Out with the old, in with the new
An optimist, the old saying goes, stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves. Both will analyze the situation Sunday as the clock strikes midnight.

Looking back at 2006, some of the stories that appeared in The Acorn leave us concerned about what’s in store for the future. The community boasts many positive traits and its residents have much to be thankful for, but not all is perfect in paradise.

Several times during the past year vandals have killed trees, damaged cars and ruined public property in Oak Park. A group of teens admitted to the crimes, but the incidents leave skeptics wondering about the safety of this supposedly peaceful community.

In August, another gun suicide took place at the Agoura Hills Target Range and again the anxiety level rose. It was also the year that a driver at Westlake Boulevard was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter in connection with the death of a teenage passenger. If your child starts driving in 2007, take all possible precautions.

Contributing to the year’s difficulties was politics. A bond measure to raise funds for Oak Park schools became the target of negative campaigning. After a yearlong struggle in Westlake Village the voters defeated plans to bring a Lowe’s home improvement store into the city. The City Council punished the chief spokesperson for the anti-Lowe’s movement, Mayor Pro Tem Jim Bruno, by passing him over as the next mayor. The move was heavily criticized and further split the community.

If voters were hot, so were temperatures. The thermometer in July soared as the mercury regularly hit 100 degrees and homes throughout the community lost electricity. Also in July, a major brush fire threatened Lake Sherwood, Westlake Village and Agoura Hills.

But the past year also was filled with bright moments. While Westlake Village celebrated its 25th anniversary as a municipality, the city of Agoura Hills gave approval to the long-awaited Agoura Village Plan. By the end of the year the Kanan interchange project showed signs of life as the first of several new loop ramps opened to traffic. Calabasas took bold steps to reduce smoking in the city, and in October Calabasas High earned a prestigious national Blue Ribbon award. Oaks Christian High School grabbed the top sports headline of the year by winning a state football title.

Here’s to 2007. We expect it’ll be an interesting ride.