Stories
Happy moments, neighbor wins, and good things happening on The Block.
Good news only — on purpose
There is no shortage of places to read about what went wrong nearby. This isn't one of them. We publish the local stories that make you glad to live here — student wins, neighbors helping neighbors, milestones worth celebrating. Crime reports, court cases and politics stay off this page.
A neighborhood becomes a better place partly by noticing the good in it. That is the whole idea.
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đź“° Local News
Lucy invites 10 of her closest friends to attend 18th birthday party
The Carabet family of Agoura Hills marked their goldendoodle Lucy’s 18th birthday with a backyard celebration hosted by Marci and Armie Carabet. About 20 human friends and family attended, and Lucy was joined by 10 canine companions — her littermates Ginny and Brody plus Hugs, Leo, Blaze, Teddy, Cisco, Daisy, Koda and Mowgli. The gathering included treats, running around and some pool time, and the family photographed and identified all the dog guests. The story notes Lucy’s 18 years would be about 90 in human years. The Carabets have lived in Agoura Hills for 24 years and have been in the Conejo Valley since 1991.
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Scholarships awarded to track and field athletes headed for Cal, Penn
Local running group Future Track Running Pack awarded $2,000 scholarships to two recent high school graduates: Sophia Grant of Newbury Park High School and Gabriel Chin of Thousand Oaks High School. The Conejo Valley club invites applications each year from graduating seniors at 11 area high schools who have stood out in track and field or cross country. This is the first year the program named two recipients; both students will compete in NCAA Division I — Grant at UC Berkeley and Chin at the University of Pennsylvania. Grant ran four years of cross country and track, focusing on the 800- and 1,600-meter races, and qualified for CIF postseason competition throughout her career. She reached the Masters Meet in her junior and senior track seasons, posting a 4:50 mile as a junior and a 2:13 800 as a senior, and advanced in cross country both individually and with her team at different times. A Camarillo resident, she began organized training in seventh grade with the Camarillo Cosmos Youth Track Club and decided in her junior year that she wanted to run in college; she chose Berkeley in part for its athletic facilities and the academic resources for her intended engineering major. Chin has been a hurdler since middle school and added the decathlon midway through high school, picking up events such as discus and pole vault during his junior year. The decathlon’s ten events include the 100, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400, 110 hurdles, discus, javelin and 1,500; Chin developed discus and hurdles as particular strengths and qualified for CIF Masters in both. In 2025 he placed fifth in the decathlon at Nike Outdoor Nationals, the first time he completed the full two-day competition, and he trained under Thousand Oaks coach Marlene Wilcox alongside teammate Chris Toppe. Chin missed part of his senior season with a torn meniscus from basketball but is rehabbing and expects to be recovered by the time he arrives at Penn; like Grant, he plans to study mechanical engineering. Future Track’s scholarship chair said the club had dozens of quality applicants and was pleased to recognize the two athletes. The running group, incorporated in 1993, holds practices Monday evenings at the Oak Park High School track.
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U.S. Navy officer, Viewpoint grad returns, inspires
Viewpoint School held its commencement for the Class of 2026 on June 6, where alumnus Brenden Rodriquez, Class of 2016, returned to give the keynote address. Rodriquez, who attended Viewpoint from kindergarten through 12th grade, spoke to students, families, faculty, staff, trustees and fellow alumni on the Calabasas campus a decade after his own graduation. Rodriquez, now a lieutenant and naval flight officer in the U.S. Navy, graduated from Harvard University in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in engineering sciences before beginning his military career. He told the audience that coming back to the school was especially meaningful and reflected on how his time at Viewpoint shaped him. He noted that the school’s focus on trying different things and staying adaptable helped prepare him for leadership roles in the Navy. A native of Agoura Hills, Rodriquez serves as a weapons systems officer with Strike Fighter Squadron 22 (VFA-22) and previously deployed aboard the USS Nimitz in support of operations in the Fifth and Seventh Fleet areas of responsibility.
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Viewpoint’s Arts Fest 2026 showcases student talent, reunites alumni
Viewpoint School in Calabasas held its Arts Fest 2026 on May 30, inviting students, families, alumni and community members to a day of arts programming for transitional kindergarten through 12th grade. The campus hosted live music, visual art displays, theater and dance presentations, student film screenings and a variety of interactive art activities. The festival coincided with the school’s Alumni Day, bringing many former students back to campus. Performances included the yearly combined concert by the Primary and Lower School choirs together with the Upper School choirs in the Carlson Family Theater, which drew a standing-room-only crowd and featured singers from multiple grade levels. During a Voices Now show in the Ecolet, current performers invited alumni from the group’s earlier years, known as Voices Then, to join them onstage for a rendition of “Smile.” Kristin Herkstroeter, chair of the music department and organizer of the event, described the day as a celebration of the students’ creativity and hard work. Throughout the festival attendees could view artwork from every grade level, attend film screenings and Q&A sessions with student filmmakers, watch live painting demonstrations and take part in hands-on projects. New elements this year included a collaborative all-school installation at the Love of Learning Wall, custom button-making and a live mural painting project led by Viewpoint Middle School students. The event showcased student work across disciplines while reuniting current students, alumni and community supporters of arts education.
Read more →A time to celebrate, a time to reflect
As the nation approaches Independence Day and the 250th anniversary of its founding, the editorial notes that many people are feeling both celebratory and uneasy. Traditional holiday elements—parades, fireworks, family gatherings and patriotic displays—are still part of the day, but deep political divides and economic worries have left some questioning whether long-standing institutions remain as strong as they once were. The piece stresses that raising concerns about government or policy often comes from care for the country, not a lack of patriotism. The article points out that some Americans believe the founding principles — representative government, checks and balances, accountability and the rule of law — have been weakened by partisan conflict and falling public trust. At the same time, it highlights positive aspects: the country’s opportunity, innovation and resilience; neighbors and volunteers stepping up in crises; job creation by businesses; and families working for better futures. It also notes that the U.S., as World Cup host, is welcoming international visitors and showing its diversity and energy, even as many households face historic highs in grocery, housing and insurance costs, making some traditions harder to afford. The Acorn, which serves Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Oak Park and Westlake Village, says it is putting together a comprehensive guide to local Independence Day events for next week’s edition. The editorial concludes by asking readers to take a moment to reflect on the enduring promise of America.
Read more →Resident quietly makes a difference
Kelly McGugan of Agoura Hills wrote in response to Robert Walker’s editorial about “Lindero’s secret helper,” saying she wished she had written about Kathleen years ago and was glad someone else had. McGugan lives on the other side of the lake from the spillway Walker mentioned and has watched Kathleen work in the neighborhood. She describes the back side of the lake as the path that leads to the Target shopping center and says it’s often used by teenagers, leaving plenty of messes to clean. On a daily basis Kathleen collects discarded Target carts and puts them in her driveway to return, picks up litter, scrubs graffiti, secures stones so people can cross the water, blows dirt and leaves, crawls through bushes to retrieve trash, brushes away debris to keep water flowing, and waters community plants. McGugan notes Kathleen does all this without expecting praise and believes she deserves recognition. McGugan also said several people would like to contribute if an article about Kathleen were written.
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Caltrans grant aims to scale up wildlife corridor blueprint
A $700,000 Caltrans planning grant will fund a Regional Wildlife Connectivity Study to map fragmented ecosystems across Southern California and design a coordinated framework to link them. The funding is part of a larger $23.6 million package for 58 planning projects statewide, supported by Senate Bill 1 and state and federal highway and transit dollars, and is meant to move local initiatives closer to construction by paying for project planning and conceptual design work. Meanwhile, the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing over U.S. 101 in Agoura Hills is more than 60% complete and has an official opening set for Dec. 2. The project’s final cost reached $114 million after pandemic-related inflation and winter-storm delays; its main freeway span is finished and crews are now building an extension over Agoura Road and importing millions of cubic feet of soil to establish native plant habitat. Local photographer Eric Zumstein captured aerial images showing work to connect the bridge to the surrounding Santa Monica Mountain open space. The Southern California Association of Governments will use its portion of the grant to create a region-wide, data-driven blueprint in partnership with the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority. The study will produce mapping tools, data products, and guidelines so features like vegetated overpasses, underpasses and directional fencing become standard, cost-effective elements of future highway work. By covering the six-county SCAG region — Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura — planners aim to reduce barriers to wildlife movement, lower public-safety risks, address habitat-related carbon sequestration losses, and help local governments compete for federal environmental grants to build a unified, climate-resilient ecological network.
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Red, white and USA
Berniece Bennett Park in Westlake Village was decked out in patriotic colors for the U.S. Men’s National Team’s opening World Cup match against Paraguay on June 12. The city hosted the outdoor screening, and several hundred people — including many young fans — gathered to watch on a large outdoor screen. Among those photographed was P.O. Peterson of Thousand Oaks, who came dressed for the occasion. Photos by John Loesing show a woman celebrating the U.S. team’s first goal, which put them up 1-0 as they went on to a 4-1 victory.
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Agoura, Calabasas seniors reach for the stars
The Las Virgenes Unified School District celebrated the class of 2026 on June 11, honoring 789 graduates from Agoura and Calabasas high schools. At Agoura, Principal Garrett Lepisto — an alumnus who recalled competing on the same field — praised the seniors’ many achievements, remembered two classmates who died (Peyton Trilling and Carter Stone), and watched student speakers Story Austin and Buck Heffernan reflect on how quickly high school passed. Musicians Kaya Cummings and Easton Verano performed solo pieces, a friendship-circle tradition closed the ceremony, and two vintage Condor Squadron planes flew over the stadium. At Calabasas High, senior speaker Kaylee Abraham urged classmates to notice the “last” moments in life and spoke about how time gives meaning to experiences. Principal Bennett Wutkee described the mixture of nerves and excitement attendees were feeling, and a senior ensemble performed Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten” while Elie Samouhi played a guitar solo. Photos from the events showed family moments and celebrations, including Agoura Athletic Director Clint Cummings hugging his daughter Kaya as she graduated.
Read more →COLLEGE STANDOUTS
Two local students — Adelyne Vandenhengel of Oak Park and Grant Hill of Westlake Village — were named to the College of William and Mary’s spring 2026 dean’s list in Williamsburg, VA. The college is noted in the article as the nation’s second-oldest institution of higher learning. At Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, Riggs Taylor of Agoura Hills, Tabitha Mettler of Calabasas, and Elizabeth Hilbert of Westlake Village earned spots on the dean’s list. Hannah Tova Jordan of Calabasas graduated summa cum laude from Elon University in North California on May 22.
Read more →This year’s seniors ready for an uncertain future
This year’s graduating seniors spent much of their early schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted classes, canceled traditions and pushed many lessons into kitchens and bedrooms. As the pandemic receded, wildfire warnings and evacuation concerns became another regular part of life in Southern California, and students learned resilience from those experiences. The recent rapid rise of artificial intelligence has also changed how students and teachers approach learning, research and writing, leaving many graduates headed to colleges and careers that could look very different by the time they finish. These young people have also grown up with the threat of school shootings, lockdown drills and occasional bomb threats — realities that have added pressure even as students have shown determination and maturity. Local public and private schools in the region continue to rank among the strongest in Southern California, backed by committed educators, involved families and communities that prioritize academic achievement. For the Class of 2026, the diplomas handed out this spring represent more than coursework completed; they reflect perseverance, adaptability and hope as these students move into an uncertain future.
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Calabasas native leads ethics watchdog
Adam Silver, a Calabasas native, is the chair of the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC). His interest in public service traces back to elementary and middle school in the area and continued through Calabasas High School, where he played basketball and was captain of the football team in 2004. He earned a history degree from UC Davis and a law degree from Loyola, worked as a prosecutor in San Francisco, provided compliance services in private practice, held two prior roles at the FPPC, and served as ethics counsel to the California State Assembly before becoming commissioner in March 2024. The FPPC, based in Sacramento, is an independent, nonpartisan agency created by Proposition 9 (the Political Reform Act of 1974) to enforce the state’s political ethics and campaign-finance laws. It is run by five commissioners appointed by statewide officials; Silver is one of two commissioners named by Governor Gavin Newsom and is a registered Democrat. Since he took the chairmanship the agency has been active during high-profile campaigns, including last year’s Proposition 50 redistricting effort and the most recent primary and general elections, and has focused on making information about conflicts and campaign finance more accessible to the public. Under Silver’s leadership the FPPC has expanded online tools and begun piloting artificial-intelligence applications to help staff with writing, data analysis and graphics, and to support its advice and enforcement work. The agency created a searchable database of officials’ financial disclosures so the public can look for interests tied to decision-making and file complaints. The FPPC plans a specialized AI model trained on its guidance to draft responses for staff review, with multiple layers of human oversight, and is exploring using AI to flag potential conflicts by matching disclosed economic interests to agency agendas. The commission’s work has included major enforcement actions, such as a $1.35 million fine against Los Angeles County in 2020 for using public money to support two ballot measures without properly reporting that advocacy.
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Sweet soul music
On June 6, the soul cover band Stone Soul played an outdoor show at Berniece Bennett Park in Westlake Village. Lead singer Matt Grey led the performance and kept the crowd involved. Photos from the event were provided by John Loesing of Acorn Newspapers. The city’s summer outdoor concert series continues with a Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks tribute scheduled for June 25. Also at Berniece Bennett Park today, June 12, there is a 6 p.m. live screening of the USA vs. Paraguay World Cup match. Separately, breaking news reports that a jury has assessed an additional $22.17M in punitive damages against Grossman and Erickson.
Read more →A shoutout to school crossing guards
With the school year ending, Roza and Steve Besser ask neighbors to remember the crossing guards who help keep schoolchildren safe each day. They note many people may not notice the guards, and sometimes drivers or distracted students can make their work harder. The Bessers single out Andy, who works on busy Mulholland, for helping students, parents and even senior dog walkers cross the street. They say they’ve seen the dangers he faces, heard about the abuse he’s endured, and also noticed the occasional grateful “thank you.” They wish Andy and all crossing guards a well-deserved summer break and say they hope the guards will return when school resumes.
Read more →Stories from your neighbors on The Block 🌟