2018-05-11

Read the Latest Simi Valley Acorn!

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Enjoy the new online reading experience!

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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

Mallard makes devoted mom for duckling

Gretchen protects only son, Rory


It’s somewhat rare to see a lone mallard. These ducks are a gregarious species. So it was peculiar to come upon a female mallard living alone on a manmade pond during my recent desert travels. At first I thought she was a pet in the pond-owning community, but she belonged to no one. A drake (a male mallard) had briefly […]

Mighty Pioneer sets the record straight

Dexter Stephens is determined to stand on podium at state meet

TRACK & FIELD /// Simi Valley Pioneers Dexter Stephens is checking off the goals faster than Thanos cobbling together six infinity stones in the 957,356th Marvel movie made in the past decade. Don’t worry, humans of Earth: Stephens isn’t here to destroy half the universe. Stephens, a Simi Valley High track and field thrower with the build of a Marvel […]

Happy Mother’s Day

Ramadan: a time for devotion, service



Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, begins next week, but the holy month means more than just abstaining from food during daylight hours. The new moon signals the start of the month, and from about May 15 to mid-June, 1 billion people worldwide won’t eat, drink, smoke or engage in intimacy from sunup to sundown and will instead concentrate on […]

Service Academy info night

A Service Academy Information Night will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thurs., May 24 in the Ventura High School cafeteria, 2 N. Catalina St., Ventura. The event, hosted by the office of U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley, will educate students and their families about attending a service academy and the congressional nomination process. Representatives from the U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Military […]

SVUSD Special Olympics marked by compassion



When you boil it down, Simi Valley Unified School District’s Special Olympics is all about kids having fun together. The event on Saturday brought nearly 120 children from special education programs in grades nine through 12 and about the same number of high school students from the district’s regular education program together for a day of sports. Students from all […]

Pet of the Week

ALL BARK, NO BITE—Baby is a 5-year-old pit bull. She doesn’t have any teeth, but she has plenty of love to give. She enjoys affection and playing outside. If you would like to adopt Baby, ask for ID No. A683459 at Ventura County Animal Services in Camarillo, 600 Aviation Drive. Occasionally pets have already been adopted, so check vcas.us before […]

Hands-on helpers

High-flying teen

Local gymnast prevails in all-around competition

Hailey Adrian, 13, of Simi Valley capped off a strong 2018 gymnastics season with bar, beam and all-around victories in her division and age group in the SoCal Xcel State Championships on March 25 in Orange County. The Valley View Middle School seventh-grader, a gymnast with Platinum Sports Center, also received all-around first-place wins at each meet she competed at […]

Monthlong campaign promotes motorcycle safety awareness

In recognition of May as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, California Office of Traffic Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are presenting the annual campaign to help save lives on local roadways. The Motorcycle Safety Awareness campaign aims to educate vehicle drivers and motorcyclists on how each motorist can be more aware of the […]