2020-06-05
RAISING THEIR VOICES
FREE Protests a means to effect change for some, a cause of angst for othersPeaceful demonstrations across the nation decrying the death of George Floyd have in many instances been disrupted by violence and destruction. Though Southern California has seen its share of vandalism and looting, protests in Ventura County have so far remained largely conflict-free. Still, fears that civil unrest could boil over in Simi Valley have residents and city officials calling for […]
Council to review proposed $75.3M budget
BUDGET REVIEWDespite the two-month shutdown of many local businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, city staff anticipates presenting a balanced budget to the Simi Valley City Council on Monday. The council will review the proposed $75.3-million budget for 2020-21, with roughly 85%, or $64.1 million, going to personnel salaries and benefits as well as pensions for former and current municipal and police […]
Local cops assist with LA unrest
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and other local law agencies sent deputies and officers to Los Angeles to help respond to riots and looting over the weekend. VCSO Capt. Eric Buschow said it is part of a long-standing mutual aid agreement between first responders in California. Ventura County has been the recipient of similar aid during major emergencies, such as […]
County health officers granted greater control over reopening
Daland Swim School is in uncharted waters. Though technically open, the 33-year-old aquatic center on Wilbur Road in Thousand Oaks can’t use its primary asset: an Olympic-size swimming pool. Gone are the sounds of flailing arms and kicking feet splashing through the water. Instructors and lifeguards, who were rehired after the small business qualified for a Paycheck Protection Program loan, are […]
King verdict does not define us
GUEST OPINION /// 28 years laterTwenty-eight years later, people still want to define our residents and the character of our community by the Rodney King verdict. This perspective has been reinvigorated as the country is faced with the death of another unarmed black man, George Floyd. At the time of the Rodney King verdict, residents of Simi Valley were called racists and worse. Some still […]
Fatal fire victim identified
Second fire injures one, displaces threeA woman who died in a mobile home fire last week has been identified as 63-year-old Jill Enriquez, according to the Ventura County medical examiner. Enriquez lived in the mobile home, which was located on a remote property near Santa Susana Pass and Box Canyon roads in the Santa Susana Knolls. It caught fire just before 5 p.m. May 27, […]
In Simi, we see the promise of a brighter tomorrow
EDITORIALEven in this city we call home, the death last week of George Floyd has again scratched raw an unhealed wound that has been felt daily by some and not at all by others. The past week of protests, the past two months of quarantine and the uncertainty about what tomorrow holds have left us all on edge. But here […]
Defending Mayor Mashburn
I felt compelled to respond to John Lapper’s May 29 letter. What grabbed my attention was the headline: “Wants Mayor to step up to the plate.” We citizens of Ventura County have not been lulled into a false sense of security because stats were low for COVID-19. You, sir, are lulled into compliance with edicts that reek of overreach of […]