Neighbors
Oak Park, how does your garden grow?
By Ian Bradley
ianbradley@theacorn.com | August 5, 2021
Much like bringing a seed to fruition, developing a green thumb is a careful process, one that requires attention, effort and focus. The Oak Park Community Garden offers residents a...
First book by Oak Park author celebrates limitless love
| August 5, 2021
Oak Park resident Arminé Papouchian has written a book that celebrates loves of all kinds, including the heartbreak of a first love lost, found and lost again. Papouchian, 58, grew...
Girl Scout goes for the Gold with book
| August 5, 2021
Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles presented a Gold Award on July 21 to Piper Colleen Dobson of Troop 1786 for her project titled “Don’t Box Me In! A Children’s...
Family
Artistic reflections
| April 8, 2021
Agoura High School leads all competitors with six finalists in the 2021 Reflections art and music competition. AHS had more finalists than any other high school in a region that includes eight other school districts. Each year more than 10,000 student entries into the artistic...
Tooth be told: dental health
| April 8, 2021
Regular dental cleanings for kids are one of many aspects of people’s lives that have been interrupted over the past year. However, instilling good dental hygiene habits early is still critical in helping ensure long-lasting oral health for a child. Most dental plans cover children...
Health
Trust tap for safe for water over filter, delivery and bottled
By David Goldstein
Special to The Acorn | August 5, 2021
Consumers might like to imagine their water bottle was filled by sanitary fairies who dipped it into a natural, running spring in the wilderness, but if the label says “purified,” it is just filtered tap water. Reverse osmosis is a typical industrial-scale process used for...
Teen cancer group forming
| August 5, 2021
The Cancer Support Community Valley/Ventura/Santa Barbara will host a virtual Teen Cancer Focus Group for teens with cancer or loved one/ friend with cancer from 11 a.m. to noon Tues., Aug. 10. The virtual discussion group is for ages 15 to 18 and is in...
Agoura martial arts school takes competition to the mat
| July 29, 2021
KARATE KIDS—In late June, five students ages 10 to 17 from the Agoura Hills World Champion Karate School competed at the USA International Martial Arts Championships in Las Vegas. They came home with 17 first-place awards, four seconds and four thirds. Top left, Maria Gorodnya,...
Too much screen time? Chances are your eyes are really feeling it
By Makena Huey
makena@theacorn.com | July 29, 2021
The world may be opening up, but electronic devices are not shutting down. As children and adults shift from learning and working remotely, screen time and the associated side effects may decrease, but people will still be spending hours in front of a computer or...
Sports
Agoura’s Davis finishes sixth at first Olympics
jkh@our-hometown.com | August 5, 2021
Local track and field phenom Tara Davis made a big impression at her first Olympics. Davis, a 22-year-old Agoura High grad, placed sixth in the...
Waves rule the day
BASKETBALL /// NBA Draft Special
Eliav Appelbaum
Email: eliav@theacorn.com | August 5, 2021
That sound hoops fans hear are Waves crashing the NBA. Kessler Edwards, a junior forward for the Pepperdine men’s basketball team, became the first player...
Super squad
BASEBALL /// Ventura County Baseball Academy
By Eliav Appelbaum
eliav@theacorn.com | July 29, 2021
It’s an all-star team that isn’t technically an all-star team. Three years ago, the Ventura County Baseball Academy held a tryout at Newbury Park High...
Schools
A solution to those high textbook costs
| July 29, 2021
Textbooks and supplies are often among the largest educational expenses college students face. As a result, 65% of college students have avoided buying textbooks due...
Holiday show auditions
| July 29, 2021
Auditions are scheduled for “Home for the Holidays,” a Youth Theatre Intensive production, at 5 p.m. Tues. and Wed., Aug. 10 and 11 at Conejo...
COLLEGE STANDOUTS
| July 29, 2021
Michelle Florey of Agoura Hills and Lydia Bachman, Kayla Jou and Raegynn Moody of Westlake Village earned spring 2021 dean’s list honors at Baylor University...
Agoura High School student has convincing way about him
By Ian Bradley
ianbradley@theacorn.com | July 22, 2021
Give Casey Simpson five minutes and he can convince just about anyone to see things his way. The 17-year-old Agoura High School student won first...
COLLEGE STANDOUTS
| July 22, 2021
The following students made the dean’s list (3.5 GPA) at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa: Michela DeFalco and Kaitlin Wiltshire of Agoura Hills; Alexander...
On the Town
Crunch and munch at new sushi eatery
RESTAURANT SPOTLIGHT /// Urban Crunch Sushi and Ramen | August 5, 2021
Restaurateur Mike Machtoub had a brilliant “aha moment.” Not long after opening up Urban Society Café ad Meal Prep inside Thousand Oaks’ Athletic Society health club in 2019, the Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef started noticing a strong demand from customers for sushi and ramen dishes....
‘Les Miz’ takes on modern setting
| July 22, 2021
For its 41st annual teen summer musical, Young Artists Ensemble didn’t pick a light, frothy show. Instead, it’s staging “Les Misérables,” an epic tale about a former prisoner’s lifelong struggle for redemption. The shortened “school edition” of this musical, based on the novel by Victor...
Rotary Wine and Beer Fest ready to pour again
| July 22, 2021
The Thousand Oaks Rotary Foundation will hold the 20th annual Thousand Oaks Rotary Wine and Beer Festival from 5 to 9 p.m. Sat., Aug. 28 at the Hyatt Regency Westlake, 880 S. Westlake Blvd., Westlake Village. At the festival, guests can sample California limited-production handcrafted...
Hueneme festival comes back to the beach
| July 22, 2021
After a hiatus and a cancellation in 2020 because of the pandemic, the City of Port Hueneme, in partnership with the nonprofit REACH, will host the Hueneme Beach Festival from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sat. and Sun., Aug. 28 and 29 at 550 E....
Faith
Christian Scientists worldwide inspired by virtual meeting
| August 5, 2021
Christian Scientists gathered online at their annual meeting June 7, including many congregations throughout California, to acknowledge the ways in which God’s love and mercy have opened paths of progress...
Jehovah’s Witnesses encourage disaster prep with go bags
| July 29, 2021
Don’t think you need an emergency kit? Think again. Jolted awake at 3 a.m. by a neighbor’s knocking, Aaron and Jacqueline Pate were greeted by the sight of flames encroaching...
Lawyer trades courtroom for pulpit
By Alex Wilson
alex@theacorn.com | July 22, 2021
The new pastor at First Baptist Church of Camarillo did not know while growing up in Brazil that his path would lead to God. The Rev. Glenn Bezerra, 40, was...
Business
Janss Marketplace shifts from selling goods to experiences
By Becca Whitnall
becca@theacorn.com | August 5, 2021
Janss Marketplace may be the oldest mall in Thousand Oaks, but it’s not quite the...
Area business owner Joey Buttafuoco receives COVID-19 grant
By Daniel Wolowicz
moorpark@theacorn.com | July 29, 2021
Joey Buttafuoco, infamous for his illegal sexual relationship with a teenager who later shot Buttafuoco’s...
Columns
BRANCHING OUT
| July 29, 2021
Each week the Acorn Newspapers presents a new episode of “Branching Out,” a podcast that explores the issues in our community and the people who make the news. In this installment, Acorn reporter and host Ian Bradley welcomes housing expert Ray Pearl, a Westlake Village...
Purse snatchers target older women
Andrea Gallagher | July 29, 2021
Recently I noticed the ATM in my grocery store had been removed. I was a bit baffled by the decision, and a bit annoyed. The location was convenient. I could combine my shopping trip with banking. One stop, two chores accomplished. What I did not...
Diversity of faiths join hands into forming one country
Sally Carpenter | July 15, 2021
The USA is perhaps the only country that began as a haven for those fleeing religious persecution. Up to the 17th century, religious freedom was an unknown concept. Serfs and villagers pledged loyalty to the faith of their overlord or king. In fact, a common...
Discipline tips: Why can’t siblings all just get along?
Bonnie Vandenberg | July 8, 2021
Question: Ms. Bonnie, what can I do to help my children get along? Everyone says sibling rivalry is normal, but I can’t stand their fighting! There isn’t a parent alive with more than one child who doesn’t know this feeling, whether the children are toddlers...
Celebration of life rituals can resume
Andrea Gallagher | July 1, 2021
I’m hoping my cousin gets the healing she needs this month. Almost a year after her brother David passed away, she is having a celebration of life for him. I wrote about Janet in a January 2020 column titled “A life is changed in the...
