2021-07-09
FOURTH and Goal
Foundationscores with festive holiday
STAR-SPANGLED—At left, Nathan Caceras, 4, front, and Jaxson Hartman, 5, pose at a photo booth raising funds to bring GiGi’s Playhouse, a Down syndrome achievement center, to Simi Valley during the July Fourth Celebration at Rancho Santa Susana Community Park. Bottom left, guitarist Rod Cordova performs with the band Bad Habit. Below, Jessie Snow of Simi Valley uses a bubble […]
Fiscal workout
Simi school officials approve 2021-22 budgetThe budget of the unexpected— that’s how local school officials are classifying their 2021-22 spending plan. On June 29 the Simi Valley Unified School District board of trustees voted 4-0 in favor of a $196-million budget, with trustee Dawn Smollen absent. SVUSD trustee Scott Blough commended staff for their work on the budget in a year where there were new […]
Huber’s decades of service lauded
Supervisor’s departure opens seat for 2022 electionThe pandemic taught Bob Huber a valuable lesson: time with loved ones is precious. After spending much of the past five decades in various community leadership roles, Huber has decided to step away from public life and enjoy time with his family. He announced last week that he’s not seeking reelection to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors in 2022. […]
Jump right in, ocean water’s fine
The upside of the drought is a clean coastline, report saysFaced with what are already seen as dangerously high summer temperatures, and looking to the beach for relief, local residents will be pleased to learn that the ocean water quality from the Santa Monica Bay to southern Ventura County scored mostly high marks in Heal the Bay’s latest report card. The organization’s 31st annual Beach Report Card assigns A-to-F letter grades […]
Summer fun right in your own backyard
EDITORIALThe Fourth of July has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean local residents are packing up the lawn chairs and heading back indoors. Summer is in full swing, and folks are determined to enjoy the parks, restaurants, hiking trails, even the beaches they were denied last year due to the pandemic. So here’s a short list of fun events […]
Foolish or desperate
In a previous article I wrote about the ridiculous prices of homes in Simi Valley. I feel the excessive pricing has been driven by panic buyers fleeing the inner city who value their health. My wife and I are prospective buyers. Our kids live here. No other reason. So now that the pandemic has wound down quite a bit our […]
Bloated police budget
Simi Valley’s police budget for 2022 is way too high. According to the final adopted budget posted on the Simi Valley website, $37,436,772 is going to fund the police. This makes up around 47.5% of the budget. If you compare this to neighboring cities, Simi Valley has an overwhelmingly larger police budget. The Simi Valley police feel this is a […]
Thanks to thirsty first responders
I want to give a shoutout to the SVPD officers and Ventura County firemen from Station 43 in Simi Valley. On June 29, I asked both services to stop by and get some lemonade from my grandson, Ethan, who is trying to get donations to help his parents save to get their first house. For an 8-year-old I was impressed. What […]