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TOP STORIES
THE ACORN
Oak Park Water customers will soon see another increase on their bills. The Triunfo Sanitation District board passed the fee hike last week. Triunfo owns Oak Park Water.

The latest increase is a “pass-through,” meaning customers will pay for the same increase being levied on Oak Park Water by its supplier, Calleguas Municipal Water District. The additional 39 cents per unit of water to be charged equals 100 cubic feet of water, or 748 gallons. For the typical water customer that translates into a 9 to 11 percent increase, depending on water usage, said Triunfo Chair Mike Paule. READ MORE
CAMARILLO ACORN
Police are calling the shooting death of Vicente Arzate Jr., 16, at an Oxnard house party last weekend a “senseless” act of violence. Investigators are asking for the public’s help in finding the teen’s killer.

Arzate, a junior at Adolfo Camarillo High School, was at a party in the 700 block of Rialto Street in Oxnard when an unknown gunman shot through the home’s front door around 12:25 a.m. on Jan. 30, killing the Camarillo teen and wounding two others, said Sgt. Jim Seitz, head of the Oxnard Police Department’s homicide division
. READ MORE
MOORPARK ACORN
Two film industry veterans and a local land owner who were working together to bring a large movie studio to Moorpark have parted ways, but the project is still going forward, sources told the Acorn this week.

In the wake of the breakup, the filming complex, formerly known as Commonwealth Studios, is now being called Moorpark West Studios.

Valerie Draeger, president of Thousand Oaks-based Triliad Development Inc., the company that manages the proposed development, said they’re moving ahead without the help of Bernie Weitzman and John Marshall. The two men had been the leading consultants for the Moorpark project. READ MORE
SIMI VALLEY ACORN
For the first time in its 40-year history, the city of Simi Valley is considering lowering its pension benefits for city employees.

The decision comes at a time when skyrocketing retirement costs are causing budgetary woes at all levels of government across California. Talks of pension reform are buzzing in the state Legislature and an initiative could be on the November ballot.

Though the city is not sure exactly how it will tackle the issue, one thing appears certain: It can no longer afford to maintain the status quo. READ MORE
THOUSAND OAKS ACORN
Some people who live next door to open space have found ways to use the nearby land. They put up signs, grow gardens, store extra possessions or extend their yards.

The problem is, it’s not their property, and new technology provides easy access to aerial views, which reveals illegal uses of public land. Private use of public land without authorization is now against the law in Thousand Oaks. READ MORE