School fundraisers ‘rock the district’
June 9, 2023
Citing the ongoing slowdown in financial support from the California Legislature, The Foundation for Las Virgenes Schools sees its role as the official school district fundraising organization as more important...
‘Maestro’ McKagan honored at Lindero
By Stephanie Bertholdo
Special to The Acorn | June 9, 2023
The community gave a joyful, heartfelt goodbye last Sunday to Lindero Canyon Middle School band director Matt McKagan, who is retiring after a 33-year career with the school district. The...
From nursery grew lasting city memories
By James Bozajian
Special to The Acorn | June 9, 2023
Sperling Nursery, one of the longer-running businesses in the history of Calabasas, was located for 42 years on a sprawling, 11-acre patch of land at 24460 Calabasas Road. This family-owned...
AT THE LIBRARY
June 9, 2023
The Agoura Hills Library will present the following free events at 29901 Ladyface Court. For more information, call (818) 889-2278. Used book donations to the Book Cellar help fund many...
Club welcomes new officers
June 9, 2023
The Newcomers-Encore Club of the Conejo Valley will hold its annual installation of new officers at 11:30 a.m. Wed., June 21 at the Sagebrush Cantina, 23527 Calabasas Road, in historic...
Books are all in the family as author shares latest work for children
May 12, 2023
Liora Paniz’s children book “Miss Lynnie the Librarian” had its worldwide release on April 16, National Librarian Day. The book is also available in Spanish as “Miss Lynnie La Bibliotecaria.” Paniz is the daughter of Lynn Paniz, a retired Medea Creek Middle School librarian. With...
Teen takes her disabilities cause to Capital Hill
May 12, 2023
Isabella Hass, 15, went to the nation’s capital April 19 to advocate for the rights of people like her with Down Syndrome. The Westlake Village resident visited the office of Sen. Alex Padilla and talked with Priya Amilineni, the health legislative correspondent in Padilla’s office....
Happy Mother’s Day
May 12, 2023
Dear Bay Laurel Elementary Moms (and yes, that includes our amazing staff members who are mothers): THANK YOU so much for all that you do for our school and your children. You are superhumans, and you are so appreciated. I hope you all have a...
Finding alternative activities and reducing screen time for kids
Bonnie Vandenberg | April 21, 2023
Question: Over the past few years, we’ve gotten into the habit of using screen time much more than I’d like. How do I encourage my kids to do other things besides always using a phone or screen? Helping kids to do something besides spend time...
Fentanyl deaths still on the rise
By Michele Willer-Allred
michele@theacorn.com | March 17, 2023
While the overall number of fatal overdoses decreased slightly in Ventura County in 2022 compared to the year before, fentanyl-related deaths continue to peak, according to a special report on drug use released last week by the Ventura County medical examiner’s office. Sometimes first-time users...
County COVID order ending
By Victoria Talbot
vtalbot@theacorn.com | February 17, 2023
Three years after public health officials first uttered the words “COVID-19,” Ventura County authorities are preparing to lift the emergency declaration that gave government the power to shutter businesses, order vaccines and face coverings, and enforce social distancing measures. The Board of Supervisors announced it...
Judaism and the life-saving potential of organ donation
By Brian Goldenfeld
Special to The Acorn | February 10, 2023
Organ donation, the process of transplanting healthy human organs into sick patients, can be a life-saving procedure, which is why many Jewish authorities from across the denominational spectrum believe it to be a religious duty. Jewish tradition considers saving human life—pikuach nefesh in Hebrew—to be...
Wonder Boys win it all
By Eliav Appelbaum
eliav@theacorn.com | June 9, 2023
The 1969 Miracle Mets would get a kick out of the 2023 Wonder Warriors. Westlake High’s baseball team very easily could have spent this postseason...
Monsters of Mulholland
By Eliav Appelbaum
eliav@theacorn.com | June 9, 2023
The Coyotes made history with capital letters W-I-N. Calabasas High’s baseball team captured the CIF SoCal Division II regional championship after defeating Santana 1-0 in...
Bolts zap way to first CIF title
By Eliav Appelbaum
eliav@theacorn.com | June 2, 2023
In 2021, Agoura High’s boys’ golf team clubbed its way to last place in the Marmonte League. The Chargers are now CIF-Southern Section Division 3...
GRADUATION 2023
By Stephanie Bertholdo
Special to The Acorn | June 2, 2023
Oak Park High School students were back in the classroom full-time this year, but school life for this crop of graduates was still different than...
Oak View grads enjoy focused setting
By Stephanie Bertholdo
Special to The Acorn | June 2, 2023
Eight seniors at Oak View High, the school of second chances for many students who, for a variety of reasons, need to tackle the rigors...
La Reina grads ready to make an impact
By Christine Menges
christine@theacorn.com | June 2, 2023
Xingzhu (Brianna) Dong Brianna Dong’s legal first name is Xingzhu (pronounced Ching-ju), but her classmates know her as Brianna. International students like Brianna choose an...
Scroll down to see social media discussion
By Eamon Murphy
eamon@theacorn.com | May 26, 2023
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, though it hardly takes a specially designated portion of the calendar to know that people are struggling these days....
Film-based musical is all dressed up for hilarity
By Cary Ginell
originjazz@aol.com | June 9, 2023
When the movie version of “Tootsie” came out in 1982, there was little controversy about its plot: a frustrated actor becomes a sensation after donning a dress and landing a woman’s role in a soap opera. The ruse complicates his personal life, but he finds...
Five for Fighting backed by string quartet
June 9, 2023
Singer and songwriter John Ondrasik, known by his stage name Five for Fighting, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Fri., Sept. 8 at the Scherr Forum, 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks. The concert will feature the hits, along with fan favorites and songs from Ondrasik’s...
Oh, what a show: Frankie Valli coming to Kavli
June 9, 2023
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons will perform at 8 p.m. Sat., Oct. 28 at the Kavli Theatre, 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks. Valli rose to fame in 1962 as the lead singer of the Four Seasons. The group was inducted into the Rock...
Actresses reveal . . . great comedic chemistry
By Cary Ginell
originjazz@aol.com | June 2, 2023
“Calendar Girls,” a 2009 play based on a hit 2003 film, is Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi’s comedy about six middle-aged women from a village in Yorkshire, England, who decide to raise money by doffing their clothes. It’s all for a good cause. One woman’s...
A time to treasure the gift of the Torah
By Brian Goldenfeld
Special to The Acorn | May 26, 2023
Shavuot—the third festival in the Jewish calendar that began Thursday evening May 25 and runs through Shabbat, Sat., May 27—is the holiday on which Jews celebrate the giving of the...
Group says mission accomplished
By Cytlalli Salgado
csalgado@theacorn.com | April 21, 2023
In an effort to tackle food insecurity, a local church donated more than 1,400 cases of food to nine nonprofits to redistribute to Conejo Valley residents through their food banks....
From nursery grew lasting city memories
By James Bozajian
Special to The Acorn | June 9, 2023
Sperling Nursery, one of the longer-running businesses in the history of Calabasas, was located for...
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
June 9, 2023
Local attorneys and family members Steven Effres, 64, and his sons Justin, 35, and Evan,...
Helping children to deal with their fears
Bonnie Vandenberg | December 2, 2022
Question: I have three kids—3, 8 and 11—and I want to know how to help them handle being afraid. I notice an increase in angst in all my kids, caused by the things they read, hear about, watch or imagine. My friends tell me their...
Social Security cost-of-living increase a good time to discuss senior finances
Andrea Gallagher | December 2, 2022
Due to this year’s meteoric rise in the consumer price index, a measure of inflation in the cost of goods and services, Social Security beneficiaries will receive an 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment for 2023. Only three times in the past 46 years has the Social Security...
Organ donation: questions and answers
Andrea Gallagher | November 25, 2022
The organ and tissue donation process is unfamiliar to a lot of us. Some people may not even know they’re registered donors. Understanding the law and how it’s applied is important. The first time many of us heard of choices about organ donation was at...
Heads up to prevent injury from falls
Andrea Gallagher | October 21, 2022
Morning walks in my neighborhood are one of the most enjoyable parts of my day. I love the coolness of daybreak and the special sightings of the stag and two does that frequent our open space. I also enjoy my walk because each day at...
Signs that point to the best time for retirement
Andrea Gallagher | October 6, 2022
I’ve been thinking a lot about retirement lately. One of our amazing staff members, who has been with Senior Concerns for the last 13 years, retired last month. It just doesn’t seem real. I always thought of Dana as young. Certainly not the person to...
Luna addresses policing issues on Agoura podcast
By Eamon Murphy
eamon@theacorn.com | June 9, 2023
If you think the sheriff’s department isn’t doing its job, the man in charge wants to hear from you. That...
SHERIFF’S BLOTTER
June 9, 2023
Agoura Hills On the morning of May 19, a resident of an apartment on Colodny Drive started his Toyota Tacoma...
