JULY 2004 e.NEWS
	FIRST ANNUAL SUMMER SWIM MEET
	BEACH BUS IN FULL SWING!
	FOURTH OF JULY FESTIVITIES
	VEGETATION PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS
	SUMMER RECREATION CLASSES
	HAZARDOUS MATERIAL DISPOSAL
	SUMMER LIBRARY READING PROGRAMS
	ROTARY CLUB DONATES WHEELCHAIR
	CHINESE DELEGATES VISIT CITY LANDMARKS
	DIVE IN MOVIE
	COMPREHENSIVE VEHICLE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
	NATURE DISCOVERY CAMP
	CALABASAS KLUBHOUSE GRADUATION
	ANIMAL CONTROL CODE ENFORCED
	WHAT'S ON CTV
	CALABASAS MEETINGS & HOLIDAYS

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Get ready to cool off with some fun!  On July 17 Calabasas Tennis & Swim Center will host the First Annual Super Swim Meet for anyone interested in a chance to participate in friendly swimming races.  Swimmers of all ages are invited.  Please be sure to check in by 12:30 p.m. sharp.  The meet will begin at 1 p.m. promptly!  There is an entry fee of $5 per swimmer or $8 per family, and registration will take place on the day of the event.

Feeling the heat of summer already?  Then hop aboard the Calabasas Beach Bus! Summer is finally here, so grab your sunscreen and get ready to head out to the beautiful Zuma Beach in Malibu.  The Beach Bus will operate until Friday, August 27, providing convenient transportation to the beach every weekday except for Wednesday.  The cost is $2.00 per round trip.  Please bring a photo ID to board the bus.  For more information about pickup locations and schedules click here or call (818) 880-6461.

LAKESIDE FUN RUN
A Calabasas tradition, the annual Lakeside Fun Run will kick off the day’s events.  Get up early and put those jogging shoes on for a friendly competition with your neighbors.  The Lakeside Fun Run will take place at the Calabasas Lake, located behind the Tennis & Swim Center, from 8 a.m. - 11 a.m.  Family members of all ages are welcome to participate.  There will be a 4 mile run, a 2 mile run, a 2 mile walk, a ½ mile kids race and a ¼ mile kids race.  Please call (818) 222-2782 as soon as possible to register for this very popular event. 

PET SHOW
After you get your morning exercise at the Lakeside Fun Run, join fellow pet lovers at the Greenbelt adjacent to the Tennis & Swim Center for the annual Pet Show.  Any and all pets are welcome and will surely love the extra attention on this hot and exciting day so get creative!  Ribbons will be awarded in several categories.  Call (818) 222-2782 for more information. 

SUMMER SPLASH PARTY
What better way is there to celebrate the Fourth of July than with some good old-fashioned family fun at a poolside barbecue?  Come over to the Tennis & Swim Center after a hot morning of festivities to cool off in the pool.  The event will take place from 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. and will include games (in the water and on land), DJ music, barbecue food, free endless swimming, and free use of tennis courts.  Please call (818) 222-2782 if you have any questions. 
 

FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR
The fireworks will light up the night sky at Calabasas High School after performances by entertainers varying from circus acts to The Swag Band, which will play live music from the 1960s-the present.  There will be a "Kid Zone" with crafts, games, Uncle Sam, bubbles & more!  The fireworks display will begin at 9 p.m., but get there early because doors open at 5 p.m.  Picnic items are welcome, but please no bottles or alcohol.  Barbecue food will be available for sale on site.  Pets are not allowed to come to the Fireworks Spectacular.  If you have a pet that you will be leaving at home, please read this advice from the Humane Society on pets and fireworks.

Unfortunately, this year’s highly anticipated FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR at Calabasas High School is now SOLD OUT and there are no tickets being sold at the door. But those who are lucky enough to have secured tickets already, please take note of the many road restrictions that will be enforced to control traffic. The fireworks show will begin at dusk.

PARKING and Handicap Accessibility
Parking passes will be provided with tickets on a first come, first serve basis.  Handicap parking will be available with the proper handicap parking pass identification.  A shuttle to the upper field will be available for disabled and elderly patrons, plus one attendant.  There will be chair seating available next to the shuttle drop off area and near the stage.     

ROAD CLOSURES AND BARRICADES
Partial Closures will begin as early as 5 p.m. per Sheriff’s determination (note that in previous years road closures have not started until 7 p.m.). 

Full road closures beginning at 7 p.m.:
-  Mulholland Highway, between Old Topanga Canyon Road and Declaration
-  Old Topanga Canyon Road, between Calabasas High School and Mulholland Highway

Barriers (restricted access) will begin as early as 5 p.m. per Sheriff’s determination (note that in previous years barriers have not started until 7 p.m.).  Traffic will be restricted to residents with identification, event ticket holders, and neighborhood pass holders.  Barrier locations include:
-  Corner of Mulholland Drive and Mulholland Highway
-  Corner of Mulholland Drive and Old Topanga Canyon Road
-  Corner of Old Topanga Canyon Road and Bluebird Drive 

NEIGHBORHOOD PASSES
This is an exciting event for Calabasas residents and your cooperation is vital to the success of the program.  Please secure Neighborhood Passes for guests who will be visiting homes in the barricaded areas surrounding the Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular event.  These can be obtained at the Calabasas Tennis & Swim Center, located at 23400 Park Sorrento Road, beginning June 1.  Please call (818) 222-2782 for more information or visit the 4th of July in Calabasas page.

Summer means not only hot weather, but also fire danger in Calabasas. Last fall, Southern California witnessed some of the worst fires in recent history.  In order to prevent such disasters from occurring in our own neighborhood this season, please take all steps and necessary precautions to ensure your family’s safety.  Remember that fireworks are illegal and dangerous, so please enjoy your 4th of July without threatening the safety of our community.  Click here for fire safety tips from the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

We’re all required to do our part to increase fire safety, clearing grasses and shrubs around our residences. The LA Bureau of Street Services in abatement of City-Wide Nuisances, Fire Prevention and Weed Abatement (in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Fire Department) mails notices to property owners regarding clearance requirements, and due dates for performing proper weed abatement.  However, please also contact the Planning Department for local permitting requirements on clearing certain types of vegetation particularly Oak trees and Scrub Oak (shrubs), which are protected under the City’s Municipal Code.  For more information, call (818) 878-4225 and ask for Glenn Michitsch.

Have you ever wanted to learn to rollerblade, become a lifeguard, or play golf?  Be sure to check out the Summer Recreation Brochure and sign up for the many exciting classes offered by the City of Calabasas this season.  There are senior programs, adult programs, teen programs and kids’ programs available.  Classes range from adult tennis, fencing, and rollerblading to adult “Guitar Boogie.”  Seniors can refresh their bridge skills; and kids can play T-ball, basketball, soccer, participate in swimming programs, and much more.  Programs are offered at various convenient community sites throughout the city.  Registration is available online.  Click here for more information.

If you have any hazardous waste materials that you want to get rid of in a safe way, the Household Hazardous Waste Collection program is here to help. Bring your items to Calabasas City Hall, 26135 Mureau Road, on the second Saturday of every month from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  This month, the Hazardous Waste Collection will take place on Saturday, July 10. Waste will also be collected at other local sites throughout the month.  The County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works will collect used oil, oil filters, anti-freeze, and latex paint for free.  For more information on recycling locations and reducing hazardous waste at home click here.

Children of kindergarten age through fifth grade will love the programs that the Calabasas Public Library has in store for them this summer.  Throughout the months of July and August, the Library will host weekly programs, bringing in children’s entertainers and guests ranging from the old favorite, Alligator Al who brings along his live reptile friends to new guests like a Chumash Storyteller and a puppet show.  These weekly programs will each highlight this year’s western theme.  Free tickets will be available from the reference desk for these events, and library cards are required, with a limit of four tickets per family.  Don’t wait to get involved in this wonderful opportunity for your children!  Click here for more information and a schedule of events or call the Calabasas Library at (818) 225-7616.

Jasmine is a Calabasas High School student who has Dandy-Walker Syndrome, a rare disease that requires a customized wheelchair.  Recently the Calabasas/Agoura Hills Rotary Club spearheaded a fundraising effort to buy Jasmine a wheelchair so she could continue her studies at CHS.  On Monday, June 21, Bunny People (Physical Health Impaired Specialist for the LVUSD), Bob Guthrie (Rotary Club member), Jim Doran (incoming President of the Rotary Club), and Jasmine’s mother, Rose, were all in attendance as Jasmine was presented with her new wheelchair at CHS.

Twenty Chinese delegates from Chongqing, Mainland China, discovered the old western heritage of Calabasas as a part of a 12-week educational training program through UCLA extension, which has given them the opportunity to tour the San Fernando Valley that the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley (ELAC) has arranged.  Attending the workshop were Chinese delegates from a variety of departments of the Chongqing municipal government including planning, investment, taxation, foreign trade, and tourism.  Since Calabasas has a sister city in Anqing, China, Kenn Phillips, ELAC Director of Education & Workforce Development, arranged for the delegation to take a tour of Calabasas. The delegates visited City Hall, and then took a trolley to the Leonis Adobe Museum, located in Old Town Calabasas at 23537 Calabasas Road for a docent-led tour of the Old West at the Living History Rancho.

Bring your bathing suit and best pirate costume for an evening of open swim and a screening of the featured movie, “Pirates of the Caribbean” at the Calabasas Tennis & Swim Center on Friday, July 23.  There will be snacks, a Pirate Costume Contest at 7 p.m. and the movie will begin at 8:30 p.m.  Seating is limited so hurry mate!  Free tickets are available at the Tennis and Swim Center Front Desk.  Also, mark your calendars and stay tuned for more information on upcoming summer events at the Tennis & Swim Center:

The City of Calabasas has a new plan to encourage kids to take the bus to school as part of a city-wide traffic reduction effort.  For Calabasas residents, rates have decreased from $356 a year to only $99 per year, with an $49 early bird special, and a one-way rate of only $65.  To make riding the bus a considerably more enjoyable experience, there is now a maximum of two riders per seat.  Ten new buses have been added to Calabasas to facilitate students’ comfort, as well as many new stops.  Occasional chaperones will ride the bus to monitor student behavior, and  there may even be incentives to ride the bus such as free gift cards.  With the revamping of school bus transportation in Calabasas, the City hopes to make the bus a fun, safe, and affordable way that kids prefer to get to school.  But hurry, because the deadline to sign up to take the bus is August 1.  For more info please contact the Calabasas Traffic Department at (818) 878-4225.

An exceptional summer nature camp, held right here in Calabasas, is being offered to children ages 8 to 12 years old, featuring activities with a science and environmental focus.  With the aid of scientific tools, hands-on activities and games, children will discover the wonders of nature.  Each session will offer a hike in the Cold Creek Preserve, and most programs will feature guest speakers.  Camp sessions are four days, emphasizing different themes such as insects, reptiles and amphibians, paleontology, geology, stream ecology, mammals, birds, fire, Native Americans and much more.  Sessions will be held Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at Headwaters Corner, the Mountain Restoration Trust’s headquarters, located at 23075 Mulholland Highway, Calabasas, CA 91302.  Session II will take place from July 26-July 29 and Session III will be from Aug. 23-Aug. 26.  For more information, click here.

On June 25 the Calabasas Klubhouse Preschool, housed at the Creekside Community Center, held its fifth annual preschool graduation ceremony.  The young graduates are now on their way to kindergarten, but not without their families and friends in attendance. About 75 people attended and Mayor Michael Harrison presented the children with their diplomas.  The once abandoned site is home to the preschool during the school year and now camps are offered during the summer season.  For more information about programs and future enrollment please call (818) 222-9791.

Please enjoy the bark park during these leisure summer months, but also remember to keep your dog on a leash at all times when you’re out and about in our community and be cautious of rattlesnakes.  The City of Calabasas contracts with the County of Los Angeles for animal control services. You may receive a copy of the Title 10 Animal Control Ordinance of Los Angeles County by coming to Calabasas City Hall.

Please be a considerate pet owner and be sure to follow these two sections of the ordinance:

1.  Dogs shall be kept on a six foot leash or chain when not enclosed within the owner’s property.

2.  Dogs must be cleaned up after when not within the owner’s property.

You may report any sick, injured or animal running loose (domestic or wild) by calling the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Control at (818)991-0071.

Animal noise complaints may only be filed in writing with the Department of Animal Control.  If you contact the animal control office, the form will be mailed to you, or you may pick up the form at the City of Calabasas Public Counter.

Be sure to tune in to CTV on cable channel 3 in Calabasas or online webstreaming to watch your favorite CTV programs.  New programs this month include:

Visit the CTV Channel Guide for a complete listing of programming.  All shows are televised only on CTV -The Calabasas Channel 3. Be sure to tune in to CTV on cable channel 3 in Calabasas or online webstreaming to watch your favorite CTV programs.

City Council Agenda Items are available online, the Monday morning prior to a City Council Meeting.   Agendas for the City Council and all commissions are available online the Friday prior to the commission meeting.

The Calabasas City Hall will be closed on Monday, July 5 in observance of Independence Day.  City Hall will reopen for business on Tuesday morning for the regular weekday hours, 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

For a complete calendar of events and meetings during July, please visit our Calendar Page.

That’s all for this month. If you have any questions about e.News or City issues in general, please email
our Media Operations Director, Deborah Steller, at dsteller@cityofcalabasas.com.