Assurance Wireless Offers Free Cell Phone Service to Low Income Residents

Assurance Wireless, powered by Virgin Mobile, offers a free cell phone with monthly service that includes 250 minutes and unlimited texts to low-income individuals who qualify through the Federal Lifeline Assistance Program.

The Lifeline Assistance Program is funded by the federal Universal Service Fund, which is funded by wireless carriers, who in turn generally tag on a fee to consumers in their monthly bills.

The Lifeline Assistance program is available for only one account per household. Separate households that live at the same address are eligible, such as residents of homeless shelters and nursing homes. Residents with temporary addresses are also eligible.

As a California resident, you can qualify if you participate in certain public assistance programs or if you below certain income levels:

• Medicaid/Medi-Cal

• CalFresh

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (aka Food Stamps)

• National School Lunch Program

• California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKS)

• Federal Public Housing Assistance (Section 8)

• Various other public assistance programs

• Income levels falling within the following Federal poverty level guidelines (as of January 2015):

  • $25,500 for a household of 1-2

  • $29,700 for a household of 3

  • $35,900 for a household of 4

  • Add another $6,200 for each additional household member above 4

The program also allows individuals to purchase additional minutes; $5/month for each additional 250 minutes. To learn more, visit www.assurancewireless.com.

Treated to a Rainbow in the Conejo This First Saturday of November 2014

After a night of moderate rains (about 1/4 of an inch) in the Conejo Valley, a spectacular rainbow was seen this morning around 8 a.m. What a great start to the month of November!

Rainbow seen from Lynn Road in Newbury ParkA stunning shot of the rainbow from above by Darts Promoter L. David Irete.

And a shot from Malibu by Suzy Demeter of Suzy Demeter Photography.

St. Mary Magdalen Chapel in Camarillo Captured By Local Artist in Oil Painting

St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Camarillo by Linda DarkLinda Dark of Camarillo has admired the St. Mary Magdalen Chapel for years, so she decided to put oil paint to canvas in this rendition. The cornerstone for the Chapel was laid on July 1, 1913 and the Chapel was dedicated on July 4, 1914. The Chapel is named after Adolfo Camarillo's oldest sister, Magdalena. The church is located in Old Town Camarillo at 2532 Ventura Boulevard.

Learn more about the church at www.smmcam.org.

Also check out this rendition of El Tecolote Cafe in Camarillo by Linda.

Eggs "N" Things is Landslide Winner in Recent Breakfast Eatery Poll

We frequently run drawings on the Conejo Valley Guide Facebook page where folks are asked to comment to enter. In one such recent drawing, we asked the question, what is your favorite local breakfast eatery. Within the 9 hour comment deadline prior to the drawing, 140 people responded to the open ended question.

Eggs "N" Things is located in Camarillo (pictured here), Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and VenturaTo me it wasn't a surprise that Eggs "N" Things was the top vote getter. My family has enjoyed Eggs "N" Things for years.  With locations in Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Ventura and Simi Valley this local eatery  that has served our community since 1974 received an amazing 25% of all votes! A landslide! Learn more about Eggs "N' Things at www.eggsnthings.net.

The next three top vote-getters were Side Street Cafe in Newbury Park (www.sidestreetcafenp.com), Jinky's Cafe in Agoura Hills and Thousand Oaks (www.jinkys.com) and Stella's Restaurant in Newbury Park (www.stellasgourmetrestaurant.net). These eateries each received 5 to 8% of the vote.

Closely following, with 4% of the vote, were Country Harvest in Newbury Park (www.countryharvestrestaurant.net) and Breakfast Cafe, with locations in Oak Park and Camarillo (www.facebook.com/pages/The-Breakfast-Cafe/294939383897705).

Honorable mentions go out to the following eateries that were mentioned at least several times: Denny's, Pickles Deli, Brent's Deli, Marmalade Cafe, P&L Burger, Cronies, Harold's House of Omelettes, Mimi's Cafe and Waypoint Cafe.

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCOOP ON NEW RESTAURANTS IN AND AROUND VENTURA COUNTY

AND HERE FOR RESTAURANTS THAT HAVE CLOSED THEIR DOORS IN RECENT YEARS

Denny's

Pickles

Harold's

Mimi's

Cronies

Waypoint

P&L

Brent's

Marmalade

Debunking the Blog Post That Says Thousand Oaks is the 2nd Snobbiest City

Over the last few days I've noticed quite a bit of buzz about a recent blog post on a real estate website called "These Are The 10 Snobbiest Mid-Sized Cities in America." The reason people have been sharing the post is that Thousand Oaks is ranked #2 on the list.

Huh? Snobby? I feel compelled to respond.

How do they define snobby? According to Merriam Webster online, a snob "is someone who tends to criticize, reject, or ignore people who come from a lower social class, have less education, etc."

But how do you actually measure this in order to to determine which cities are the "snobbiest?" The blogger chooses eight "sorts of things snobs would like." She decides that a city is snobbier if residents have higher incomes, higher home prices, more education, private schools, art galleries, performing arts and country clubs and less fast food eateries per capita.

Talk about arbitrary.

She looks at these factors only "for 100 mid-sized cities." Why just 100 cities? What is mid-sized? 50,000 people? 100,000? She doesn't say. Given there are well over 9,000 cities in the U.S., limiting yourself to just 100 is also arbitrary. From what I could gather, the 100 cities are roughly in the range of 125,000 to 210,000 residents. That leaves out cities like Beverly Hills, Calabasas and Santa Barbara. And well over 9,000 other cities.

If I were measuring snobbyness, a survey of residents would be in order. This blogger did no such thing. Fast food restaurants? Somehow out of the 100 cities on the list, Thousand Oaks ranked 16th lowest in terms of fast food eateries per capita. But the underlying data from "the 2010 Census" is not provided. I can count at least 50 fast food places in the Conejo Valley. I'd love to see her underlying data. Heck, we've got 3 McDonald's,10 Subways, 2 Chick-fil-A's. How is that snobby?

How could a city with a Chuck E. Cheese's be called the 2nd snobbiest "mid-size" city!!??And how could a city with both a Chuck E Cheese's and a Hooters be the 2nd snobbiest city?

Each of the eight factors are equally ranked. Thousand Oaks ranked 3rd out of 100 in median home price and household income. Yes, it costs a lot to live here in paradise, which means we need to earn more to pay for it. Does that make us snobbier? Fully 25% of the ranking is based on these two factors. Six of the "top 10" cities on this "snobbiest" list are in California...largely because, yes, it costs more to live here. Does that make us snobby?

One of the 8 factors is "country clubs per capita." Sheesh, most people I know have never been to the Sherwood Country Club or North Ranch Country Club. Yet we are called snobby because they are situated here.

And of course we are ranked 8th lowest in terms of percentage of residents with college degrees. Obviously more education equals snobby, right? Most college graduates I know show no signs of snobbyness. Heck, I don't think I became a snob, or snobbier, when I received my master's degree. Or maybe I did!? Hmm, I'll have to ponder that as I look for my Grey Poupon.

Movoto is a real estate website that generates traffic with nonsense posts like this one. The fact that I'm writing about it means they are doing a great job at attracting attention.

COMPILATION OF FUN LOCAL TRAILS AND HIKES IN VENTURA COUNTY