Heading out to the Commons at Calabasas and wondering if a jacket is necessary?  Want to share the warm weather with cold relatives back east?  Is it really 109 degrees outside?
Internet users looking for accurate, local, and real-time Calabasas weather information can now visit the City of Calabasas website for an eye on local weather with the Calabasas Weather Cam.  The camera offers a live, streaming view of the Calabasas Civic Center along with current weather conditions including temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, heat index, current and total rainfall, and many other weather statistics.     Visit the Calabasas Weather Cam today at www.cityofcalabasas.com.

Mayor Jonathon Wolfson will present the 12th Annual Calabasas Mayor's State of the City Address on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 in Founders Hall at the Calabasas Library.  The Calabasas Chamber of Commerce will host a mixer at 6:00p.m. and the speech will begin at 7:00p.m.  Members of the public are invited to attend and are asked to RSVP by calling (818) 224-1600.  The speech will be videotaped and replayed on CTV-3 in Calabasas and available on demand via the Calabasas website. 

The State of the City address is an annual presentation by the Mayor of Calabasas bringing residents, City staff and civic leaders together to reflect on City accomplishments from the past year and to review plans for the future. For more information about the Mayor's State of the City Address or to RSVP for the event, please call (818) 224-1600.

Calabasas Snow, Snow, Snow Day, previously scheduled for Sunday, January 31, 2010, has been postponed due to field conditions at Gates Canyon Park.  The recent storms have saturated the venue and weather reports are forecasting additional rain during the last week of January.  In order to create the sledding hills, over 140,000 pounds of ice must enter the park via seven semi-trucks. The heavy vehicles will be unable to access the grass hills without causing severe and costly damages to the site.  We apologize for any inconvenience.  A make-up date will be announced in a future edition of e.News.

The City of Calabasas has adopted the California Green Building Standards Code, which goes into effect on January 1, 2010.  California is the first state to publish a green building code, and the Calabasas is the first city in the state to adopt the new state code.  As a leader in environmental consciousness and action, Calabasas aims to conserve resources and build more efficient homes.

The Green Building Code identifies areas of construction that can be more environmentally friendly, including energy efficiency and water conservation. Each area has Green Building Measures that are assigned point values. Projects presented to the City must achieve the appropriate amount of Green Building Points, as determined by the size of the project. There are many ways to accumulate points and innovation is highly encouraged.  The Green Building Standards Code is scalable to projects of all sizes and expands the previous building code targets of fire and safety to include occupant health and environmental efficiency and sustainability.  The Calabasas Building and Safety department has created a checklist that applies to projects of all sizes within the City and includes a “menu” of voluntary options allowing contractors and builders to simply pick and choose from a list of green building standards in order to meet the City’s requirements. Many of the requirements are as simple as selecting an Energy Star branded appliance.  The full text of the 2008 California Green Building Standards Code is available on the Calabasas website.

TEMPORARY ADVERTISING BANNER PERMIT INFORMATION FOR LOCAL RETAILERS

In light of the current hardships faced by many local retail businesses, the Calabasas City Council passed Resolution #2009-1213 on November 18, 2009 which allows retailers to erect a temporary advertising banner to assist them in attracting customers.  The resolution allows retailers to display an advertising banner of no more than 20 square feet in size for a total period of 28 days until April 2010. 

Retailers will need a permit to erect the banner, which is available at the public works counter at City Hall. The cost for the permit is $300 and the permit application is available online. Business owners with any questions about the program, which runs through April 18, 2010, may contact the Calabasas Planning Department at (818) 222-1600.

The Calabasas Environmental Commission hosted an award ceremony for the thirteen winners of the 2009 Recycling Drawing Contest and their families on December 1, 2009 at City Hall.   The artwork conveyed information about recycling including food waste recycling which was the theme of this year’s contest. Several students stressed the importance of recycling as a way to reduce the amount of waste and to conserve resources. 

The winners are Gene Ryan, Khai Berry, Caroline Mahan, Ally Malilay, Natalie Aivazian, Sami Johnson, Brandon Lim, Maddie Dingman, Gillian Yee, Lucy Rowell, Jeana Park Yoon, Carly Francis, Pamela Moidel. The winning drawings are printed in the 2010 City of Calabasas Community Recycling Awareness calendar which was distributed at every school in Calabasas and is available for free at City facilities. The Calabasas Environmental Commission received more than 350 entries from grades K8 for the contest. All entries were reviewed by Environmental Commissioners during a public meeting at the Calabasas City Hall. The winners were chosen based on the creativity and theme of their illustrations.  Thanks to all who participated in the Recycling Drawing Contest this year!

Bring a  new and emerging reader from grades K-3 to the Calabasas Library on Saturday, January 9, 2010 to share in the unique reading program featuring some very special dogs.  Each participating child will have 15 minutes to read to a therapy dog.  The dogs, each trained through the non-profit organization Paws 4 Healing, will sit (or lie!) and listen while your child experiences the joy of reading aloud.  The program is from 11:30a.m. to 1:30p.m and reservations will be accepted beginning at 11:00a.m. in the library.  The Calabasas Library is located at 200 Civic Center Way in Calabasas (map). For more information call, please call Jill Nevins, Children’s Library assistant, at  (818) 225-7616, ext. 2.

The 12th annual The Method Fest Independent film Festival, scheduled for March 25 - April 1, 2010 in Calabasas, is looking for character and story-driven films featuring strong acting performances. The Method Fest features American and foreign feature films and short films and is named after "The Method" school of acting, which revolutionized the approach in acting, particularly in film.

The Method Fest will feature tributes to actors and top filmmakers, acting workshops, panels and seminars.  A variety of other activities will complement the Method Fest screenings including filmmaking seminars, daily/nightly parties and receptions, industry events, a variety of Indie Music events, a Lifetime Achievement Tribute, and the Awards Ceremony. The Method fest’s Youth Program includes a short film and screenplay competition for middle school and high school students and awards for filmmaking and acting.

The final deadline for film submissions for the 12th annual The Method Fest is February 1, 2010.  For more information, please call (310) 535-9230 or visit the festival web site at www.methodfest.com.

The Calabasas Library is host to two different age-specific book clubs that are open to the community.  Have a 3rd through 6th grader at home with an interest in reading?  The Library now features a First Wednesday Book Club specifically for kids in grades 3-6.  Membership in the book club is free and the next meeting is on Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 4:00p.m. at the Library to discuss the book No Talking by Andrew Clements.  For more information, please call Jill Nevins at 818-225-7616 or email jnevins@cityofcalabasas.com.
 

The Second Thursday Library Book Club for adults will meet on Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 6:30p.m. in the Calabasas Library.  The January book choice is Freakonomics by Steven Levitt.  Membership in the adult book club is also free however a library card is required to participate.   For more information and to take part in the club book choice survey, please call Caroline Russom at (818) 225-7616 or email crussom@cityofcalabasas.com.

2010 WINTER RECREATION BROCHURE

Stumped about what recreation activities are available in the City of Calabasas? Make sure to check out the 2010 Winter Calabasas Recreation Brochure which was mailed to all Calabasas residents in December.  The brochure features detailed information about adult and youth classes, senior citizen programs, community news and information, sports activities and much more. 

The 2010 Winter Calabasas Recreation Brochure is also be available online and paper copies are available at City Hall, the Agoura/Calabasas Community Center and the Calabasas Tennis and Swim Center.   Classes will run  from January to March 2010 so make sure to register early!   For more information about Calabasas recreation opportunities or for help with class registration, please call the Recreation department at (818) 880-6461.

The City of Calabasas  organizes two free monthly electronic waste collection events in addition to the usual monthly water based paint and used oil collection event. On  the first Saturday of each month (Saturday, January 2, 2010), an electronic waste collection will take place at the Albertson’s parking lot, 26521 Agoura Road (at Las Virgenes Road) in Calabasas from 10:00a.m to 3:00p.m. A second monthly electronic waste event will take place on the 3rd Saturday of the month, January 16, 2010, in the Vons Shopping Center parking lot at 23381 Mulholland Drive in Woodland Hills from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  Acceptable items include but are not limited to CD players, laptops and personal computers, microwave ovens, printers, radios, stereos, telephones, and VCR’s.

On Saturday, January 9, 2010 there will be a free water based paint and used oil collection event at Calabasas City Hall located at 100/200 Civic Center Way (map) adjacent to the Commons from 10:00a.m to 2:00p.m. For more information, please contact the City of Calabasas Recycling and Solid Waste Coordinator at (818) 224-1600.

The Friends of the Calabasas Library has launched a new program for Calabasas Library cardholders.  The Friends of the Library has purchased two memberships in Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) which allows the Library to loan patrons their two free general admission passes to the museum.  The free passes may be checked out for 2 days at a time from the Calabasas Library Circulation Desk and may be reserved up to one month in advance.   Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).  LACMA features  more than 100,000 works of art from ancient times to the present.  For more information about the new LACMA admission pass program, please call (818) 225-7616.

The City of Calabasas hosted “A Day Without a Bag” in front of all three Calabasas supermarkets on December 17, 2009 to promote the use of reusable carry-out bags and to encourage shoppers to give up the use of disposable plastic bags.  Over 1,100 free reusable bags we distributed to shoppers by members of the Environmental Commission and a number of volunteers.  The campaign was organized in coordination with Heal-The-Bay and it was supported by ten other cities in Los Angeles County.   

Plastic bags are recyclable, however less than five percent are actually recycled.  Due to their expansive and lightweight characteristics, they are easily windblown and end up littering landscaping, streets, streams, storm drain systems and, ultimately, the ocean. Plastic bags are a significant source of marine debris and are hazardous to birds and marine animals. The California Coastal Commission estimates that 60-80 percent of all marine debris, and 90 percent of floating debris, is plastic.  

Conejo Players Theatre - Thousand Oaks
Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
January 22, 2010 through February 20, 2010
Thurs, Fri & Sat at 8:00pm, Sundays at 2:00pm

Madrid Theatre - Canoga Park
     January 2010 Calendar

Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza - Thousand Oaks

The City of Calabasas is committed to recycling products that are hazardous to our local ecosystem.  For the 2009 calendar year, Calabasas collected 228,571 pounds of mixed electronic waste, an increase of approximately 24% from the previous calendar year.  The tonnage included 91,423 pounds (1,845 items) of television and computer monitors and 2,263 light bulbs and lamps.   E-waste round-ups are open to residents and businesses from all cities and communities and are held twice a month.

For the 2009 calendar year, Calabasas collected 17,601 pounds of dry cell batteries.  Varieties collected included alkaline, NiCad and lead acid cells.  A list of battery drop-off locations is available online.  During the past year, Calabasas collected 4,252 gallons of water based paint, 42 car batteries, 238 used oil filters, 583 gallons of used motor oil and 58 gallons of antifreeze.  In partnership with the Lions International, Calabasas collected and recycled 433 pairs of eyeglasses.  The recycled eyeglasses will eventually be cleaned, sorted and shipped to developing countries and will be distributed for free to those in need of reading glasses.

Be sure to tune in to CTV on cable channel 3 in Calabasas, through live online web-streaming, or watch any meeting or CTV program  at ANYTIME through the CTV archive.

Select CTV programming is now available on YouTube!

This month on CTV:

Author's Night
(View this program anytime with CTV Archiving)

Host Karyn Foley's guest is Allen Edwards, discussing his autobiographical book,
"Shear Force, An Image-maker's Memoirs".

Calabasas City Hall will be closed  on Friday, January 1, 2010 and January 18, 2010 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day ).

City Council Agenda Items are available online the Thursday prior to a City Council Meeting. Agendas for all commissions are available online the Friday prior to the commission meeting.  All City Council meetings and commission meetings take place in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 100 Civic Center Way in Calabasas. 

Want City Agendas delivered to your email? Sign up at http://www.cityofcalabasas.com/connect.html.

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