Closing Stores

news Panther Prowler • Jan. 24, 2020 5 Thousand Oaks stores close their doors

Reese Kelem Photographer Emma Schoors News Editor

With the infl ux of online stores and free shipping making shopping easier than ever, the number of brick and mortar shops in Th ousand Oaks is on a steady decline. Many stores that have been in business for years or even decades are closing their doors. As 2020 rolls in, there are a mass of stores closing to either make room for new business or stay vacant. One store that many students are familiar with is Beano Vino, a coff ee shop in Dos Vientos. Many stores in Th e Village shopping area have closed over the years due to lack of business including Mama Ritas, Marble Slab Creamery, Krave It, Red Coral, Boney Mountain Coff ee, the YMCA, and Nati. Beano Vino has been a popular place for students of Sycamore Canyon Middle School and the residents of Dos Vientos for years, who usually go hang out there before and aft er school. Brooke Mcfaden, sophomore, usually goes to the coff ee shop once a week and has seen that spot change over the years. “I’m not that mad because that store always closes so I’m used to it,” said Mcfaden. A childhood favorite of Th ousand Oaks, Rocket Fizz, just closed its doors and was replaced with Grabbagreen Food+Juice. Several Students at NPHS were heartbroken at the closing of this nostalgic candy shop. Residing in the same shopping center, Pieology fi nally is shutting its doors as more popular and cheap pizza restaurants like MOD grow. Not many students went to the pizza place, which is another example of the lack of interest in certain stores. Elizabeth Stark, sophomore, was not aware of the change. “I’ve never been to Pieology,” she said. “If it’s a (pizza) pie place, I do love pie.” Much suspicion has arisen to whether the Forever 21 in the Th ousand Oaks mall is closing. Th e store recently had a huge sale with some home items as cheap as $1. Many have determined that it is going out of business like the several other locations in the chain closing. Despite those beliefs, store workers have said that “We are not closing this location”.

So long, Beano Vino - Beano Vino, the once popular coffee shop among students, is left closed in its Dos Vientos shopping mall. The location is still adorned with Beano Vino’s logo and sign. Reese Kelem/ Prowlerw

Youth Internship Program (CITY) ends

Anna Johnson

Staff Writer

Happy graduates - A small population of last year’s CITY participants graduating after spending time in various internships and classes. Students are able to gain valuable experience in the career they wish to pursue. “The program has helped certain students who would have otherwise not have sought out an internship opportunity,” Mackenzie Moffi t said. This year’s juniors will not be able to experience the same program, due to its shutting down due to lack of funding.

Russell Paris / With Permission

Th e Community Internships Training Youth program (CITY) is ending this year aft er four successful years due to lack of funding. VC Innovates, which had insured the program these past four years, did not have its grant renewed by the state, so the funds that made CITY run were no longer viable. CITY allowed incoming seniors to immerse themselves in various internships that provide them helpful insight into the fi eld of work they wish to pursue. Additionally, the program provided classes at California Lutheran University, teaching students useful skills in business and walking students through the college application process. Now that the program is ending, students like Mackenzie Moffi t and Brendan Li won’t be able to take-part in various internships that CITY made available. Moffi t, interested in biotechnology, heard about the internship program through school and the Th ousand Oaks Teen Advisory League, and was able to intern in a lab through CITY. Th rough the program, Moffi t got to see, in depth, the inner mechanisms of her fi eld of interest: “I learned a lot about biotechnology and being in a work environment. I liked getting to know my boss and understand the work he was doing.” Alongside scientifi c internships, the program provides jobs in many other fi elds, something Li views as highly inclusive: “With over 60 internship opportunities in the program, I am confi dent that anyone who is interested would be able to fi nd at least one that interests them as a potential career.” Even aft er graduating the program, Li was off ered a paying job at the company he had interned at, helping him to support himself in his newfound independence. Since the program is ending, fewer students will be able to fi nd internships through the city, but that doesn’t mean none are available. As for business experience, Moffi t believes, “Students could also work at camps, stores, or do jobs such as tutoring or babysitting. Being in a work environment helps to teach responsibility that is needed in college.” Th e program is ending, but the opportunities are not.

2020 census offers jobs to teens

Aditya Vunnum Editor-In-Chief

Starting March of 2020, the United States Census Bureau will conduct a nationwide census and there will be an opportunity for high school students to become involved.

Vanessa Moreno, media specialist with the Los Angeles Census Bureau, extended a job off er to high school students who are certifi ed to legally work, are currently 18 years or older and have a valid email.

“Th e mission of the Census is to count everyone once, only once, and in the right place,” Moreno said. “With the holidays now over, people can take advantage of the many job opportunities the Census has available to replenish their wallets.”

Census takers will be hired to work in their communities and go door to door to collect responses from those who do not respond to the 2020 Census online, by phone or by mail.

Th e job off ers pay beginning at $21 per hour in Ventura County and weekly paychecks. For more information about the opportunity, students may contact Moreno at her email: vanessa. moreno@2020census.gov.