Friday, July 2, 2021
Updates from City Hall | Business News | Local Economic Trends | Education & Training
Ventura County Reopens

Citing benchmark achievements and continuing trends with respect to vaccine administration percentages and low case rates, the Governor lifted the state's Stay-at-Home-Order and retired the county tier system on June 15th. You can view the state's progress monitoring tool here. The Ventura County Recovers website also houses a "Beyond the Blueprint" FAQ page here.
City Receives Government Partnership Award from
Life Science Leaders
Local Life Sciences leaders recently convened (virtually) on June 15th for an event entitled, BioMedley. Industry leaders from Arcutis, Moderna, Dyve Biosciences, among others, discussed the growing biotech hub in Thousand Oaks. Attendees were also serenaded with musical numbers from local talent.

During the awards portion of the evening, the City of Thousand Oaks was presented with Life Science 101 Government Partner Award. City Manager, Drew Powers, accepted the award on behalf of City Council and staff, stating, "As a forward-looking municipality, we are committed to supporting business through long-rang planning that balances jobs, housing, and the environment; all to achieve a great quality of life. We are really excited about the burgeoning biotech cluster that we're building here, but recognize that it's only the beginning. We look forward to many years of growth and prosperity ahead."

You can see a recording of the entire event on YouTube here.
Guide for Electronic Planning Application Submittal
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The City has transitioned to digital application submittals. Our Planning Division recently put together a helpful guide to walk you through electronic application submittals. See the Guide here.
Updated Planning Filing Fees
Effective July 1st

Updated Planning Filing Fees are effective July 1, 2021. See updated fees here. Following the typical transparent process, the fee updates were approved by City Council during their April 27, 2021 meeting.

COVID-19 Financial Resource Opportunities
Our partners at the Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce continue to accept applications for the Small Business Relief Fund. Grants up to $2,500 are awarded periodically. Learn more here.
See the latest information about all the Small Business Administration (SBA) financial relief programs here.
NEW BUSINESSES
Bank of Southern California
Bank of Southern California, a community business bank, opened a new office located at 875 S. Westlake Boulevard (Link)
Public Storage
Public Storage just completed the construction of additional storage units at their facility located at 2451 Townsgate Rd. (Link)
The Waffle Experience
Waffle Experience restaurant has opened its doors in Conejo Gateway Plaza, located at 765 Wendy Dr. (Link)
IN THE NEWS
AmeriHome Mortgages, ranked #1 for Correspondent Volume, #1 for Delegated Volume, #9 for Non-Delegated Volume, and # for Overall Mortgage Lenders in 2020, according to the Scotsman Guide. (Scotsman Guide)

California State University, Channel Islands, one of two four-year higher education institutions located within Ventura County, recently received a $15 million gift from MacKenzie Scott and her husband Dan Jewett. The gift provides a significant boost for the youngest CSU campus, whose all-time alumni recently reached over 25,000. (CSUCI News)

Capsida Biotherapeutics announced a strategic collaboration with CRISPR Therapeutics to develop gene-edited therapies for ALS and Friedreich's Ataxia. (Biospace)

City of Thousand Oaks was featured in a recent Biocom California "Big Think" spotlight article. You can view the article here.
UNEMPLOYMENT RATES & JOBS BY INDUSTRY
Note: The economic impacts of COVID-19 continue to have a significant impact on unemployment rates.
City of Thousand Oaks
According to the California Employment Development Department, the preliminary Thousand Oaks May 2021 unemployment rate is 4.9% (unchanged from a revised 4.9% in April 2021). The City has a total of 62,000 in the labor force with 58,900 who are employed. 
Ventura County
The California Labor Market report shows Ventura County’s preliminary May 2021 unemployment rate at 5.8% (down from a revised 6.1% in April 2021). 

A total of 1,700 non-farm jobs were added in May 2021. However, a total of 1,400 jobs were lost; amounting to a net gain of 300 jobs. Job gains consisted of: 500 in Leisure and Hospitality; 500 in Government; 200 in Construction; 200 in Financial Activities; 100 in Information; 100 in Professional and Business Services; and 100 in Other Services. Job losses consisted of: 900 in Educational and Health Services; and 500 in Trade, Transportation and Utilities.
AUTO SALES
A total of 1,812 new vehicles were sold in May 2021; a 2.5% increase compared to April 2021 sales, and 39.5% increase compared to a year ago.

In addition, 1,211 pre-owned vehicles were sold in May.  
Economic Development Collaborative
See the latest schedule of upcoming no-cost education and training opportunities for June here.
SCORE - Ventura County
In addition to its no-cost mentoring services, SCORE is offering a variety of workshops this month on accounting, business formation, digital and social media marketing, and more. See here.
Women's Economic Ventures
Check out the great business training, advisory services, loan opportunities and more over at WEV. More here.
Ventura County Workforce Development Board
Employers can take advantage of free employment services and recruiting, on-the-job-training, skills enhancement, and customized training. Learn more here.
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