California State Senate Bill No. 3 to Will Increase Minimum Wage to $15 an Hour Over Next 6 Years

In April 2016, Governor Brown signed into law Senate Bill No. 3, that, among other things, will increase minimum wage in California to $15 over the coming years. 

On January 1, 2016, the California minimum wage increased from $9 to $10 for all employers (with the exception of California sheepherders...which you can read about more HERE).

The planned increases to get to $15 are outlined below and vary based on if the employer has 26 or more employees or 25 or fewer employees.

Employers with 26+ Employees

• 1/1/17 to 12/31/17: $10.50/hour (5% increase)
• 1/1/18 to 12/31/18: $11/hour (4.8% increase)
• 1/1/19 to 12/31/19: $12/hour (9.1% increase)
• 1/1/20 to 12/31/20: $13/hour (8.3% increase)
• 1/1/21 to 12/31/21: $14/hour (7.7% increase)
• 1/1/22 until adjusted again: $15/hour (6.7% increase)

If your employer has 25 or fewer employees, there will be a year lag in the increases. So in 2017, there will not be a change in the designated minimum wage if you work for a company in that range.  The first increase (from $10 to $10.50) will take place effective 1/1/18 and the final increase highlighted above (from $14 to $15) will take place effective 1/1/23.

So, if you are a minimum wage employee at a smaller company, you will be making slightly less than your "larger" company counterparts in California until 1/1/23.

After 2022, the minimum wage will generally be increased by the lesser of 3.5% and the inflation rate.

Why Does the Label On My Peanut Butter Say CONTAINS PEANUTS?

So the other day I was making my son, the son without peanut allergies, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and glass of milk. I glanced at the label on the peanut butter jar and noticed "CONTAINS PEANUTS." highlighted in bold, below the ingredients, which clearly lists "dry roasted peanuts" as the main ingredient. Interesting.

Then I grabbed the bag of Sara Lee 100% Whole Wheat bread, looked at the label, and saw that in addition to the multiple mentions of wheat in the ingredients, it also says CONTAINS WHEAT, MILK AND SOY. Like we didn't already know the WHEAT bread contains WHEAT!

After putting the finishing touches on the PB&J, slicing off the crusts and cutting the the sandwich in half, it was time to pour the milk. Sure enough, underneath the ingredients of this Trader Joe's milk carton that clearly indicates milk three times in the ingredients, is the statement CONTAINS MILK.

Isn't this a bit overkill!?? Does someone think I'm stupid? (Don't answer that.)

The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) of 2004 initiated new food labeling requirements for eight food groups that, according to the FDA, are the source of 90% of food allergies in the U.S. Food allergies affect 2% of adults and 5% of children.

The eight foods, all proteins, are milk, eggs, fish (e.g., bass, flounder, cod), Crustacean shellfish (e.g., crab, lobster, shrimp), tree nuts (e.g., almonds, walnuts, pecans), peanuts, wheat and soybeans.

Source: FDA.gov: FALCPA requires food manufacturers to label food products that contain an ingredient that is or contains protein from a major food allergen in one of two ways:

The first option for food manufacturers is to include the name of the food source in parenthesis following the common or usual name of the major food allergen in the list of ingredients in instances when the name of the food source of the major allergen does not appear elsewhere in the ingredient statement.

The second option is to place the word "Contains" followed by the name of the food source from which the major food allergen is derived, immediately after or adjacent to the list of ingredients, in type size that is no smaller than the type size used for the list of ingredients.

I've underlined the statement that puzzles me. If the allergen appears elsewhere in the ingredient statement, it would appear the label meets FALCPA labeling requirements. Yet, the labels shown above all include the redundant "CONTAINS (PEANUTS/WHEAT/MILK)" statement anyways. Why, why, why? I suspect the manufacturers figure, why not. Maybe someone will blog about it and give us free publicity.

So later on, after the kid's belly was full, I thought, what other allergens lurk in our fridge? Ah ha! Eggs! It took me a bit longer to find the label on the egg carton, hidden on the inside cover (hey, I don't cook much). I was actually a bit disappointed to NOT find the statement "CONTAINS EGGS" on the label. Darn it, now I'm left to wonder, are these really eggs?

To learn more about FALCPA requirements, visit www.fda.gov or download an actual pdf copy of the law at www.fda.gov/downloads/Food/GuidanceRegulation/UCM179394.pdf. Joking aside, it's a great law that helps food allergy sufferers more clearly identify foods that could cause them much grief.

Do You Remember Eating a Breakfast Sandwich at Starbucks Between 4/28/15 and 8/17/15?

Heck, not only do I not recall if I ate a breakfast sandwich at a Starbucks location between the dates of April 25, 2015 and August 17, 2015, but I can't even remember what I ate for breakfast yesterday.

The reason I ask is that Starbucks has entered into a class action settlement that claims that certain California Starbucks locations charged too much during said time frame for its Reduced-Fat Turkey Bacon Breakfast Sandwich ($3.75 was allegedly charged when the listed price was $3.45) and the Sausage & Cheddar Breakfast Sandwich ($3.45 charged instead of $3.25 it is alleged).

Starbucks denied all claims but decided to settle the case to avoid further expense, which among other things includes the cost of advertising the settlement for prospective claimants.

But they are not paying me to write about it here.

Yes, you can make a claim to recoup your losses if you overpaid for one of these two breakfast sandwiches during the 111 day period noted above.

What can you get out of this?

If you purchased said sandwiches using your Starbucks Reward account, you're in luck. There's a digital record of your expenditures and you will automatically receive a credit of 25 cents per sandwich purchased. Heck, if you ate a breakfast sandwich every day during that period, you will be receiving a credit of $27.75 in your account and don't need to fill anything out. Yippee! Or maybe you ate two per day. That would be $55.50 in moolah back in your account.

If you have proof of purchase of your sandwich(es) in the form of a receipt, you must complete a claim form, available at www.BreakfastSandwichSettlement.com (I knew I should have purchased that domain name years ago) and receive 25 cents per purchase. The credit expires after 90 days. If any of you actually can find such receipts during that time frame, contact me. I want to hire you as my accountant.

If you are like most people and have no receipts, yet, unlike me, actually can recall acquiring at least one of the above mentioned breakfast sandwiches during said 111 day period, then all you gotta do is, confirm, "under penalty of perjury," that you did purchase at least one of these allegedly delicious breakfast sandwiches between 4/28/15 and 8/17/15. The reward for such amazing recollection will be a 50 cent coupon code good for up to 90 days after issuance.

Or, you can be like me, and spend 30 minutes writing about the insanity of it all and get a few laughs out of this breakfast sandwich caper. As I sit here drinking my $4.95 Grande Frappuccino.

Carpinteria and Indian Village of Mishopshnow California Registered Landmark No. 535

California State Registered Landmark No. 535 is located at the Carpinteria Valley Museum of History as well as at 1000 South Carpinteria Avenue (pictured above).

The landmark was registered on May 31, 1955 as "La Carpinteria" - The Carpenter's Shop.

The Chumash (which means "bead maker") have lived along the California coast for over 13,000 years. The Chumash Indian village of Mishopshnow, discovered by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo on August 14, 1542, was located 1/4 mile southwest of the monument.

Fray Juan Crespí of the Gaspar de Portolá Expedition named the village San Roque on August 17, 1769. Portolá's soldiers, observing the Indians building wooden canoes, called the village La Carpinteria.

These canoes, or tomol, came in handy for catching fish in deep waters. The advanced design of the tomol utilized the naturally occurring asphalt in the area to seal them. The tar still oozes today at Carpinteria State Beach at Tar Pits Park, one of five natural asphalt lake areas in the world.

Learn more about the Chumash at the Chumash Indian Museum in Thousand Oaks.

The Hill North of Highway 101 in Newbury Park

There's a prominent hill north of the 101 in Newbury Park as you make your way towards the top of the Conejo Grade. Grande Vista Drive parallels the 101 and the hill is directly behind it. 

What is the name of this hill that we see every day here in the Conejo Valley? It is referred to as "Adventist Hill" as it is on property owned by the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Newbury Park.

Adventist Hill is located in the Conejo Canyons Open Space a 1,628 acre open space area of the Conejo Valley. The Conejo Canyons Open Space also includes the Western Plateau, northern Arroyo Conejo, Western Canyon and Calleguas Ridgeline. Most of this area is owned by the City of Thousand Oaks and Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA)., although 380 privately owned acres are subject to a Specific Plan condition requiring an offer of dedication to the City.

Seen in the Fall of 2014

"Girl From Conejo Valley" by M. Ward

Matthew Stephen Ward (known as M. Ward) is a singer-songwriter and guitarist from Portland, Oregon. He records "Indie Folk" and blues type music as a solo artist and with other artists. Ward has released a number of albums over the years, including his latest, More Rain, in March 2016.

I came upon M. Ward at random on eBay, of all things, when I noticed someone selling a copy of the single, "Girl From Conejo Valley." After the initial amusement, I listened to the song several times and started really enjoying it. So, but of course we must share this song here on Conejo Valley Guide.

This is a fun, catchy song. I found it a bit bizarre, but entertaining, both the lyrics and the video. What I didn't see in the video is footage of Conejo Valley. While I tried to convince myself that some of the aerial footage could be from the Western Plateau section of the Conejo Open Space, I don't think it is. But do take a look and add a comment as to what you think.

Learn more about M. Ward at mwardmusic.com.

Conejo Valley Guide Facebook Followers Dish Out Their Favorite Pizza Toppings

Brick oven pizza from Barone's Pizzeria in Westlake Village

In a 2014 report, "Consumption of Pizza - What We Eat in America," the USDA highlighted the fact that 13% of the U.S. population aged 2 and older consumed pizza on any given day. And over 1 in 4 males ages 6 to 19 partake in a slice or two, or three, in a given day. According to PMQ Pizza Magazine, pizza restaurant sales in the U.S. for the 12 months ended September 30, 2015 were $38.5 billion. That's over $120 in pizza per capita.

So in a recent CVG Facebook Page drawing, locals were asked to comment on their favorite pizza toppings. Here's how the toppings stacked up in order of popularity based on over 150 responses:

• Pepperoni - with 18% of the total vote, pepperoni was the clear winner
• Sausage - however, sausage gave pepperoni a run for its money, with 14% of the vote
• Mushrooms - while I'm not opposed to mushrooms on my pizza, I still don't quite get why they are so popular, as indicated with their 3rd place showing at 12%
• Pineapple - at 8% of votes cast, this sweet, tangy fruit on pizza placed 4th, perhaps driven by the combination of pineapple and ham, Canadian bacon, etc.
• Olives, bacon - olives are also technically a fruit and tied for 5th place on this list with the combo of bacon/Canadian bacon, each garnering 5% of the vote
• Jalapenos, artichokes and "cheese only" tied at 4% of the vote

Honorable mentions go to green pepper, chicken, onions and garlic. Mentioned just once or twice were arugula, tomato, prosciutto, ricotta, steak, basil, meatballs, shrimp, spinach and eggplant.

Hungry now? So am I! Here's a compilation of local area newly opened and soon to be opened eateries of all types in and around Ventura County.