The Boys & Girls Clubs of Conejo & Las Virgenes Celebrate the Naming of Youth Center

Train Conductor at the Santa Barbara Zoo

“Wild” summer employment for adults and teens is available at the Santa Barbara Zoo, including the award-winning Guest Experience Specialist along with positions in as Special Events Hosts, Zoo Camp Counselors, Education Program Instructors, Train Conductors, and as performers for the Zoo’s summer shows.

Volunteer opportunities for adults and teens will also be described. A number of the Zoo’s animal creatures are to make appearances. The Santa Barbara Zoo’s free Job Fair, held on a weekend for the first time due to popularity, is Sunday, February 5 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Zoo, 500 Niños Drive, Santa Barbara, just off Cabrillo Boulevard at East Beach.

Parking is free for participants, who should check-in at the front gate. No reservations or appointments are necessary.

The Zoo’s Guest Experience Specialist program won the first ever Youth Serving Organization Award from the Santa Barbara Region Chamber of Commerce’s Business Star Awards in 2011. Participants as young as age 14 rotate between jobs in three areas: guest services, the restaurants and retail stores.

“This program is intended to be a ‘first job’ for youth and a fun job for others,” points out the Zoo’s Director of Human Resources Corinne Santini. “Participants are also introduced to work ethics and basic skills, such as how to provide excellent customer service, write a resume or be in a job interview, needed when embarking into the business world.”

For more information, visit www.sbzoo.org or contact Corinne Santini at 962-5339 ext. 108 or csantini@sbzoo.org.

Beyond ‘The Number’: Simple Ways to Save for Retirement

(NewsUSA) - Remember when it was sort of fun to talk about The Number?

The Number refers to the amount of money you’d need to retire comfortably, and it was borrowed from the title of a 2006 book by former Esquire editor Lee Eisenberg. Everywhere you went in those comparatively giddy pre-crash days, it seemed, people were tossing around figures -- $1 million, $5 million - and often acting like it’d be a cinch to get there if they just gave up one Grande Cafe Vanilla Frappuccino a week.

Needless to say, times have changed since then. But unless you like your 1-in-175 million odds of winning Power Ball, the need to soak away as much money as possible - as fast as possible, in the case of aging Baby Boomers - has only become more imperative.

“One of the best pieces of advice we give clients is to keep it simple,” says Elaine Smith, master tax advisor at H&R Block, the giant tax preparation firm (www.hrblock.com).

How simple? Read on:

* Make automatic contributions to 401(k)s. We now know what can happen if you let market fluctuations spook your use of this convenient savings vehicle. According to a study by Fidelity Investments of millions of their accounts, investors who dumped all their allocations in stocks between October 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009 (the market crash), and stayed out of stocks through last June 30, 2011 (a big upswing), saw an average increase in account balances of only 2 percent. That compares to an average 50 percent increase for those who rode things out with a continuous allocation strategy that included stocks.

* Don’t squander your raise. Consulting firm Hay Group says the average raise last year was 2.8 percent. Say your salary’s $50,000. That’s a $1,400 increase, or $26.92 a week. If you put that money into an IRA, in 10 years it would’ve grown to $3,108, based on an 8 percent average annual return. “It’s all about delaying immediate rewards on things like your fifth pair of designer jeans,” says Smith.

* Invest your tax refund. The average refund last year was $2,913. Even the interest rate on savings accounts beats the free loan you essentially gave the government.

* Take advantage of new fee disclosures. A new law is set to require much more transparency in most 401(k) plans. But why wait? Financial websites let you compare fund expense ratios, and the difference between an actively managed mutual fund charging 1.75 percent and an index fund charging only 0.07 percent -- especially if the former’s performance is sub-par -- adds up.

Firefighter and Friends Compete for Best Chili Title

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. – Bogies Bar and Lounge in Westlake Village will host a Super Bowl Sunday chili cook-off contest and party on Sunday, Feb 5, in support of FOOD Share, Ventura County’s regional food bank.

Spicy chili samples will be served up from 12 noon – 3 pm with a panel of celebrity judges choosing the winner prior to the Super Bowl kick-off. In addition to chili sampling, the event will include classic cars, live music, TV screens, a bar area, raffles and the chance to help FOOD Share feed over 74,500 hungry people in Ventura County each month.

Admittance to the event is free and tasting tickets are $15 per person with 100% of the tasting fee proceeds going to FOOD Share. Bogies is located at 32001 Agoura Road in Westlake Village.

For more information or to purchase tasting tickets, call FOOD Share at (805) 983-7100 or go to foodshare.com.

District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced that Aaron McIntosh (DOB 10/18/72) of Ventura was sentenced by Ventura County Superior Court Judge Charles Campbell to 12 years in prison for stealing a motorcycle on behalf of the Hells Angels in an attempt to punish a member for leaving the gang, committing the crime while out on bail in another criminal case, and committing the crime after having been sentenced to prison on three prior occasions.

On the afternoon of October 8, 2010, McIntosh stole the motorcycle of an ex-Hells Angels member from the backyard of a residence in Ventura. McIntosh committed the theft on behalf of the Hells Angels criminal street gang to punish the ex-member for leaving the gang. During the trial, the jury also heard evidence of a separate motorcycle theft McIntosh committed six weeks prior to punish another ex-Hells Angels member.

On October 17, 2011, a jury found McIntosh guilty of one count of committing a felony while actively participating in a criminal street gang, the Hells Angels, and one count of vehicle theft. The jury also found true the special allegations that McIntosh committed the vehicle theft for the benefit of a criminal street gang, the Hells Angels.

• Jesus O Lozano of Oxnard was arrested on or about January 15 in Ventura County on suspicion of misdemeanor offenses.
• Candy Cardenas of Oxnard was arrested on or about January 18 in Ventura County on suspicion of petty theft.
• Daniel Hanks of Oxnard was arrested on or about January 7 in Los Angeles County on suspicion of other drugs.
• Florencio Nucico-Rodriguez of Oxnard was arrested on or about January 10 in Santa Barbara County on suspicion of driving offenses, vehicle moving violations.
• Sergio Contreras of Oxnard was arrested on or about January 18 in Ventura County on suspicion of weapons, other charges, assault and battery, unknown.
• Miguel Lopez of Oxnard was arrested on or about January 18 in Ventura County on suspicion of other drugs, driving offenses.
• Erica Sanchez of Oxnard was arrested on or about January 18 in Ventura County on suspicion of dangerous drugs, other drugs.
• Anthony Meza of Oxnard was arrested on or about January 18 in Ventura County on suspicion of dangerous drugs, other drugs.
• David Mosqueda of Oxnard was arrested on or about January 18 in Ventura County on suspicion of unknown.
• Jorge Madrigal of Oxnard was arrested on or about January 18 in Ventura County on suspicion of other drugs.
• Erick S Vidalsantos of Oxnard was arrested on or about January 18 in Orange County on suspicion of unknown.
• Patrick Dyer of Oxnard was arrested on or about January 12 in Ventura County on suspicion of other charges.
• Caitlin Mckenzie of Oxnard was arrested on or about January 14 in Ventura County on suspicion of driving under the influence.
• Gabriel E Alvarez of Oxnard was arrested on or about January 14 in Ventura County on suspicion of driving under the influence, driving offenses.
• David R Reyes of Oxnard was arrested on or about January 13 in Ventura County on suspicion of driving under the influence.
• Job Andres of Oxnard was arrested on or about January 18 in Ventura County on suspicion of burglary, felony theft, dangerous drugs.
• Victoria L Morneo of Oxnard was arrested on or about January 14 in Ventura County on suspicion of driving under the influence, driving offenses.
• Alexis Reyes of Oxnard was arrested on or about January 13 in Ventura County on suspicion of other drugs.
• Fidel Duarte of Oxnard was arrested on or about January 13 in San Bernardino County on suspicion of lewd or lascivious, sex crimes.