The Conejo Valley Guide "Welcome" blog covers a wide range of topics, local information, highlights of local things to do, compilations and other items. Focus is on information relevant to Ventura County and surrounding areas, including Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Newbury Park, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Malibu, Simi Valley, Camarillo, Moorpark, Somis, Fillmore, Santa Paula, Ojai, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Barbara and Moorpark.
The Conejo Valley Guide® "Welcome" blog covers a wide range of topics, local information, local things to do, holiday event compilations, announcements and more.
We are blessed in the Conejo Valley and throughout Ventura County at the regularly beautiful sunsets, featuring the surrounding mountains, gathering clouds and the neighboring Pacific. My wife called me out to view the sun dropping down towards the direction of the Conejo Grade tonight that I share below.
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.
This so-called winter here in Ventura County has been so lacking rain that this weekend's winter final thunderstorm is something to appreciate. We could have used more of this throughout the winter but hey, we'll take it, even this final winter weekend before Spring begins in a few days.
What to do when it is raining outside? Well here are some ideas:
Ventura County area shopping malls
Ventura County gyms and fitness facilities
Ventura County painting and ceramics studios
And of course....there's also, staying out how and vedging in front of the TV.
Gotta love U.S. politics. Not one person I talk to understands the presidential primary process that began in January and continues through June 2012. But regardless it is fascinating to watch.
There are 57 presidential primaries. One for each state, except Louisiana, which splits its primary into two (a primary and a caucus). In addition, Washington D.C. and 5 U.S. territories, Guam, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa, participate in the process.
In addition to the Louisiana caucus, the states of Iowa, Nevada, Colorado, Minnesota, Maine, Wyoming, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, North Dakota, Kansas, Hawaii, Missouri, Nebraska and Montana, as well as Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and U.S. Virgin Islands hold caucuses.
The difference between a caucus and a primary is that a primary is a statewide process open to all registered voters by secret ballot whereas a caucus is mor
This past Saturday night, my 6 year old lost his first tooth. It was a momentous, proud occasion for him. A coming of age. Yet another major event in the "firsts" of a 6 year old's life that up to that point includes things like first burp, first giggle, first solid food, first words, first steps, first day at preschool and first day of kindergarten.
But losing that first tooth is different from all of these other firsts because it involves "losing" something for the first time. And in turn, this loss is parlayed into something bigger, better and more exciting...a visit from "The Tooth Fairy."
And so yesterday, when I received my wife's emailed picture of my newly toothless little guy, that my next step was to create a Tooth Fairy certificate to accompany the next morning's under-pillow excitement. Been there, done that. I don't recall such fanfare when I was a kid. But my wife is really into this stuff.
Losing your first truth is an exciting time indeed, an experience shared with the entire family. The cheers, hugs, smiles, knuckle bumps and high fives ensued when they got home. And later that night at bedtime my wife gave him careful instructions for proper placement of the
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.
The kids and I were at Lang Ranch Community Park this afternoon when I looked up and saw these pretty spectacular contrails in the sky. It was a beautiful, sunny day but the air was fairly cool. I've read contrails last longer when there's higher moisture in the air, which at 66% humidity today was definitely the case (and apparently we finally have a cold and windy winter storm coming on Monday).
This contrail cross was seen in the direction of Cal Lutheran University. Perhaps someone was trying to make a statement. Others thought perhaps this was an X, marking the Conejo Valley as "the spot" that we all enjoy living at.
Conejo Valley Guide covers events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County and surrounding areas.
Conejo Valley Guide® covers thousands of events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County, California and surrounding areas.
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