10th Anniversary of 9/11 Remembrance Events Around Ventura County

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There are a number of special events planned around Ventura County in remembrance of those who perished in the terrorist attacts on 9/11/01 10 years ago. They are summarized below.

You cannot miss the annual display of 2,977 flags at Pepperdine University in honor of those who died in the attacks starting September 9th through the 19th. This is a touching tribute that you have to experience in person. You may also sirens and horns at this venue by local fire/emergency crews in support of the heroes of 9/11. You can't help but get emotional during this tribute.

For the 10th anniversary, Pepperdine hosted other events on 9/11, including a reading of the 2,977 victims' names from 11am-3pm, film screening of United 93 at 1pm and remembrance ceremony at 4pm.

The 4th Annual Ride to the Flags event started at Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu in the morning and culminated in over 700 motorcycles riding to Pepperdine via Oxnard/Hidden Valley on 9/11.

Fire stations in Oxnard participated in the National Moment of Remembrance at 10am across the city.

10th Anniversary of 9/11 Memorial Ceremony at the Ventura Government Center at 11am will featured a ceremony, helicopter fly-over, bagpipes and musical tributes.

10th Anniversary of 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony at Constitution Park in Camarillo started at 4pm with tributes, flag ceremony, moment of silence and patriotic music.

The 6th Annual Simi Valley Freedom Walk started at 4:30pm at Reagan Library and ended at Rancho Madera Community Park. Featured ceremony, fly-over, musical performances and 1.8 mile walk.

9/11 Twin Tower Survivor Judith Francis discussed "What Really Happened at the Twin Towers on Sept 11, 2001" on 9/11.

Cal Lutheran University presented two 9/11 Memorial Concerts in Thousand Oaks

By the Sea with the Buenaventura Art Association 9/11 Remembrance family arts and crafts event at Ventura Harbor Village

The life of Chad Keller, a Santa Barbara resident killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, was honored, along with a benefit performance of "I Was Greta Garbo" at the Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara.

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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U.S. Postal Service Looking to Make Dramatic Changes to Survive

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The U.S. Postal Service announced today that unless legislation is passed this month, it is on the brink of default on its obligations. They say they need to cut operating expenses by $20 BILLION a year by 2015 to survive.


The Postmaster General spoke today to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. Here are some of the challenges the USPS would like to address with the help of Congress:

Retirement Benefits: By law the USPS is forced to contribute $5.5 billion each year to fund retirement health benefits of future retirees (in addition $2.5 billion for current retirees). The USPS would like to change this requirement.

Delivery Frequency: USPS wants to be able to be able to control delivery frequency...e.g. perhaps 5 days per week instead of 6. USPS states that in surveys, about 75% of the American public (up from 50% 2 years ago) favors cutting back service rather than cover l

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Random Encounter with the 4th Annual West Valley Memorial Ride on Saturday, Aug 27th

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The 4th Annual West Valley Memorial Ride took place this past Saturday, August 27th. I had never heard of the ride nor knew what it was when I happened upon it but later discovered this event is organized by Officers of the West Valley Division of the Los Angeles Police Department who first organized the event in 2008 as a memorial to fellow officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.

This event featured 400 riders and was orchestrated with the help of the California Highway Patrol, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and Motor Officers of the Valley Traffic Division of LAPD.

After torturing my body on a brutally hilly and quite hot trail run called the Bulldog 25K, I was ready to get home, shower up and relax. But...NOOoooo...after pulling onto Malibu Canyon/Las Virgenes northbound toward the 101, there are legions of police officers on cycles and cars. First I thought it might be a 9/11 memorial, but realized it was too early for that. Oddly, I noticed cars of all shapes and sizes, like vintage 1960s police cars. I thought maybe budget cuts were forcing LAPD to cut back ha ha.

But then traffic was completely stopped for me and others before reaching the 101 freeway. The police officers were followed by motorcycles of all shapes and sizes. Thinking on my feet, uh, well, on my rear end, I grabbed my little camera and start videotaping, figuring I'd capture a few seconds of footage. But the cycles kept coming...and coming...and coming. I looked over at the 101 westbound and there was a steady flow of cycles coming to the Malibu Canyon offramp. Not a single car in sight.

I was determined to keep filming until the last motorcycle. So as a result there are over 7 minutes of footage below. Had I known about this I'd have taken high def footage on my Droid for a clearer picture. But in any case, this chance encounter was certainly a pleasant and fun surprise.

Kim Kardashian Marrying a Man With the Same Name as Her Mom, Names That Start with "K" and Other Random Thoughts

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Yesterday the kids and I had a terrific time in Santa Barbara, riding the Cabrillo Bike Path, visiting the Ty Warner Sea Center at Stearns Wharf, stopping by Alamada Park for its incredibly cool kids' play area as well as the awesome turtle and duck filled pond at Alice Keck Memorial Gardens before heading back back home. It was a perfect 70 degree day in Santa Barbara as fellow Conejo Valleyians baked away.

The traffic was fairly steady for about the first 10 miles coming out of Santa Barbara through Carpinteria before it cleared up for awhile, until we reached Camarillo, where we were greeted with another slow passage. For awhile we were driving directly behind the car pictured below.

It was getting towards 8PM and we had an action packed weekend (the prior day I ran a hot, hilly 25K race in Agoura before enjoying time with the kids in the pool then at Ventura Harbor Village (where it was also a perfect 70 degree kind of day). So I was pretty tired, in fact maybe getting a bit delirious. We all needed our beds.

But this Just Married car was in front of me for a good 15 minutes and my mind wandered. Long drives can do this to you. I thought, hey, maybe this car is being driven by Kim Kardashian and her new husband, Kris Humphries.  Obviously they wouldn't be driving a Toyota

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"Thinking Dreams" This Summer by Local Camarillo Artist, Chuck Trunks

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This latest piece by Camarillo artist Chuck Trunks depicts a girl who appears to be thinking about what summer has in store for her. Or maybe it is deeper than that. Trunks calls it "Thinking Dreams." I know it was inspired by ocean views in Ventura looking towards the Channel Islands.  See Trunks' other work on Conejo Valley Guide here.

Speaking of Ventura and the Channel Islands: