Two Ventura County Cities Were Born on September 29, 1964!

You wouldn't immediately know it looking at the headline of this September 30, 1964 issue of The Daily News, but the day before, residents in BOTH Camarillo and Thousand Oaks voted to incorporate their respective cities.

The article indicates that voters in Camarillo voted in favor of incorporation by a 5 to 1 margin, with 64% of the 3,745 registered voters turning in ballots. In the far right column, you'll see that with 10 of 18 precincts counted, 61% of 2,428 votes cast in Thousand Oaks were for incorporation. In Thousand Oaks they also voted on the name of the city...over 87% of votes cast said "yes" to the name Thousand Oaks.

Thanks to the Pleasant Valley Historical Society Museum in Camarillo for maintaining this and other local Ventura County history!

Counting Crows in the Conejo Valley and Nearby Communities

Counting crows. Maybe not literally, but figuratively, in the skies of the Conejo Valley, Simi Valley and beyond. We see the crows in the hundreds flying west in the morning and east in the evening ever so frequently here. These fellows were seen from the Conejo Valley Plaza, Moorpark and Janss Roads, the night of August 9, 2018.

Speaking of birds, the Conejo Valley Audubon Society hosts birding activities year-round.

Pederson Ranch House and Water Tower at Cal Lutheran is a Ventura County Historical Landmark

Pederson Ranch House and Water Tower on CLU campus. (Photo courtesy CLU)

The Pederson Ranch house, built in 1913, is a Ventura County and Thousand Oaks Historical Landmark. This house originally was built for the Lars and Karn Pederson family, Norwegian immigrants who were part of a group in 1890 that settled in the Conejo Valley.

The nearby water tower, built at the same time, provided plumbing for the residence.

It was donated to CLU in 1967 and has been moved several times. It is now located at the corner of Regent Ave and Faculty Street in Thousand Oaks and is used by the school's music department.

California Minimum Wages Increased Today, January 1, 2021 by $1 Per Hour

If you are a minimum wage earner in California, today you received a pay increase of 8.3% (from $12 to $13 per hour) if you work at an employer with under 26 employees or 7.7% ($13 to $14 per hour) if your employer has 26 or more employees.

Current law calls for one additional increase for larger companies on January 1, 2022 and two additional increases for smaller companies on January 1, 2022 and 2023 to get to $15. See chart below.

The federal minimum wage for 2021 is $7.25, a rate that has stood frozen in time since it became effective on July 24, 2009.

California minimum wage rates apply to Ventura County residents.

City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles minimum wage rates are currently higher than Ventura County/California wage rates. They are:

• $14.25 for employers with 25 or less employees until 7/1/21, when the rate increases to $15 per hour.

• $15 for employers with 26 or more employees.

Looking for a higher minimum wage? Move to San Francisco, where the rate is currently a nice, even $16.07 per hour. The rate is adjusted for inflation on July 1st of each year. If you’re going to have a minimum wage rate in the first place, this actually sounds like a reasonable way to administer it.

Send an Email Into the Future with FutureMe.org

A year ago I tried this, completely forgot about it, out of the blue, received an email yesterday morning. At first I thought the email from FutureMe.org was spam, but the title I created exactly one year ago, "Writing to My Future Self," enticed me to open it.  Kind of neat surprise! I didn't write much but I was happy to receive the email.

FutureMe.org is really simple. Type an email to yourself and schedule it to be sent anytime up to 50 years into the future. Or create an account and send others an email in the future. There is no charge, though donations are accepted.

It's so simple that you don't have to read any instructions. I love that! A form is displayed prominently on the FutureMe.org home page with the caption "Your future letter." Within minutes or seconds you'll be done.

What a great way of reminding yourself of something in the future. Or how about emailing an anniversary or birthday wish to someone years into the future. Or use it like a journal. You can also add a picture to the email.

One thing to consider if you're sending something to yourself say 20 years from now is...use an email address you anticipate you’ll still be using in 20 years.

Another time I wrote a letter to my son, to be delivered exactly one year into the future. Among other things, I predicted what his accomplishments would be during the coming year. It was interesting to be be reminded of those predictions when I received a copy of the email the subsequent year.