the residents of Nyeland Acres have welcomed Santa to their neighborhood and reinvented him as a potent and positive symbol of community identity, demonstrating the adaptive capacities of new immigrant communities and American culture alike.

UPDATE Nov 2015: It does not appear that this film has been finalized as an fyi.

The video below highlights some some of the scenes, stories and interviews, as well as the popular annual Santa to the Sea Half Marathon that supports a toy drive for local underprivileged kids. Watch it! You'll learn about our own Ventura County Roadside Santa and how he brings joy to the local community.

Nelson is nearly finished with the film but is still interested in Santa Claus Lane photos, film footage and memorabilia from the 1940s to present day, Santa Claus Lane stories from people who lived/worked there and the whereabouts of the miniature train and carousel that used to reside there. She also seeks additional funding to help finalize the film and bring it to film festivals and perhaps TV.

Learn more by visiting www.nelsonfilms.com or at this Facebook page or calling Jody at 805.403.0602. She can also be reached at jgirlsb1@gmail.com.

11/11/11 Facts, Figures and Fun - Celebrate!

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The day is HERE! 11/11/11! And of course 2 times today, the clock will strike 11:11:11. Time for some celebration on this once-in-a lifetime day!


Purchase a one-of-a-kind 11/11/11 art piece created by Camarillo Artist Chuck Trunks! This unique piece was hand designed by Chuck solely for 11/11/11! Visit www.printfection.com/celebrate-111111 and check out how cool it looks on shirts, mugs, Christmas ornaments, coasters and more!

Coupon Code: NoLines2011

Discount: $20 off all orders over $50.00

Dates: November 16 -21

Disclaimer: Please enter coupon code NoLines2011 before completing checkout. Discount is applied to the base price and does not include tax
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Annual Pepperdine University 9/11 Memorial Flag Display

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Once again this year, Pepperdine University will honor the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks with nearly 3,000 flags. This stunning tribute will be located at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Malibu Canyon Road from September 9th through September 19th.

Pepperdine has planned additional 9/11 10th Anniversary Remembrance events this year as follows:

Pepperdine University is presenting a special 9/11 remembrance on Pepperdine's Malibu campus on Sunday, September 11, 2011 commemorating the 10th anniversary of the attacks on America. Amid a breathtaking display of 2,977 flags on the University's expansive lawn – honoring the victims and emergency responders who died on 9/11 – Pepperdine will present a reading of the victims' names beginning at 11:00 a.m. A total of 20 readers from service, charitable, religious, and professional organizations will join 15 individuals from the Pepperdine community in reading the names.

View of the flags at 6 p.m. on 9/10/11, the eve of the 10th Anniversary of 9/11:

Some photos of the flag display at the Conejo Valley Guide Facebook page

At 4:00 p.m., Pepperdine will hold an hour-long memorial service commemorating the lives of our fallen heroes. The program will include remarks by Pepperdine President Andrew K. Benton, California Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, and Deena Burnett Bailey, whose husband, alumnus Thomas E. Burnett, Jr., was one of the heroes who perished on Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.

Also scheduled is a 1 p.m. viewing o

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