Home Care In Ojai, CA

Sunset’s Insider Guide series highlights seasonal diversions and secret travel tips from local experts. Follow along as we learn where to eat, drink, stay, and shop.

Meet the Insiders: Lisa Casoni and Heather Stobo, Beato Chocolates

Crafted by gallerists Lisa Casoni and Heather Stobo, Beato Chocolates reflects the playful spirit of Ojai and the maverick artist Beatrice “Beato” Wood, who moved there in the 1940s, helping establish the charming California town as a creative hub. The two creatives, who also own a home goods company, share their local tips for this famed bohemian enclave in Southern California.

STAY

Ojai Valley Inn is “one of the last family-owned luxury resorts in the country. From golf to an array of spa treatments, it is full of luxury amenities.” The Capri Hotel is part of the ultra-hip Shelter Social Club group and “has been restored to have a laid-back vibe, pool, and is walking distance to town.” Also part of the group, The Ojai Rancho Inn “is an affordable option for those who like a more activated pool and common areas. It’s an easy walk into town. Grabbing some wine or beer at their poolside lounge, Chief’s Peak, is a must.”

EAT

Nocciola’s outdoor dining is “a favorite of the locals. We like to cozy up to the small bar area. Kat, the bartender, makes great nonalcoholic and alcoholic drinks. The scallop appetizer and the pastas are always delicious.” Rory’s Place “is a great new addition to Ojai’s dining scene. For a large group, the front window is perfect and good people-watching. Finally, a place with fresh oysters!” At Ojai Rôtie, “sit outside along the wall to get a great view of Chief’s Peak and the Topa Mountains. The restaurant is known for its rotisserie chicken and wonderful sides. We also highly recommend taking chef Claud Mann’s bread to go.”

DRINK

At “The Dutchess, we love to sit at the front bar and people-watch from the window while enjoying a well-crafted selection of drinks.” And at Tipple & Ramble, “the charming shaded patio is a great place to enjoy a late-afternoon glass of wine, cheese, charcuterie boards, and a Beato Chocolates bar. Plus, there’s a long table for playing games or for those cooler days and nights.”

DO

“The Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts is a great place to take in the view and enjoy rotating art exhibits and pieces from the ‘Mama of Dada’s’ archives. GARA Skincare Hydrosol Distillation Workshop is a fun monthly class in a beautiful outdoor space” that will take you through a harvest and distill a hydrosol, as well as discuss different ways of distilling and working with plants. The Ojai Turtle Conservancy, founded by Eric Goode, the hotelier and creator of Netflix docuseries The Tiger King, offers “guided tours that are an amazing way to see some of the most beautiful and endangered turtles in the world.”

SHOP

Ojai Farmers’ Market is “the best place to find local produce, seasonal fruits, beautiful flowers, and local artists’ goods.” FiG and Bungalow by FiG have “an eclectic combination of local, handmade, and Fairtrade goods from all over. We love the curation. Bart’s Books is the world’s largest outdoor bookstore, and it’s been open since 1964. They have a collection of over 130,000 used and new books, ranging from rare, out-of-print gems to loved paperbacks.“

A magnitude-3.9 earthquake near Ojai rattled parts of Southern California early Tuesday two days after widespread shaking was felt from a quake that coincided with a rare tropical storm.

The quake in roughly the same location as Sunday's magnitude-5.1 'hurriquake' earthquake was reported at 4:39 a.m. There were no reports of damage, but shaking was reported in several Ventura County communities, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, Frazier Park, Seal Beach and other communities.

A magnitude-2.6 quake was reported about a half-hour later. More than 30 aftershocks of magnitude-2.5 or greater have been reported in the area since Sunday.

The quake comes after Mother Nature delivered a one-two punch Sunday when an earthquake in Ventura County triggered widespread shaking on the same day as the region was drenched by its first tropical storm in decades. The magnitude-5.1 earthquake at 2:41 p.m. startled Southern Californians who were already braced for the remnant of Hurricane Hilary, which had already brought hours of steady rain during the region's driest month of the year.

There were several aftershocks of magnitude-3.0 or greater in the minutes and hours that followed the 'hurriquake' earthquake centered about four miles southeast of Ojai, about 80 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Shaking was reported in Ventura, Camarillo, Oxnard, Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Santa Barbara, parts of LA's San Fernando Valley, Malibu, Porter Ranch, Manhattan Beach and other locations.

A liquor store in Santa Paula was rattled by a 5.1-magnitude earthquake that was centered in Ventura County on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023.

At Tres Hermanas restaurant in Ojai, security camera video captured images and the jarring sound of shaking. Ojai, a small scenic community on the edge of Los Padres National Forest about 12 miles north of Ventura, has a vibrant downtown village area that features art galleries, shops and bars.

There were no reports of significant damage.

"This location is interesting to have it there," said seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones. "This is first time we've had a 5 since 1932 in exactly this location, and even within the Ventura basin."

A magnitude-5.1 earthquake was reported in 1941 west of Sunday's quake, Jones said. Some of the 1994 Northridge Earthquake aftershocks were east of the location.

Jones said more aftershocks are likely in the coming days.

The hashtag #hurriquake quickly began trending on X following the early afternoon quake.

The term “hurriquake” was trending on Sunday after a tremor hit Southern California.

The earthquake occurred at the same time as a rare tropical storm hit the Los Angeles area for the first time in decades. For the first time ever, Southern California is under a tropical storm warning, and most of Los Angeles County is under a flash flood warning with rain expected into Sunday night.

No tropical storm has made landfall in Southern California since Sept. 25, 1939, when a system lost its hurricane status just before moving onshore in Long Beach. The results were catastrophic.

Millions of Southern Californian's received urgent back-to-back emergency alerts on their phones Sunday -- the first indicated a flash flood warning, the second warning of the Ventura County earthquake.

Refresh this page for updates.

Tres Hermanas restaurant in Ojai, Calif. shared video from the moment a 5.1 magnitude quake hit on Sunday.

Haz clic aquí para leer esta historia en español.

Animal rights advocates are applauding this week following a historic vote in the city of Ojai, California, where local lawmakers on Tuesday night adopted an ordinance to recognize the bodily rights of elephants, making it the first U.S. city to recognize the legal rights of nonhuman animal.

The Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) helped develop and lobbied for the new ordinance, which was introduced by Councilmember Leslie Rule and passed in a 4-1 vote.

Under the ordinance, it is now illegal in Ojai to subject an elephant to the lack of freedom endured by an elephant named Tarra, who was held in captivity in Ojai Valley and exploited for entertainment—including a rollerskating act—in the early 1980s before becoming the first resident of the nation's largest elephant sanctuary in 1995.

"This legislation is historic," said Courtney Fern, director of government relations and campaigns for NhRP. "It's indisputable that elephants suffer when deprived of their freedom and that animal welfare laws can't end their suffering. For elephants and the nonhuman animal rights movement, we are proud to support this first-of-its-kind ordinance, and we commend the Ojai City Council for standing up for what is necessary and just."

"We have known for some time that elephants have strong empathetic responses to one another's condition."

The new law stems from researchers' findings that "elephants are similarly situated to humans, as they have long-term memories, learning abilities, empathy, and self-awareness," according to the city council.

"We have known for some time that elephants have strong empathetic responses to one another's condition," Mark Scott, interim Ojai city manager, told KTLA. "I am glad that we are able to make this statement supporting the place of these noble creatures in our world."

NhRP expressed hope that the ordinance "will be the first of many such laws: introduced by elected officials who understand that a sustainable and just future for all life on Earth means extending compassion to and establishing legal rights for nonhuman animals."

"In legislatures, in courtrooms, and beyond, that's what this movement is about," said the group.

Josh Jowitt, senior lecturer on natural and animal rights at Newcastle Law School in the United Kingdom, said the ordinance should not be dismissed as pertaining to "just one city."

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"It may not seem much," said Jowitt, "but this decision means that U.S. courts can no longer claim there is no precedent in the country for explicitly recognizing an elephant's right to bodily liberty."

Topline

Ojai, a city in southern California, passed an ordinance this week to become the first city in the nation to recognize the legal rights of a nonhuman animal: the elephant.

Key Facts

The Ojai City Council passed an ordinance Tuesday that defines and protects elephants’ right to liberty and prevents any person from stopping elephants from exercising their right to liberty.

The ordinance was developed by a council member and the Nonhuman Rights Project, a nonprofit organization that develops legislation and takes legal action to advocate for the rights of animals they believe belong out of captivity.

The 4-1 vote means elephants in Ojai cannot be held captive unless the space is comparable to an accredited sanctuary.

There are no zoos or sanctuaries in Ojai currently.

Key Background

The unusual legislation is the result of an elephant who was used for entertainment in the 1980’s in the southern Californian city. An elephant named Tarra was used to entertain people in the 1980’s, including in an act where she rode roller skates, according to the Nonhuman Rights Project. Years later, in 1995, she was moved to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee and became its first resident.

Tangent

The Nonhuman Rights Project is working at the state and county level to “demand recognition of the legal personhood and fundamental right to bodily liberty” of a number of species including great apes, elephants, dolphins and whales that the nonprofit says are held in captivity throughout the U.S. Jane Goodall is among the members of the organization’s board working toward that goal. Earlier this summer, for example, the nonprofit filed a petition in Colorado arguing that five elephants housed at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colorado, had the right to liberty and should be released to a sanctuary.

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Crucial Quote

Courtney Fern, Director of Government Relations for the Nonhuman Rights Project, called the legislation “historic,” adding that “it’s indisputable that elephants suffer when deprived of their freedom and that animal welfare laws can’t end their suffering.”

Chief Critic

Justin Barker, a political analyst focused on animal and wildlife-related laws, told the California Globe the “Ojai law is kind of crazy and is only inviting someone to bring an elephant there and directly challenge it.” Barker compared the Ojai ordinance to lawsuits in the early 90s to protect spotted owls in the Pacific Northwest. A federal court ruling in 1991 closed some parts of the Northwest woods to logging; Barker said loggers who were not happy about the ruling responded in “borderline legal ways” like physically moving the birds. He suggested something similar could happen in Ojai.

What We Don’t Know

While the ordinance says that law enforcement officers can enforce the legislation, it’s unclear exactly what the penalty against violators would be.

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 jolted parts of Southern California Sunday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, as residents in the region braced for Tropical Storm Hilary.

The earthquake was centered about four miles southeast of Ojai, California, about 80 miles northwest of Los Angeles. It struck shortly after 2:40 p.m. local time at a depth of approximately 9 miles, the USGS said.

Following the earthquake, several aftershocks with magnitudes up to nearly 4 were recorded in the area, according to the USGS. The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center said no tsunamis were expected.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services said assessments were underway. No substantial issues, such as injuries and major damages, were immediately reported.

“We are currently surveying all cities and counties,” said Ventura County Fire Department Deputy Chief Chad Cook.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office also said it was actively monitoring the areas of Ventura and Los Angeles, noting that residents should be prepared for potential aftershocks.

HISTORIC STORM SLAMS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIATropical Storm Hilary makes landfall along Mexico's Baja coast, takes aim at Southern California

'Very sharp' earthquake

During a live broadcast about the earthquake, seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones said it was the first time that a magnitude 5.0 quake or higher had registered in the area since 1941.

Frances Fitting, who works at a local department store, described the quake as "very sharp" and said the area continued to have aftershocks. "We still have power and most of the things are still intact," she added.

Several parts of the Los Angeles area also felt the violent shake as Southern Californians shared their shock on social media.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that all 106 neighborhood fire stations in the city were conducting a strategic survey. "There are currently no significant initial reports of structural damage or injuries," Bass added.

Correlation with Tropical Storm Hilary?

The earthquake occurred at the same time a historic tropical storm hit Southern California. Although Hilary has been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm, officials are warning of the risk of catastrophic and life-threatening flooding for much of the southwestern United States.

To the best understanding of geoscientists, the earthquake is coincidental, and not related to heavy rainfall in the Los Angeles area, Daniel L. Swain, a climate scientist at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at the University of California, Los Angeles, told USA TODAY on Sunday.

And according to the USGS, there is "no pattern in California of large, damaging earthquakes occurring more frequently during periods of heavy precipitation or periods of drought."

"It's unlikely that seismic hazard is affected by precipitation," the agency said on its website. "This makes sense as rainwater cannot easily percolate several kilometers below the earth's surface to the depths where most earthquakes occur."

Contributing: Ventura County Star; The Associated Press