2006-02-02

Read the Latest Acorn!

Click below to read the latest edition of The Acorn!

Enjoy the new online reading experience!

Subscribe to The Acorn

Acorn online content now offered free

'Paywall' removed

The new millennium has been a transformative time for newspaper publishing.

Changing reader habits and the advent of new technology have placed big demands on companies in the print news business.

The Acorn and its parent company, Times Media Group, understand that their biggest responsibility is not only the delivery of credible, relevant information in a timely fashion, but making sure residents have easy access to the publication when stories become available.

That’s why we’re super excited about the news being shared today.

Following a five-year stretch in which Acorn readers were given the option of purchasing online subscriptions to the paper, that so-called “paywall” is coming down.

“Mr. Publisher, tear down this wall,” the late President Ronald Reagan might have once said.

And so we did.

Starting immediately, all online content from our five Acorn publications will be available at no charge to the reader, meaning a paid subscription is no longer required to click and read articles. The weekly Acorn has always been delivered to your driveway at no cost—that more than 40-year tradition will continue—and from now on The Acorn on the internet will be free as well.

Why the change?

The Acorn is your community newspaper, and we want to make sure it stays that way. We believe it’s important that residents feel a connection to the stories we write and also learn about the businesses that advertise in their community. The absence of a paywall is the best way to ensure this free-flow of information remains.

We also invite readers to sign up for the new, easy-to-read Acorn newspaper e-edition delivered weekly to your e-mail. Viewed on mobile, desktop or laptop, the pages are super easy to navigate and, free, just like the print paper.

Local journalism is first gear in the engine that drives America’s free press, and a free press it shall be.

Archives

Improv class opening soon



Actors and non-actors alike will learn how to trust their wits, conquer their fears and think fast on their feet in a fun and supportive environment when the Theatricum Botanicum offers its annual improvisation class for adults. The class is from noon to 2:30 p.m. Sundays, Feb. 12 through April 23 (no class Easter Sunday, April 16) at 1419 N. […]

OPHS Booster Club to host Hall of Fame gala

New Volvo S60 to be raffled

Oak Park High School’s Athletic Booster Club will host its seventh annual Hall of Fame Banquet on Sat., Feb. 25 at the Calabasas Country Club. This year’s Hall of Fame inductees include former three-sport AllCIF standout Jeff Gibbons, All-CIF volleyball star Kristine Butler and longtime Eagles sports announcer Ron Schneider. Festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. The evening will feature dinner, […]

Maritime Museum teaching about Mars on Saturday



The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum will host JASON Community Day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sat., Feb. 4 at 113 Harbor Way, on the waterfront at Santa Barbara Harbor. Founded by Dr. Robert Ballard, discoverer of the wreck of the Titanic, JASON is a nationally recognized, interactive, multi-disciplinary educational program designed to inspire youth in the fields of science, […]

Council member way off base regarding Lowe’s



In response to Councilman Bruno’s letter of Jan. 26: Mr. Bruno, you did not hear “a voice of democracy” speaking for Westlake Village residents. You heard a small majority of the usual 10 percent of residents in a community who are active advocates and who you personally sought out and encouraged to support your position. You could have worked harder […]

The residents haven’t spoken



I don’t believe I have ever been more upset than when I read the “Guest Opinion” by Jim Bruno in Jan. 26 Acorn. For him to use phrases like “the jury of public opinion delivered its final verdict” or “what I heard from the voice of democracy” or better yet, “[t]he people have spoken. . .” flies in the face […]

Student actors are congratulated



I feel compelled to share my experience after watching this unique group of young men and women perform “The Laramie Project” at Oak Park High School recently. The Spotlight Theatre Company play was entirely student produced, directed and acted, with supervision provided by theater director Allan Hunt. As I watched this remarkable story unfold, I was struck by the enormity […]

Random act of kindness is appreciated



The grateful Irish tourist who wrote The Acorn last week to sing the praises of his dentist, Dr. Shore, who helped him with an emergency while he was visiting in Agoura Hills, shines a light on the secret behavior of people all over the world. There are millions of human beings who are kind to strangers. And there are millions […]

Putting a positive spin on local mass transit



Recently I took my car in for servicing near Rancho and Thousand Oaks Boulevard. I had a choice of waiting 30 minutes for a taxi or taking a chance on public transit. I noticed a sign saying Metro Express line 161 going to Warner Center. I asked a couple of people waiting for the bus if it stopped in Agoura […]

Up in smoke



I have to hand it to Barry Groveman. In his relatively short tenure as an elected official, he has managed to turn our city into The Peoples Republic of Cala-basas with his new draconian smoking ordinance. What’s next on your crusade agenda, Barry? Banning fast food here in the city because obesity kills, or perhaps you can try to reinstate […]

No smoking ordinance is a breath of fresh air



As an asthmatic, I support the new Calabasas ordinance that restricts smoking in public spaces. For the many of us who suffer from asthma, exposure to secondhand smoke in public places can cause asthma attacks, with serious health consequences. Thank you, Mayor Groveman and Calabasas City Councilmembers, for your courage in passing this ordinance. Marcia Ronka Calabasas