Fran Pavley Meadow in the Liberty Canyon Wildlife Corridor in Agoura Hills

In November 2016, the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy announced it was purchasing the 71 acre Chesebro Meadow property in the Liberty Canyon Wildlife Corridor in Agoura Hills.

It was named the Fran Pavley Meadow, after the State Senator and former City Councilmember and Mayor of Agoura Hills.

This property will provide key connectivity to a proposed wildlife crossing over the 101 freeway in Agoura Hills.

The 71 acres supports a mix of chaparral, coastal sage scrub, grassland and oak woodland-savannah vegetation.  It connects to the Cheeseboro Canyon open space managed by the National Park Service (and yes, we have Chesebro and we have Cheeseboro, a spelling mystery that I've never received a clear answer on!).

To get there, take Chesebro Road towards Cheeseboro Canyon and you'll see the sign on the right. Park off street or at the nearby Cheeseboro Canyon trailhead parking lot, which has plenty of spots and is adjacent to the meadow.  You can also hike into Cheeseboro Canyon but take the path south (right) at the first fork in the trail.

You can park here at the Cheeseboro Canyon trailhead parking lot and either take this path into the canyon, to the fork, the veer right towards the meadow area, or you can walk down Chesebro Road to the Fran Pavley Meadow sign, then take the trail back for a couple mile loop.

You say Chesebro, I say Cheeseboro. It's all good!

Spectacular Sunset From the Conejo Valley Towards the Channel Islands on November 25, 2017

After several days of heatwave weather through Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday 2017, the temperatures are gradually cooling off and tonight we're seeing the cloud cover creeping up the Potrero Grade. I had the good fortune of witnessing tonight's beautiful sunset from Newbury Park, looking towards the Channel Islands. These images are captured in this video.

Photos From Janss Conejo Ranch in 1960-1961 in What is Now Wildwood Park

In the 1930s to 1960s, a number of TV shows and movies were filmed in what is now Wildwood Park, like Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, Spartacus and Wuthering Heights. Steve Dibblee of Ventura Views has provided these shots taken by his father, Walt Dibblee, of a western ranch town in Wildwood Park in 1960-1961.

You can see the same, familiar Mountclef Ridge in Wildwood Park today

Steve indicated the above photo shows The Rifleman's house and barn. It may also have been used in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."

And here is a bit of a depressing scene at the ranch on September 28, 1960.

View more of Walt's Ventura County area photography, including an extensive collection of aerials from the mid 1950s to the late 1960s, at VenturaViews.com.

Christmas Tree Lane in Downtown Oxnard is a Fun Residential Holiday Display

Every holiday season, one of Ventura County's biggest residential light displays lights up the historic section of Downtown Oxnard on F and G streets between 5th and Palm. Worth a visit! And check out the holiday decorated pagoda at nearby Plaza Park. More information at www.oxnardhistoricdistrict.com.

For the 2017 holiday season, Christmas Tree Lane will be on display by local residents nightly from 6-10PM from December 10 to December 26.

Video and photos below from prior year Christmas Tree Lane displays.

Christmas Tree Lane Visitor Tips from the Oxnard Historic District:

Visitors are asked not to walk in private yards or driveways, unless allowed by residents.

Visitors can walk the route (the best way to fully take it all in) by parking on adjacent side streets and making the 10 block loop. Warm attire is recommended.

Visitors in vehicles are asked to keep headlights on for safety reasons. Old timers to Ventura’s Candy Cane Lane remember the rule of turning off your headlights off, but with three cross streets on Christmas Tree Lane and significantly more visitors headlights must be on for everyone’s safety.

Please respect the privacy of all residents. Please keep children attended with adults at all times, do not allow them to touch or climb on any exhibits - this is for their own safety!

Please be courteous when the crowds are larger on weekends and the sidewalks are congested.

Christmas Residential Holiday Light Display on Gemini/Waverly in Camarillo

As in many Christmas seasons past, homes on Gemini Avenue and Waverly Avenue south of Dunnigan Street in Camarillo are decked out with cartoon characters, trains, Santa, snowmen, and plenty of lights and other decorations this 2017 holiday season.

Drive the route or park and walk any night of the week. It is worth going out of your way for! From the the 101, take Arneill north past Ponderosa to Dunnigan. Turn right on Dunnigan and Gemini is the 4th street on your right. We've been stopping by this familiar display for years. 

How to Change Background Themes In the New Firefox Quantum

For over a decade I've been a Firefox user but in recent years my Web browser usage has migrated more towards Google Chrome because Firefox has slowed and consumed too much memory. I frequently had to close and restart Firefox as it slowed and/or froze so frequently.

Today when I turned on my computer, Firefox installed version 57.0, Firefox Quantum. Mozilla says that it is better, faster and uses less memory! GOOD! They also say it is 30% "lighter" than Chrome, which alludes to memory usage. GREAT!

Hoping for the best with this new Firefox update! But one thing annoyed me when it first opened on my screen. The tabs were dark with white font. I don't like that. I right-clicked and messed around, hoping to change it back to the light background I was used to, to no avail. I searched the Web for answers and couldn't find anything quickly for mere mortals like myself.

Then I happened upon the quite simple answer and screenshotted it for those, like me, who aren't fans of change when forced upon us.

Here's the annoying (to me in any case) browser tabs and menu that came with the new Firefox Quantum. How to change it? Click the menu item and scroll to Customize.

In the Customize menu screen, click Themes.

Then you will see the background Themes that came with Firefox Quantum. I changed it from the Default Theme to the Light Theme and, wallah, my issue was gone. There are plenty of other Themes out there by clicking Get More Themes. Not me, though. I like it simple.

Firefox color scheme is back to the same ole boring look I've used for years. YES!

It Will Be Illegal for California Employers to Ask for Salary Information Effective January 1, 2018

Recently signed into law in the State of California was AB-168 "Employers: salary information." This law prohibits all employers in the state to ask for salary history information from job applicants. Salary history is defined to include compensation as well as benefits.

The law goes on to say that the salary history information cannot be sought orally or in writing, personally or through an agent. 

This new law takes effect January 1, 2018.

The law does not preclude candidates to volunteer such nor prohibit employers from using that information to determine the salary for the applicant.

The goal of this law is to narrow the wage gap of men and women by removing the past pay variable from the equation. AB-168 also requires that employers, upon reasonable request, must provide the pay scale for a position to a job candidate. Of course, the law does not define "reasonable" or how narrow or wide the pay scale must be.

Text of AB-168 at THIS LINK.