Could it BE any colder Ojai?

I don’t know about you, but I’m cold! Last night I pulled on my socks and curled up in a fetal position under the covers until I started suffocating, waiting for our temperamental furnace to kick in. When it finally sputtered to life, I looked over at the clock: 4:45 a.m. At least I was able to stretch out and get some shut-eye before my alarm went off at 5:30.

When I left the house an hour later, I could hear the windmills whirring in the orange groves. The temperature in my car read 31 degrees. Brrrrrr!

Have we settled in for our long winter nap a bit early?

Staying Fit in Ojai

We are lucky to live in a place that encourages fitness of both the mind and the body. It seems like everyone I know takes advantage of one or more of the many ways to get fit or stay fit in Ojai. It's a topic that continues to creep into discussion on Radio Ojai.

Whether it's a hike on one of our trails, a morning jog around the Nordhoff track, pumping iron at one of the local gyms, biking down the Ojai Trail, practicing yoga or Pilates, swinging a club at Soule Park or the Ojai Valley Inn, or swinging a racquet at the Libbey tennis courts, there are countless ways to get the blood pumping and find that target heart rate. And with the abundance of fresh produce, whole and organic foods to be found at the local independent markets and the Sunday Farmers Market, keeping the diet healthy and balanced is a cinch. Equally important, many will argue, is feeding the mind and nurturing the soul with one of our valley's many healers, either through massage, meditation or any number of activities to promote self-care.

What are your fitness goals and how do you achieve them?

I'll start! I make a conscious effort to eat well, to improve strength and to enhance cardio-vascular conditioning. I do this by getting on the treadmill a couple times a week, going to Pilates at Tara Jeffery's studio twice a week and taking a very long walk on the Ojai Trail on Sundays. I make healthy choices at Starr or Rainbow Bridge and avoid "fast food." I also try to incorporate brain exercises, like Sudoku, each day.

Now it's your turn!

D.A. will not file charges against Cathy Jones

Pending charges against Ojai attorney Cathy Elliot Jones, accused of resisting arrest and interfering with a public meeting at Chaparral High School Oct. 16, will not be filed, according to Ventura County Senior Deputy District Attorney Lisa Lyytikainen.
Jones was arrested by Ojai Police Chief Bruce Norris after she directly addressed City Council candidates at a public forum, an action that violated the rules set forth by organizers. The event was jointly hosted by the Ojai Valley News, Ojai Board of Realtors and Ojai Chamber of Commerce.
Ventura County Senior Deputy District Attorney Lisa Lyytikainen said, “I can only say that the case could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.” Lyytikainen would not comment on what specific evidence was reviewed.
Ojai Chief of Police Bruce Norris said he was surprised at the decision, but respected the district attorney’s opinion.
“I arrested Jones for disturbing a public meeting,” Norris said. “This turned out to be a political meeting, and the elements for the violation of a political meeting were not met in this case, according the California Election Code.”
Norris said his intent was to restore order to the meeting. “It had been civil for an hour and a half. I felt that the public and the candidates had a right to a civil meeting free of interference. It was unfortunate that the public was not able to get the information from these candidates because of the interruption. I think this is probably something that won’t happen again any time soon.”
When asked Tuesday about the ruling, Jones said, “No comment, you can talk to my lawyers.”
Contacted at his Monterey Park office, Jones’ attorney Neal Safran said it was appropriate on the part of the district attorney to reject the case.
“I’m still investigating the entire matter and gathering as much information as I can before I make too many comments. I believe this is a step in the right direction,” Safran said, adding that he has already taken further action.
“At this point, we have attempted to be placed in contact with any insurance that might be available. So I‘m investigating — as far as the promoters of the event — whether they were insured at the time. As of today, there has been no formal filing with respect to the city of Ojai, the county of Ventura, or Mr. Norris. All of that is still under consideration.”

Ojai Valley Inn Receives 5 Diamonds!

Ojai Valley Inn reports on their website that they have been awarded the coveted Five Diamonds by AAA.

Speaking from experience as a former employee of OVI and other luxury resorts during my previous life in hotel management, I can tell you this is no easy feat. It was only 4 or 5 years ago that the Inn held just 3 diamonds. Certainly the $90 million renovation helps, but diamonds are not awarded on looks alone. Service is a huge factor. Clearly the inn worked very hard to get where they are today and should be congratulated.

The Inn joins a handful of just 15 other hotels in California carrying AAA's highest honor. As the largest employer in the valley and the biggest source of bed tax revenue, the city and area businesses will certainly benefit from this distinction.

See the full article, which appeared in yesterday's Ojai Valley News, available on newsstands through Tuesday.

Photo courtesy of Ojai Valley Inn.

Election Number Crunching

Note: To those who challenged the math in my Nov. 10 column, I should have more clearly explained two reasonable assumptions I made in estimating the so-called “fringe element,” a term I loathe.

The first assumption is that it was represented by those who voted a straight ticket of LaFollette and Leary — who cast two of their three possible votes for those two candidates. Many people I know personally who voted for Klaif would not meet the criteria for being "fringe" by any means. Nor, for that matter, would those who voted for the two L candidates. But bear with me on this.

The second assumption was that local turnout will turn out to be around 50 percent, which we don’t know for sure. Ventura County turnout was a little more than 43 percent, and Ojai’s turnout has historically been higher. It will almost certainly be around 50 percent and we will print those numbers as soon as we receive the actual precinct hard counts, by the end of next week, we hope. Lots of interesting data mining to be done there - which neighborhoods voted which way, and so forth.

I stand by that 10 percent figure - it represents the votes those two candidates received among the votes they could have received. But if you count actual turnout - the votes they received among the people who actually showed up and voted, the number essentially doubles to 20 percent. Pardon the confusion.

The possible universe of votes for the city council election — with 100 percent turnout among the 4,887 registered voters and all voters casting all three votes — would be 14,661.

Recent updates have boosted vote totals for both of the “fringe” candidates. Given a generous assumption, then, that people who voted for Leary and LaFollette also voted for Klaif, that’s more than 1,500 votes — just over 11 percent. My point, which I could have made more clear, was the difference between the unfortunately termed “fringe element” and the "mainstream" or status quo candidates represented a mere 400-vote swing.

Between Steve Olsen's 1,461 votes and Pete LaFollette's 544 is a difference of 932 — a 466-vote swing from top to bottom, which is only 3 percent of the possible votes cast, if everyone turned out and everyone voted for three candidates. Another update is due within an hour or so - check the OVN website. The numbers will change but we won't be sure about the third seat until late Friday, if then.

That's the true lesson of this election, imho. No mandates to be found here.

Take a hike!

This is the view of the Pratt Trail from atop Foothill Cragg. What's your favorite place to hike in the Ojai Valley?

Election Reflection

Do you miss the barrage of phone calls, commercials, debates and the daily overflow of campaign mailers? Tell us why you are glad the election is over and how you are looking forward to resuming daily life!