Ventura County Residents Treated to Full Double Rainbow on December 23, 2019

The double rainbow local residents were treated to on Monday afternoon was epic. Folks were in awe of this Christmas Eve Eve colorful sensation.

Restaurants New and Adieu in Ventura County During 2019

Here's a compilation of restaurants throughout the Conejo Valley and Greater Ventura County that opened, announced plans to open or closed in 2019.

Restaurants That Opened in 2019

• Tabu Shabu opened in Thousand Oaks in December

• Denny’s New Location in Ventura in the fall

• Dunkin’ opened in Camarillo in October

• Vegiterranean Kitchen opened in Moorpark in November

• The Habit Burger Grill opened in November on the Cal Lutheran campus

• Hummus Bistro opened in November in Newbury Park

• Top This Chocolate opened at Ventura Harbor Village in November

• Robeks Juice opened in Thousand Oaks in October

• The Nook Restaurant opened in Newbury Park in September

• West Village Cafe opened at the North Ranch Gateway in Westlake Village in September

• Boney Mtn Tavern became Boney Mtn Pizza Co. this summer

• Tarantula Hill Brewing Company in Thousand Oaks opened this summer

• Jack’s Donuts Thousand Oaks opened on November 9th

• Santour Kabobery opened in former Famous Dave’s Simi Valley location in September

• Barone’s Pizza opened 2nd location at Northstar Plaza Thousand Oaks in September

• Braxton’s Kitchen opened at former Breakfast Cafe in Camarillo on June 8th

• Historia Bakery opened in Thousand Oaks in October

• Ruperto’s Kitchen Mexican Food opened in Newbury Park in July

• Cafe Sapienta opened in Oak Park this summer

• Marie’s Cafe Simi Valley opened in the Sinaloa Plaza in August

• Namaste Spiceland opened new, larger location in Thousand Oaks in February

• Huarache Xpress opened at the Simi Valley Town Center in March

• Surf Boba opened in June at the former Jamba Juice at the Simi Valley Town Center

• Currying Flavors opened at The Shops at Oak Creek in Agoura Hills in August

• O-R Authentic Thai Cuisine opened at The Oaks Mall in November

• Texas de Brazil Churrascaria opened at The Collection in Oxnard on September 24th

• The Original Pizza Cookery opened in Thousand Oaks on June 3rd

• Black Bear Diner opened in Simi Valley on May 28th

• Matcha Tea and Boba opened at Janss Marketplace Thousand Oaks in June

• Tsuki Ramen opened at former Aroha Westlake Village in April

• West of Orleans New Orleans Style Takeout Cuisine in Newbury Park opened this spring

• Oak & Iron Cocktail Bar opened in Thousand Oaks this spring

• Ameci Pizza opened at the Westlake Village Marketplace earlier this year

• Seven Spice Kitchen Chinese Food opened in Newbury Park in the spring

• Jack in the Box opened July 3rd across from the new Lowe’s Newbury Park

• Vegan Thyme opened in Newbury Park in March

• Noi Due Trattoria and Pizzeria opened at the Agoura Village Center in February

• Made in Italy Italian Deli & Bistro opened in Westlake Village on March 4th

• Peet’s Coffee Westlake Village opened in April

• Sadaf Persian Cuisine opened in Thousand Oaks in February

• Dave & Buster’s Thousand Oaks opened on March 4th

• Chick-fil-A Simi Valley opened on February 21st

• The Cheesecake Factory at The Collection in Oxnard opened on April 16th

• Social Monk Asian Kitchen opened at The Promenade at Westlake on February 25th

• Novo Cafe opened in late spring at The Shoppes at Westlake

• Coaches Old Fashioned Ice Cream opened in Newbury Park on May 25th

• The Royal Egg Cafe opened early this year at North Ranch Gateway Westlake Village

• The Cuckoo Rooster opened in Agoura Hills early this year

• MidiCI The Neopolitan Pizza Company opened in Downtown Ventura in December

Restaurants That Closed in 2019

• Brendan’s Irish Pub Agoura Hills closed

• Subway in the North Ranch Gateway (TJ Maxx) Plaza closed in October

• Subway in the Simi Valley Civic Center Plaza closed in the fall

• Bubbers Bowls at The Shoppes at Westlake closed in the fall

• Greens Up! at The Shoppes at Westlake closed on August 1st

• Subway at Janss Marketplace closed in the late summer time frame

• Westlake Brewing & Libations closed in June

• SpireWorks Modern Döner at the Westlake Plaza closed in June

• Outback Steakhouse Thousand Oaks closed in June

• Baja Fresh Thousand Oaks closed on May 30th

• Poke Tiki at Janss Marketplace closed on April 19th

• The Grill by Green Acres in Simi Valley closed April 28th

• Go Greek Yogurteria closed at The Oak Mall this spring

• Maya Mexican Cuisine Thousand Oaks closed in the spring

• Great Harvest Bread in Newbury Park closed March 2nd

• Haagen Dazs and Cinnabon at The Oaks Mall closed early in the year

• Famous Dave’s BBQ at The Collection in Oxnard closed in January

• Sweet XO in Agoura Hills closed in January

• Rubio’s Newbury Park served its last taco on January 27th

• Old New York Deli Newbury Park closed its doors this summer

• Marie Callender’s Ventura closed its doors on January 13th

• Cold Stone Frozen Yogurt and SweetFrog Frozen Yogurt in Camarillo closed this year

• Smashburger Simi Valley closed its doors in mid-2019. It opened in March 2018.

• Cake Monkey Bakery Westlake Village closed in September after 13 months in business

Restaurants That Plan to Open Soon

• Tifa Chocolate & Gelato Coming to Oakbrook Plaza Thousand Oaks

• Amores Tequila at former Brendan’s Agoura Hills

• Cafe Rio coming to former Thousand Oaks Baja Fresh location

• California Fish Grill and “national coffee tenant” coming to former Hooters Thousand Oaks location

• Borderline owners to open BL Dancehall & Saloon in Agoura Hills

• Tifa is also opening a location in Calabasas across from The Commons

• Grabbagreen to open 2nd location in Thousand Oaks at former Rocket Fizz in 2020

• Cracker Barrel at the Camarillo Premium Outlets to open in early 2020

• Urban Vejjie opening soon at The Shoppes at Westlake in former Greens Up

• Mad Era Brewing Co. opening soon in Simi Valley

• Little Calf Creamery opening 2nd location in Westlake Village soon

• Pedals & Pints Brewing Company opening in former Red Lobster Thousand Oaks in 2020

• Farmer Boys opening in early 2020 across from Lowe’s Newbury Park

This is not a 100% comprehensive list, so feel free to report notable additions to us at THIS LINK.

No Party Preference Voters May Still Participate in Presidential Primary for 3 of 6 Political Parties in 2020

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Postcard received by NPP registered voters.

A record number of California voters are registered as No Party Preference. As of October 1, 2019, 26.7% of all registered voters in California selected No Party Preference (NPP), up from 24% in January 2016 and 16% in 2003.

But in the Presidential Primary on March 3, 2020, if you are NPP, you have no one to vote for. You will receive a primary election ballot without any candidates listed.

However, three parties have notified the Secretary of State that they will allow for “crossover” voting in the primary. What this means is that NPP voters may request a ballot for one of the three parties and vote for a presidential candidate for that party.

The parties that allow NPPers to vote in their primary are the American Independent Party, Democratic Party and Libertarian Party.

The parties that do not allow crossover voting in the primary are the Green, Peace and Freedom and Republican parties.

The Green, Peace and Freedom, and Republican presidential primaries are open only to voters registered with their respective parties.

You can verify your voter registration at VoterStatus.sos.ca.gov. If you’d like to change your political party, you may re-register at RegisterToVote.ca.gov.

NPP voters who vote in person may simply request their desired crossover ballot when checking in at the polls. NPP voters who vote-by-mail will receive a postcard from their county elections official in advance that will allow them to select a crossover ballot. If they don’t respond to the postcard, they may still request a crossover ballot up until election day at their polling place.

As of October 1, 2019, 80.65% of the 25,205,690 eligible voters in California, or 20,328,636, were registered to vote. 44.1% are Democrat, 26.7% are NPP, 23.6% are Republican and 5.6% is the other parties. The number of registered voters in California has increased over 3 million, from 17.3 million in January 2016 to 20.3 million today. www.sos.ca.gov

Led By Overall Winner Nico Young, Newbury Park Boys Cross Country Team Wins National Championship at Nike Cross Nationals (NXN)

Yesterday, the boys cross country team from Newbury Park High School won the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) title at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Oregon.

Led by NPHS Senior, Nico Young, who handily won the race in the 5K course record time of 14 minutes, 52 seconds, the team edged out two other outstanding teams from Temecula, California (Great Oak High School) and Draper, Utah (Corner Canyon High School) by just 4 points and 14 points, respectively.

NXN is an invitational cross country meet that serves as the “unofficial” (unsanctioned) team national championship for U.S. high school cross country. Nike invites the top 22 teams in the country and the top 50 individuals not included on those teams in this prestigious event. This was the 2nd time the NPHS boys team was invited to the event, following a 6th place showing in their initial 2018 appearance.

The NPHS girls team, which also was invited to NXN after winning the California State Championship last Saturday, finished 17th in the country yesterday.

Course conditions for both races were wet, rainy, muddy and slippery.

Congratulations also go out to the girls team in the first time invitation to this prestigious event, finishing 17th in the country!

Newbury Park Head Coach Sean Brosnan led the teams with the help of assistant coaches Tanya Brosnan and Steve Hawkins.

NP boys team in scoring order: Nico Young (senior), Jace Aschbrenner (senior), Colin Sahlman (sophomore), Nick Goldstein (junior), Daniel Appleford (sophomore), Leo Young (freshman), Thomas McDonnell (junior).

NP girls team in scoring order: Hailey Golmon (senior), Sam McDonnell (sophomore), Fiona Hawkins (junior), Archana Mohandas (senior), Ailish Hawkins (freshman), Hannah Rounds (freshman), Gretchen Slattum (senior).

Additionally, Thousand Oaks High School Senior Michael Mireles was invited to run at the event as an individual and finished 25th overall. Jace Aschbrenner of NP was 18th. Way to go guys!

“The moment” when @NPHSXC learned they were the 2019 Nike Cross Nationals Boys Team Champions! pic.twitter.com/xDjkvDC263

— Rich Gonzalez (@PrepCalTrack) December 7, 2019

Residential Holiday Lights and Decorations on Gemini/Waverly in Camarillo

NOTE: The post below was originally mad in December 2012 but still applies now in 2019! For a compilation of local area residential holiday light displays, visit THIS LINK.

Every year that I can recall, a vast majority of the homes on Gemini Street and Waverly Avenue south of Dunnigan Street in Camarillo are lit up and decorated with cartoon characters, trains, Santas, snowmen, and plenty of lights and other decorations. Quite a sight! Either drive the route or park and walk it. Plenty to see and your kids will love it.  From the direction of the 101, take Arneill north past Ponderosa to Dunnigan. Turn right on Dunnigan and Gemini is the 4th street on your right.

Brief tour of the display in 2010 with whiny kids in the background:

The Number of Registered Voters in Ventura County Has Increased Nearly 10% Over the Last Seven Years

The Ventura County Registrar of Voters website has up to date counts of the number of registered voters in Ventura County. We like to track the totals from time to time to see the trends.

On May 12, 2012, there were 406,644 registered voters in Ventura County, consisting of:

• 157,539 Democrats

• 150,919 Republicans

• 77,994 Nonpartisans

• 20,192 Other

Approximately seven years later, in May 2019, there are 445,217 registered voters, a 9.5% increase, including:

• 176,712 Democrats, a 12% increase

• 130,228 Republicans, a 14% decrease

• 110,225 Nonpartisans, a whopping 41% increase

• 28,052 Other, also a large 39% increase

Update as of 12/8/19: Total registered voters 454,872, up 2.2% in six months, including 183,994 Democrats (up 4.1%), 132,142 Republicans (up 1.5%), 108,208 Nonpartisan (down 1.8%) and 30,528 Other (up 8.8%).

Can’t remember if you are eligible to vote? Look it up at THIS LINK. What I’ve found with this Voter Eligibility Search function is that, unlike a search engine, your search terms have to be precise. If you are registered as Richard King, if you type Rich King into the search, it will not find you.

Register to vote online at registertovote.ca.gov.

San Buenaventura China Alley Memorial in Downtown Ventura

The San Buenaventura China Alley Memorial is located on the Figueroa Street Mall at the 200 Block of East Main Street, adjacent to Mission Park.

The memorial is in memory of a Chinese community that was established in this area in the early 1870s. Chinese merchants, laborers, cooks, laundrymen, gardeners and servants conducted business and lived in small homes in the area.

The Chinese immigrants built housing, grew and sold food, and provided a place of worship for the immigrants. Artisans, vegetable gardeners and fishermen plied their trade. Merchants exported marine products and imported Chinese goods. Other contributions of the Chinese immigrants to the community included a water flume above the San Buenaventura Aqueduct along Ventura Avenue and the Chinese Fire Brigade that served China Alley and the surrounding neighborhood.

The population of the Chinese community in Ventura declined in the early years of the 20th century, largely due to the rise of anti-Chinese sentiment and restrictive immigration laws.

The China Alley Memorial honors the lives and history of these early Chinese pioneers in Ventura. The China Alley Historic Area is City of Buenaventura Historic Landmark No. 91.