THREE’S IDEAL: It’s a good thing that...
THREE’S IDEAL: It’s a good thing that Ventura County has so many three-bedroom homes, says Pat Fredericks of the Conejo Valley Board of Realtors. About 70% of sales these days are to first-time home buyers, and three bedrooms is usually the size they want. . . . Two bedrooms can be a hard sell “because we do not have a lot of retirees,” she said. And one-bedroom? “They’re impossible.” . . . In Thousand Oaks, 7.4% of homes have five or more bedrooms, the most in the county.
SAFE CYCLES: Now that bicycles sell for hundreds of dollars, bike theft has gone from playground mischief to big-time crime (B1). . . . And thwarting bike thieves has become big business for the American Bicycle Security Co. in Santa Paula. The firm makes 2-by-6-foot aluminum storage lockers, which employers buy for bike-riding workers. . . . The devices, which start at $469, keep bikes safe from the elements as well as thieves, service manager Virgil Goines said. . . . The number of county residents who bike to work: 3,688.
INDIAN RENAISSANCE: Only a few years ago, the Chumash were all but forgotten in Ventura County. Now you can attend programs on Chumash culture every week, and there’s talk of building a Native Peoples Center in Thousand Oaks (B5). . . . The 1990 Census found 4,982 American Indians in the county. Only a third were Chumash, according to the Candelaria American Indian Council. A third were other California Indians, and the rest were Navajos, Apaches or other tribes.
SEND MONEY: Ventura County supervisors are ready for a fight. They’re declaring Wednesday “National Unfunded Mandates Day” to protest Congress’ habit of ordering local governments to do something without providing the necessary money. . . . “It’s very frustrating,” Supervisor Maggie Kildee said. The practice angered Rep. Elton Gallegly when he was mayor of Simi Valley, spokesman John Frith said, and he feels the same way now that the shoe’s on the other foot. . . . Events are planned nationwide to highlight the issue.
A 3-Bedroom County
Nearly a third of Ventura County homes have three bedrooms. No bedrooms: 2.3% 1 bedroom: 12.7% 2 bedrooms: 27.0% 3 bedrooms: 32.7% 4 bedrooms: 20.9% 5 or more: 4.3% Source: 1990 U.S. Census
