A man was robbed and shot to death outside the US Bank near Vineyard and Oxnard Blvds yesterday morning. The suspect is still at large. We were wondering why a helicopter was orbiting in that area for so long yesterday. Click the following link to the full story in the Ventura County Star: FULL STORY

The next Southbank Neighborhood Council meeting will be Thursday, September 4th, 7:00 p.m. at the Rio Del Norte school cafeteria. Guest speaker will be Al Duff, former City of Oxnard Planning Commissioner and retired civil engineer for Ventura County Flood Control. Discussion will include concerns over the Santa Clara River Levy and possible future flooding.

Other items of discussion will include the City’s proposed 1/2 cent sales tax increase. Does Southbank Neighborhood Council SUPPORT or OPPOSE this tax increase? The City of Oxnard wants to know.

We will also share the latest information on the Wagon Wheel Towers and Casden projects.

An Oxnard Traffic Initiative update will also be given

The Southbank Neighborhood Council Executive Board encourages all Southbank residents to attend the meeting and get involved in your neighborhood. If you have concerns and comments about where you live, come and voice those concerns! Working together we can make a difference!

Several Oxnard neighborhoods in recent weeks have been hit with a rash of residential burglaries targeting unlocked homes, police said. (see FULL STORY in the Star)

There have been 11 small fires  of suspicious nature  in SouthBank in 13 months, 9 in 07 and 2 in the first month of 08.  In one case they piled old clothing against the wall of the school,  set them on fire and scorched the wall. Authorities downplay and dismiss this as “kids stuff,” which it is. But with so many empty houses in our neighborhood, when and if do these kids graduate to more exciting endeavors? the OPD needs to get on the ball.

Graffiti continues to be a problem. All along the sidewalks between Violet and Honeysuckle, Honeysuckle and Ventura Rd., along Ventura Rd. to Stone Crk., our park, along H street from Vineyard to Violet and all along Vineyard from the shopping center to H on the north side.
The gate at the north end of H street is again torn open by the kids. When there is access through that gate the amount of graffiti  in our neighborhood rises astronomically. This has been an ongoing problem for at least 10 years now. Although the gate is the property of the Flood Control District (FDC) perhaps one of our city engineers could advise the FCD on how to fix the gate in the proper way. It can be made “kid proof.” the city needs to be proactive on this issue.

On a walk the other day I spotted a condom left in the kids playground at our kids park, used condoms continue to be left in the gutter on Violet from tine to time. When I went back to the park to call some one in the city it was gone, a braver soul then I am.
These lover missives should not be a sight that our young children have to witness, let alone the health hazard they pose. We need better patrolling from the OPD.

The neighborhood watch appears to be dead at this time. The last active members, as reported by Jen, stopped when Susan Perello passed away.
Alice Maynez has agreed to have a go at coordinating the watch  but she needs help with it, Alice feels that she can not do it alone.
If anyone is interested contact Alice at
805-351-5507  or 805-403-0619 or email her at

Please let her know whether you want the watch to continue and if so are you  willing to help her.

7:00 p.m., Rio Del Norte School cafeteria. Guest speaker will be Ken Ortega, Public Works Director for the City of Oxnard. Election of all board positions and neighborhood watch coordinator will be held. Discussions will include how the temporary shutdown of Ventura Road will be handled, the recent Casden Properties meeting, the proposed property tax increase, and an update on the Oxnard Traffic Initiative.

Casden Properties LLC will be hosting a meeting for Windsor North, Southbank and Sierra Linda neighborhoods on Wednesday, March 26th, 2008 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. at the River Ridge Golf Club - Main Room - 2401 West Vineyard Avenue, Oxnard.
Casden’s Community Relations Manager, Darren Embry, and the Casden team will be on hand for an open house-style presentation of the different aspects of the proposed project located on the northwest corner of Vineyard Avenue and Ventura Road. There will be a number of stations featuring descriptive literature and exhibits with consultants available to answer questions and participate in conversation.
Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be served.

Hi all,

I wanted to let you know that my husband and I have purchased a home across town and will be leaving Southbank after the first of the year. As some of you know, we were living temporarily with my parents while the housing market was going crazy. “Temporarily” was supposed to be 4 months, but it turned out to be 4 1/2 YEARS! Anyway, I love this neighborhood and will be sad to leave it. However, I do have family living here, so I really want to do what I can to continue helping the neighborhood. It has been fun and rewarding to see this grow to what it is today, and I hope I can make a similar difference in our new neighborhood.

If there is anyone who would be interested in continuing the Neighborhood Watch, please let me know. I would be happy to provide information, assistance, electronic files, etc to help in the transition. There are no set guidelines as to what you have to do, so if you have other ideas or want to do something different, that’s completely OK.

If you have any interest, please send me an email or call me on my cell phone 805-816-0994.

Thanks,
Jen Rice

At 7pmRio Del Norte School cafeteria. Guest speaker will be Deborah Shane, Disaster Preparedness Coordinator. Discussion about what will you do in the event of a fire, flood, earthquake or riot.

The SouthBank Neighborhood Council would like to coordinate a neighborhood Blood Drive, but needs to know the level of interest prior to setting it up. Please call Bert Perello at (805) 988-6141 if you would be interested in participating in a blood drive event.

The SouthBank Neighborhood Council is interested in rescheduling the Neighborhood Cleanup that was recently cancelled due to lack of volunteers to monitor the dumpsters. In order to reschedule the cleanup day, the council needs 28 volunteers who would be willing to monitor a dumpster for a 1-hour period. If you are interested in volunteering an hour to make this happen, please call Bert Perello at (805) 988-6141.