Hal Watkins Scout Center and Scout Store at the C. J. Daily Ranch in Camarillo

NOTE: On May 7, 2024, the Boy Scouts of America announced it will be rebranding as Scouting America on February 8, 2025.

The Hal Watkins Scout Center is located at the C. J. Daily Ranch, 509 East Daily Drive, Camarillo. The center is home to the Boy Scouts of America' Ventura County Council office. It also has a great Scout Store that stocks Scouting supplies and camping gear.

As of May 2023, the store is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays (9 a.m. to 3 p.m. starting 6/3/2023) and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays (10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. starting 6/3/2023). Visit www.vccbsa.org/Scoutstore or call 805-482-8938 for more information.

The Ventura County Council serves more than 4,500 youth throughout the county and contributes thousands of service hours annually in community service through the annual Scouting For Food drive, Eagle Service Projects, and other unit, District, Council, and Order of the Arrow service projects.

Who is Hal Watkins? According to this L.A. Times article, Watkins was a longtime Ventura County resident and owner of several local car dealerships. He donated a 1906 house (see it HERE) to the Boy Scouts in 1973. He passed away in 1991 at age 66.

Scout Store is located in this building.

Digitally Preview Your Mail Each Morning with USPS Informed Delivery

Informed Delivery by USPS allows you to preview your mail each morning with a digital copy of each letter-sized item to be delivered to you via email. You can also log in anytime and see images of previous week’s mail. Additionally, you can see the delivery status of any packages coming your way.

If you’ve ever had your mail stolen, this gives you the ability to at least see what mail was stolen from you. Or you can see first thing in the morning what mail is being delivered, alerting you to anything of particular importance.

You will see the address side of mail delivered. You of course will not be seeing contents of that mail.

Learn more and sign up at informeddelivery.usps.com.

Hillcrest Brush Fire Historical Landmark Markers in the Conejo Open Space in Thousand Oaks

There are five historical landmark markers in the Hillcrest Open Space in Thousand Oaks in tribute to firefighter Angel Castro. On December 10, 1978, Castro was severely burned while fighting the Hillcrest Fire, which burned 100 acres in two hours on a windy day with erratic gusts up to 40 MPH. He was working as a "Dozer Swamper," hauling and unloading heavy equipment. As a result of his injuries, he recommended several modifications to operating procedures that VCFD implemented. Further down this path are four other markers with questions to help challenge and educate firefighters and civilians.

The Hillcrest Open Space Preserve trailhead is located on Hillcrest Drive, just west of Blue Mesa Street, about half a mile west of Westlake Boulevard.

LOCAL AREA TRAILS AND HIKES THROUGHOUT VENTURA COUNTY

Koi Ponds In and Around Ventura County and Surrounding Areas

On a recent visit to The Commons at Calabasas we were treated to a beautiful pond full of koi and turtles cohabitating. Koi comes from the Japanese word nishikigoi, which means "brocaded carp." Koi is basically domesticated, ornamental carp. In Japanese, the word koi sounds like another word that mean affection or love.

Where to find koi in Ventura County and surrounding areas? Here's what we know:

There is a koi pond at The Promenade at Westlake, next to Marmalade Cafe.

Friendly looking koi looking for handouts at The Lakes at Thousand Oaks.

The bottom level pond at The Lakes at Thousand Oaks has lots of koi, frolicking around with the ducks, even during the winter when the Holiday Ice Rink is in use.

Green Thumb Nursery on Victoria Avenue in Ventura has a small koi pond container in the back that is fun to observe with the kids.

The pristine Gardens of the World on Thousand Oaks Boulevard has a Japanese Garden that contains a beautiful koi pond.

Koi pond at The Gardens of the World in Thousand Oaks

The Santa Barbara Zoo has a large koi pond area with some very healthy looking koi, swimming among the lily pads.

Last I checked there were a lot of koi amongst the hundreds of ducks at Conejo Creek Park in Thousand Oaks.

The Simi Valley Town Center has a koi pond on the west side of the mall where you can get up close and personal with them.

Koi pond at west end near Studio Movie Grill.

As noted at the beginning of the article The Commons at Calabasas has quite a lovely koi and turtle pond.

The turtles are quite prominent at The Commons at Calabasas. Don't touch them!

When in Santa Barbara, be sure to stop by Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens, a beautiful botanic garden with over 75 tree and plant species, a large koi pond also home to ducks and turtles, picnic areas and more. Quite a serene place.

Only 25 miles from the Conejo Valley is the Lake Shrine Meditation Gardens in Pacific Palisades. This 10 acre spiritual sanctuary hosts a spring-fed lake lined with gardens and home to koi, ducks and beautiful swans.

Gigantic LED Screen Premieres on East Wall of Thousand Oaks Civic Art Plaza

Last night, a gigantic LED sign premiered on the east wall of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. Constructed in 1994, the Civic Arts Plaza will make its presence even more apparent to passing motorists on the northbound 101.

Project Manager R.U. Kidinme remarked "We are excited to swap the Copper Curtain for a more modern Times Square look on the east side of the building." Assistant Manager Noah Wei nodded his head in agreement.

The original design featured over 2,000 17 inch strips of copper that were meant to flutter in the wind like a wave. Due to concerns about safety and noise, the strips were nailed to the building.

The new LED sign, measuring approximately 240 by 330 square feet, will emit the brightest neon light display on the west coast. Thousand Oaks resident April Fuwels said "Although I'll need to keep my sunglasses handy as I drive by, I just love this new look."

April fools! this is view of the civic arts plaza the morning of monday, april 1, 2024. Yes, we had some storms all easter weekend which brought snow to the local mountains in the background!

The Ventura County Portion of State Highway Route 1 is Named "Ventura County Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway"

California State Route 1 runs along most of the coastline of California and at 656 miles is the longest state route in California. The section of SR 1 between I-5 in Dana Point and the US 101 near Oxnard is designated Pacific Coast Highway.

Sign at the indicating the north end of southbound PCH, where it connects to Las Posas Road.

In 2002, the state assembly voted to designate the section of State Highway Route 1 in Ventura County as the “Ventura County Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway” in gratitude and appreciation for the sacrifices California Vietnam veterans.

That same bill also designated the portion of State Highway Route 126 between the City of Santa Paula and State Highway Route 101 as the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway.

Daylight Saving Time is Back ALREADY on Sunday, March 10th!

Daylight Saving** Time is coming back again! Yes, this will take place on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at 1:59 a.m. When the clock strikes 2 a.m. that morning, you will lose one hour of beauty sleep.

So try to get to bed early the night of March 9th or you might feel grumpy on Monday! Especially when you realize it feels a lot darker that morning. But the good thing is it'll be a lot lighter out at dinnertime!

** Contrary to what many of us think, it is called Daylight Saving Time, not Savings Time. Make sure to correct anyone who says it wrong if you really want to get on their nerves. But the reality of it is that we're not saving any daylight, we're just shifting it around.