Neighbors
Lockdown spurs creative minds
By Ian Bradley
ianbradley@theacorn.com | January 21, 2021
When the coronavirus pandemic hit last March, the internet buzzed with art projects and other creative things people did to pass time during lockdown. Agoura High School junior Stella Carr...
Food Share announces leadership change
| January 21, 2021
Food Share, a hunger-relief organization in Ventura County, has appointed Drew West, Hannah Wirz and Mark Miller to its board of directors. The board provides strategic and financial direction to...
The welcome mat is out
| January 21, 2021
ACORNY MOMENT—Katie Martinez of Thousand Oaks snapped a photo of this cutie. Dubbed Tina, the furry friend “comes to our door regularly asking for her favorite snack—acorns, of course,” says...
Majestic, soaring
| January 21, 2021
WINGSPAN—Gene Joly of North Ranch photographed this beautiful red tailed hawk. Red tailed hawks are voracious hunters of rats, mice and squirrels. Their breeding season begins in late winter; eggs...
Art show seeks student work
| January 21, 2021
The Westlake Village Art Guild and the City of Agoura Hills Arts Council are sponsoring the 2021 Greater Conejo Valley Student Awards Juried Art Show. The show recognizes the students...
Family
Squirrel of the Month
| December 3, 2020
OUT OF HIS GOURD— Diane Lind submitted this photo on behalf of her 13-year-old daughter Zoe, an eighth-grader at Lindero Canyon Middle School. Zoe took the picture in the family’s backyard in Agoura Hills. The critter discovered the Halloween jack-o’-lanterns and began feasting on them....
BRIEFS
The Acorn Staff | December 3, 2020
Agoura Hills gets in the holiday spirit The City of Agoura Hills will host the following ways for residents to celebrate the holidays while still staying social distanced. Santa at the Adobe: A drive-thru event will take place from 9 to 11 a.m. Sat., Dec....
Sky’s the limit for active college student and her service dog
The Acorn Staff | September 17, 2020
Wherever Leizelle Mitchell goes, her Shadow follows. Sometimes Shadow will go just ahead of Mitchell’s walker. Shadow will push a crosswalk button with her nose or pull open a door so Mitchell can get through. The 3-year-old service dog acts as an extension of her...
Health
Medicine, not Big Macs: Ronald McDonald room
By Allison Montroy
allison@theacorn.com | January 14, 2021
Clay Paschen’s memory of his first visit to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles still brings tears to his eyes. In 1977, a doctor in the oncology department had invited Paschen, a Camarillo resident, to a meeting at the hospital. CHLA thought it was time to bring...
New timetable for catching cataracts
COMMENTARY /// Aye eye, doc
By Rajesh Khanna
Special to The Acorn | January 7, 2021
There has been a misconception about cataracts and their need to “mature” or “ripen” before undergoing treatment. Many people have settled with inadequate vision unnecessarily while waiting for their cataracts to worsen. Early-stage cataracts does not have to hinder your lifestyle and can be addressed...
Los Robles scores high on patient safety
| January 7, 2021
Los Robles Health System was awarded an “A” in the fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade program, a national distinction recognizing achievements in protecting patients from harm and providing safer healthcare. This is the fifth consecutive A-rating for Los Robles. Leapfrog Group is an independent...
Free goody bags at wellness event
| January 7, 2021
The Conejo Senior Volunteer Program will present its seventh annual Wellness Fest from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wed., Jan. 13. This year, the event is going “on the road” as a drive-thru event taking place at the Goebel Adult Community Center, 1385 E. Janss...
Sports
Brevity is the soul of Witt
GIRLS’ TRACK & FIELD /// Calabasas Coyotes
Eliav Appelbaum
Email: eliav@theacorn.com | January 21, 2021
Bella Witt’s parents love telling the story of their daughter’s first soccer game. When Bella was 3, she joined an all-boys’ soccer team in Miami....
CIF update
| January 21, 2021
The CIF-Southern Section announced on Tuesday that there will be no postseason championships for fall and winter high school sports. Cross country, however, can begin...
Got a lust for life
By Eliav Appelbaum
eliav@theacorn.com | January 14, 2021
Professional North American football’s blitzkrieg dominates like glockenspiel schlock in a Potsdam Wienerschnitzel, but local athletes in various sports continue making an impact. In this...
Schools
Learning the alphabet starts a lifetime of reading pleasure for kids
By Linda Levine
Special to The Acorn | January 21, 2021
Test scores indicate that teaching a child to read through distance learning does not necessarily lead to an acceptable reading level. This is frustrating for...
This girl is the ‘bomb’
The Acorn Staff | January 14, 2021
Zoey Goldsmith, a 14-year-old student from Oak Park, is in the cocoa bomb business. The Viewpoint School ninth-grader began making the delicious treats before the...
Oak Park seniors eligible for ecology scholarship
| January 14, 2021
The Conejo Open Space Foundation will offer a new scholarship for Ventura County high-school seniors who will be attending two- or four-year colleges or universities....
Private schools see enrollment surge
By Christina Cox
christina@theacorn.com | January 7, 2021
As Ventura County public schools continue to navigate the best ways to offer hybrid instruction to students, their private school counterparts are seeing surges in...
Yerba Buena families give and get books
The Acorn Staff | December 31, 2020
The Yerba Buena Elementary School PFA and school families recently took part in a Give Back Initiative that supports YB families for the holidays. This...
On the Town
Hillcrest has new jokes for a new year
| January 7, 2021
There are triple-threat entertainers who can sing, dance and act. And then there’s Karen Rontowski, whose triplicate skill set is entirely unique—she’s a comedian, tarot card reader and paranormal investigator. It takes mental dexterity to jump back and forth between these different disciplines, and Rontowski...
All aboard the Nibroc train
| January 7, 2021
Conejo Players Theatre will present “Last Train to Nibroc” Jan. 22 through 24 online. Show times are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. The play is written by Arlene Hutton and directed by Elena Mills. In the story, May and Raleigh meet...
Pianist to open classical series
| January 7, 2021
Hillcrest Center for the Arts will restart its series of classical concerts on Sunday afternoons on YouTube Live with pianist Xiao Chen at 2 p.m. Jan. 17. The concert was pre-recorded for the event. This series highlights internationally renowned classical artists and known local chamber...
Drive through, pick up a toy
| December 24, 2020
Staff members of the Southeast Ventura County YMCA and deputies from the Lost Hills Sherriff’s Department Community Impact Team gave away almost 500 toys on Dec. 17 at the Yarrow Family YMCA in Westlake Village. Toys were distributed to 120 young scholars—and their siblings— who...
Faith
Houses of worship see a drop in donations, attendance
By Brooke Stanley
brooke@theacorn.com | January 7, 2021
Some residents have responded to the challenges of this year by turning to their faith while others have drifted away. Whether because of financial struggles, health concerns or an inability...
Remembering individuals without homes
| December 31, 2020
For the first time in 14 years, the interfaith community will not hold a memorial service at which those who died without a home in Ventura County in the past...
Houses of worship continue services online, outdoors
By Dawn Megli
dawn@theacorn.com | December 17, 2020
For the Rev. David Anderson at Emmanuel Presbyterian Church in Thousand Oaks, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the church back to basics. The congregation on Camino Manzanas held one outdoor...
Business
Commission approves Starbucks near school
By Becca Whitnall
becca@theacorn.com | January 21, 2021
Plans are underway to build a drive-thru Starbucks across the street from Thousand Oaks High...
Officials say $600 checks from coronavirus stimulus 2.0 are in the mail
| January 14, 2021
Yours may have arrived already, but if it hasn’t, the IRS and the Treasury Department...
Columns
Chronic stress in pandemic, no kidding
Andrea Gallagher | January 21, 2021
I’m not sure anyone could have predicted what the beginning of 2021 would look like, particularly as we ushered out 2020 believing it was one of the most challenging years on record. And now, as our new year begins, we are seeing an unprecedented surge...
Nature provides relief in tough times
Gloria Glasser | January 7, 2021
Mercifully, nature appears to be among those things the pandemic cannot beat back. This became obvious on a recent jaunt from Bennett Park in Westlake Village’s First Neighborhood out to Westlake Lake on Lindero Canyon Road and on to the Las Virgenes Reservoir in the...
Robin Rousselet
| January 7, 2021
It is with profound sadness we announce that Robin Noel Rousselet has passed away on Friday, November 13, 2020 due to sudden cardiac arrest. Robin was born on April 12, 1957 in Hollywood, California. He was a loving husband, father and great friend to all...
Weighing the ethical aspects of the COVID-19 crisis
Andrea Gallagher | January 7, 2021
There’s no debating that seniors are most at risk during this pandemic. While COVID-19 deaths have spanned all age groups, the hardest hit has been the 65-and-older population, which accounts for over 80% of the U.S. death toll from the disease. A friend offered her...
Opposing views can spark confrontation or spur conversation
Andrea Gallagher | December 17, 2020
I’ve never enjoyed confrontation. I’m happiest when everyone is getting along and working toward a shared goal. And believe me, that happens a lot—although it’s hard to discern that if you scan the media these days. So many topics are polarizing. It’s hard to have...
Crime
SHERIFF’S BLOTTER
| January 21, 2021
Agoura Hills A thief stole a satellite dish off the roof of a home on Argos Street on Jan. 5....
