2021-08-20

Read the Latest Simi Valley Acorn!

Click below to read the latest edition of The Simi Valley Acorn!

Enjoy the new online reading experience!

Subscribe to the Simi Valley 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

2021-08-20 E-Edition

Unmasking the questions

Parents scold SVUSD officials on COVID rules, issues


To mask or not to mask? Why are school lunch lines so long? Will students and parents be informed if someone tests positive for COVID on campus? Why can’t parents come on campus and help in classrooms? Is Critical Race Theory taught in local schools? These are just some of the questions parents have been asking on social media in […]

Council votes to keep estate lots

Residents strongly oppose developer’s bid


In response to the concerns of dozens of residents, the Simi Valley City Council voted 4-1 Aug. 9 to deny a developer’s request to subdivide 25 estate lots in Runkle Canyon in order to build 62 one-story homes for seniors who are 55 and over. In its early prescreening request, Runkle Canyon LLC wanted to amend the city’s general plan […]

486 workers to lose jobs as tomato-growing facility switches to cannabis

Spokesperson says site will become world’s largest marijuana greenhouse


A quickly growing cannabis company is closing in on a deal to buy a massive greenhouse south of Camarillo currently operated by Houweling’s Tomatoes. It’s a deal that’s been in the making since at least 2018 when Casey Houweling, the former owner of the tomato-growing business, began work on creating a ballot measure that would allow companies to grow, process, […]

CEO’s deal extended

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously July 27 to extend the contract for County Executive Officer Mike Powers through July 2026. Each of the five county supervisors commended Powers for his excellent work and praised his leadership through difficult times. Supervisor Linda Parks said Powers’ pandemic response included “significant support for our most vulnerable, including seniors, farmworkers and […]

Notice to owners of vacant property: Clean it up now

Property owners who have tumbleweeds, weeds or debris on their vacant/undeveloped parcels will soon receive notices asking them to clean the mess up. Notices sent out by the Department of Environmental Services specify that the overgrowth and debris must be removed no later than Oct. 31, before the parcels become a nuisance and a hazard to the community. For more […]

Two spots are open on Youth Council

Applications are being accepted for two vacant Selection District positions on the Simi Valley Youth Council: one for Apollo High School and one for Hillside Middle School. The Youth Council provides an opportunity for young people in the community to learn about and participate in city government. To be eligible, students must be attending Apollo High School or Valley View […]

Big Cannabis makes landing in Ventura County

EDITORIAL

California’s system of direct democracy remains a double-edged sword. For every successful voter-led initiative, there seem to be nine or 10 that don’t work out the way they’re intended, with unintended consequences as a result. The latest example: Measure O. We’re confident that few if any of the 57% of Ventura County voters who in 2020 backed Measure O—which legalized […]

Political Cartoon

VAX for the Win: incentive or thank you?

I’m writing to express my concerns over the Vax for the Win program being conducted by the state to encourage those not yet vaccinated. I have read through the Vax for the Win terms and conditions and still have unanswered questions about the program. In addition to the Acorn, I am addressing this message to both Suzette Valladares, the current […]