2013-09-26

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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

2013-09-26 E-Edition

SCHOOL TRAFFIC

The rush to be first in line invites danger


Mornings and afternoons in front of local schools can be a frustrating time for parents who drive their kids to class, but the snarled traffic can also affect communities at large. Although cities and school districts have tried to deal with the issue of traffic congestion, it’s a problem that just never seems to go away. From Calabasas to Oak […]

Triunfo upset about cost overrun

Directors shocked at price of meter station installation


Changes and cost overruns that more than doubled the expense of a new underground metering station at Kanan Road and Falling Star Avenue in Oak Park have angered local water district officials who had to dig into their reserves to pay for the extra charges. The metering station regulates and measures the flow of water going into the new reservoir […]

Water districts sue EPA over clean water standards



Two local water districts have filed suit in federal court seeking to block the new clean water standards imposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for Malibu Creek and Lagoon. The Las Virgenes–Triunfo Joint Powers Authority, a joint venture of Las Virgenes Municipal Water District and Triunfo Sanitation District, seeks injunctive relief from the EPA’s July 2 “total maximum daily […]

Woman charged in scam against Calabasas senior citizen

$20,000 in checks allegedly stolen


A Thousand Oaks woman suspected of forging checks and stealing about $20,000 from an elderly woman earlier this summer is now facing felony elder abuse and identity theft charges, according to Ventura County court records. Sandra Joyce Zbinden, 37, was working for a Calabasas-based accounting firm when she cashed or deposited into her own bank account at least six checks […]

Westlake Village City Council candidate Brad Halpern rooted in community




Brad Halpern, 51, said he is a proven leader who can bring Westlake Village residents together to collaborate on ideas and solve problems. Halpern is one of three challengers and two incumbents competing for three seats in the city’s November municipal election. “I think our City Council needs a new voice that is a reminder of why we all moved […]

School traffic won’t subside, but safe driving can mitigate the danger



Acorn reporters Stephanie Bertholdo and Sylvie Belmond teamed up this week on an in-depth story about the school traffic hot spots in our area. It’s a problem that just never seems to go away. Traffic in general is a topic that makes the blood boil. Can’t live with it, can’t live without it. But traffic around the schools is especially […]

EPA establishes expensive water regulations that accomplish nothing



I want to comment on the regulations that the EPA is about to implement for Malibu Creek and their effect on the Triunfo Sanitation and Las Virgenes Water District. I also want to focus on how unfair the process was which created the regulations, and the likelihood of these regulations actually achieving their goal of reducing algae growth in Malibu […]

You make your own happiness



In response to The Acorn letter to the editor of Sept. 19, “The Most Important Person,” while entertaining, sarcastic and properly snarky, I found it reminded me of one of my favorite stories. A couple drives up to a farmer sitting on his front porch on the edge of town. The couple asks the farmer, “We are thinking about relocating […]

Angered by her parking ticket



On Sat., Sept. 21, Westlake High School hosted a frosh/soph girls’ volleyball tournament. There were 16 schools participating and there were other functions going on at the school. Parking was impossible. As it was an all-day tournament, we had large, heavy coolers, easy-up tents, chairs and additional bulky items. Approximately 30 or so cars parked directly in front of the […]