Oxnard Vision 20/20; Plaza Arts Park and Oxnard Shores Pier Loop
December 18, 2009
How to Connect Oxnard’s Beach Communities with Downtown
By R.S. Rodriguez
With the advent and boom of mega-stores along Oxnard’s border fringes, stores such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Best Buy thrive while the historic and continual struggle of Downtown businesses seems evident. The recent plastic surgery of Plaza Park, with Oxnard political and business leaders tentatively holding scalpels, seems to be another ill-fated attempt to stimulate retail activity in Downtown Oxnard. Granted, this mean-spirited recession has not helped. Yet it seems as though the only businesses which are doing well in the newly conceived Plaza Park area are the mega chains (Subway, Starbucks and Cold Stone Ice Cream shareholders thank you, Oxnard). The independent businessperson, however, seems to be on the cusp of having to shut their doors.
I’m not a supporter of Sara Palin, yet I will borrow a slogan she often used during her last campaign. The city seems to have once again placed “lipstick on a pig” when it comes to recent changes in Plaza Park. I will not delve into the many attempts over the decades to solve the problems of Downtown businesses- let’s just say there have been many ill-faded, short-sighted attempts and there have been many a-pig with lipstick roaming around the area for decades! The bovine is still slogging about at Plaza Park. Read more
Christmas Gift Ideas in Ventura, Camarillo and Oxnard
December 10, 2009
Posted by P. Miller (Guest Writer)
Okay, it’s already ten days into December, and you haven’t done any Christmas shopping? Is it because you’ve lived in Ventura County for so long that you’re overwhelmed with all the options here? Or perhaps you are new to the area and don’t know where to even begin to shop. Well, let’s narrow it down and open up some possibilities.
The most obvious places to go would be the malls and shopping plazas if you can manage the crowds. There’s the Pacific View Mall for you Ventura locals, The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks, the Camarillo Premium Outlets if you’re looking for quality at a deal, and the Market Place off the 101 in Oxnard at Rose Avenue. Read more
